1) “The First Lady” debut, 9 p.m., Showtime, rerunning at 10. Over the next eight weeks, we’ll see three fascinating stories entwine. Michelle Obama (shown here) is played by Viola Davis, with Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt and Michelle Pfeiffer as the surprising Betty Ford. Later, we’ll glimpse their early yearsb (with different actresses) and later years. Tonight focuses on their arrivals at the White House. Ford didn’t want to be there … but promptly emerged as a strong and outspoken force.
2) Easter movies, Turner Classic Movies and UpTV. At 8 p.m., TCM has “Easter Parade” (1948), the much-praised Irving Berlin musical with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. The rest of its day has religious epics, including “Barabbas” (1962) at 2:30 p.m., “The Shoes of the Fisherman” (1968) at 5 and “King of Kings” (1961) at 10. UpTV has an all-star gospel concert at 10 a.m., with contemporary Christian movies at noon and 2:30, 5, 7, 9 and 11:30 p.m.
3) “Masterpiece: Sanditon,” 9 p.m., PBS. Young lives remain tattered. Charlotte is torn between the captain and the landowner … her bright-eyed sister has learned that her young beau is a fraud … the heiress is falling for an artist … and Esther is being driven mad by her step-brother, who poisons her drinks and intercepts letters from her husband. It all feels tangled, but stick around. This excellent hour sets up next week’s season-finale, which resolves most of this – while leaving some for next season.
4) “American Idol,” 8-10 p.m., ABC. This was going to include the difficult task of trimming from 24 singers to 20. Now it’s a tad easier; after a terrific performance, Kenedi Anderson inexplicably dropped out. Tonight, “Idol” goes from 23 to 20; they’ll all sing and viewers will vote, trimming the field to 14 on Monday,
5) “Frozen” (2013), 8:25 p.m., Freeform. This animated gem is a good way to wrap up a family holiday. It’s preceded by “Tangled” (2010) at 1:30 p.m., “Aladdin” (1992) at 3:40 and the remake (not a cartoon) of “The Lion King” (1995) at 5:45.