OK, so this type of miniseries is not exactly the kind of programming that’s going to soothe coronavirus anxiety and sorrow. Still, TV doesn’t come any sharper, if you’re a student of life and its social, cultural, and political realities.
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Joining the fright club on Monday night is HBO’s “The Plot Against America,” an intense new six-part miniseries from David Simon and Ed Burns of “The Wire.” I can’t remember seeing a period drama — it’s set from 1940-42 — that speaks so directly and specifically to the present moment. If this vision of our country doesn’t seem creepily relevant to you, you’re probably not paying attention.
Based on the 2004 novel by the late Philip Roth, it’s an alternate history in which FDR loses the 1940 presidential election to Charles Lindbergh, the anti-Semitic and fascistic aviation hero who stirs up populist rage as he promises to keep us out of World War II. The clips of the American president on a stage beside Nazis, and of the American flag beside the Nazi flag, are only some of the many newsreel images in the miniseries that will make you shudder.
The growing anti-Semitism in the United States, enabled by the Lindbergh administration’s contempt for Jews, is shown through the experiences of the Levin family (modeled after Roth’s) of Newark, N.J. “They’ve always been here,” one character says about anti-Semites in America. “Now they have permission to crawl out from under their rocks.” The parents, the outspoken Herman (Morgan Spector) and the quieter but wise Bess (Zoe Kazan), have different styles but, ultimately, the same values as they try to protect the family. Preteen son Phillip (Azhy Robertson) is an innocent kid who suffers growing anxiety about the state of the country, while the teenaged Sandy (Caleb Malis) exhibits a disturbing naiveté about Lindbergh and his moves against the Jews.
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There’s not a bum performance in the bunch, with Kazan and Anthony Boyle, as Herman’s nephew, particularly outstanding. Winona Ryder, as Bess’s lonely sister, and John Turturro as a Southern rabbi who tries to work with Lindbergh, are also quite effective, as they ignorantly opt for trust and optimism in a time of mass deception.
“The Plot Against America” premieres Monday at 9 p.m. and it’s an indelible piece of work about how politics reaches into personal lives.
WHAT I’M WATCHING THIS WEEK
1. The first season of HBO’s adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s four-part series known as “The Neapolitan Novels” was extraordinary. Called “My Brilliant Friend,” it was a wise, moving, and sometimes brutal look at the friendship between two girls in 1950s Naples. So I have great expectations of the second season of the series, called “My Brilliant Friend: The Story of a New Name.” It will follow Elena and Lila into the 1960s, as their bond veers between love and contempt. It premieres after “The Plot Against America” on Monday at 10 p.m.
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2. Reese Witherspoon has fallen for TV in a big way. The actress is in “Big Little Lies,” “The Morning Show,” and, Wednesday on Hulu, “Little Fires Everywhere,” an eight-episode adaptation of the novel by Celeste Ng. It’s about the opposing temperaments of two mothers, a micromanager played by Witherspoon and a freewheeling artist played by Kerry Washington, whose confrontations give the 1977-set melodrama its juiciest moments. There isn’t a lot of subtlety in the episodes I’ve seen so far; at some points, it feels more like a network nighttime soap than it should. The characters veer toward one-dimensionality. That said, it has some entertainment value as it looks into the racial, maternal, and communal sides of American suburbia.
3. This one sounds like a horror movie. “After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News” is about all of the fake information and conspiracy theories that are changing our world (not for the better, obvs). The documentary focuses on a few fake stories, including “Pizzagate” and the disinformation campaigns around the 2016 election, with a lot of broad interviews about how fake news has become a political weapon. This look at the “post-truth era,” directed by Andrew Rossi and executive produced by CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter, airs on HBO on Thursday at 9 p.m.
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4. “Blow the Man Down” is a mystery about two very different sisters — played by Sophie Lowe and Morgan Saylor — who wind up trying to cover up a murder while home for their mother’s funeral. The movie, which also features Margo Martindale, June Squibb, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, premieres Friday on Amazon. It currently has a rating of 76 on Metacritic.
5. The new four-episode Netflix miniseries “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam CJ Walker” follows the life and times of the first Black female self-made millionaire. The cast, led by Octavia Spencer in the title role, includes Tiffany Haddish, Garrett Morris, Carmen Ejogo, Blair Underwood, and Bill Bellamy. It arrives Friday.
CHANNEL SURFING
“Brockmire” The fourth-season premiere. IFC, Wednesday, 10 p.m.
“Feel Good” She’s sober and dating in this new series from British stand-up comic Mae Martin. Netflix, Thursday
“The English Game” A British series set in 1870s, as two footballers on opposite sides of a class divide forge a bond. Netflix, Friday
“Tiger King” A docu-series about the underworld of big-cat breeding. Netflix, Friday
CORONAVIRUS BINGES
Here are some of the lists I’ve composed in recent years, in case you’re looking for suggestions:
“17 shows to binge-watch while hiding out from coronavirus”
“Best new shows of 2020, so far”
“The most underappreciated TV shows of the decade”
“I know what you should binge during this storm”
“Globe TV critic Matthew Gilbert’s top 10 shows of 2019”
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Critic Matthew Gilbert’s top 10 TV shows of 2018”
“Matthew Gilbert’s favorite TV shows of 2017”
REVIEWED
“Breeders” An intimate, honest, darkly comic look at the strains of parenting, with Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard. FX
“Devs” A brainy drama series from Alex Garland (“Ex Machina”) about a woman searching for her boyfriend, who works at a top-secret tech project. Hulu
“Spenser Confidential” A formulaic Mark Wahlberg movie loosely based on Robert B. Parker’s private eye. Netflix
“Dispatches from Elsewhere” A surreal scavenger hunt in Philadelphia with Jason Segel, Sally Field, Eve Lindley, and André Benjamin. AMC
“Hunters” A pulpy, morally challenging, comic-book styled drama about Nazis in America in the 1970s, starring Al Pacino. Amazon
“Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” A woman hears people’s thoughts in the form of pop songs in this jukebox dramedy. NBC
“Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet” An amusing ensemble comedy about the folks who run a video game. Apple TV+
Matthew Gilbert can be reached at matthew.gilbert@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewGilbert.
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March 16, 2020 at 06:09AM
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This week’s TV: David Simon’s latest, ‘Little Fires,’ and more binge ideas - The Boston Globe
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