What’s Worth Watching: ‘Difficult People’, ‘The White House: Inside Story’, ‘America’s Got Talent’ and more for Tuesday, July 12

Andrea Martin as Marilyn Kessler and Julie Klausner as Julie Kessler singing karaoke in Difficult People
Linda Kallerus/Hulu
Andrea Martin as Marilyn Kessler, Julie Klausner as Juilie Kessler - Difficult People_Season 2, 36 Candles, Photo Credit: Linda Kallerus/Hulu

Difficult People (Season 2 premiere, Hulu): “When did comedies become 30-minute dramas?” laments Billy Epstein (actually Eichner) to his BFF Julie Kessler (actually Klausner)—and if that sort of observation doesn’t make you want to follow these irrepressibly snarky show-biz wannabes anywhere, then maybe Difficult People isn’t the show for you. The second season opens with back-to-back episodes, starting with a scheme that involves Julie exploiting her religion to land a TV-writing staff job. “Can I actually sink that show?” she wonders aloud to Billy—causing both to burst out in hysterical laughter. There are no depths to which they won’t stoop—ensnaring Nathan Lane in the second episode to participate in a ludicrous fund-raising stunt—as each comic calamity in this outrageous farce ensures they’ll remain social pariahs forever. And yet with a guest roster that includes Lane, Tina Fey and Dancing With the Stars’ Nyle DiMarco in just the first episodes, it’s already pretty clear who TV’s coolest clowns actually are.

The White House: Inside Story (8/7c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): As the nation continues to obsess over who its next residents might be, this two-hour special opens the doors to the White House to reveal the inner workings and the rich history of those who occupied the residence, always on a temporary basis. Interviews include President and Michelle Obama, First Ladies Barbara and Laura Bush and Rosalynn Carter—and former Chief Usher Gary Walters, who recalls the events of Sept. 11, 2001, when tragedy disrupted what was to be a party on the White House lawn.

Inside Tuesday TV: Joe Buck and John Smoltz call the shots for Fox’s broadcast of the 87th Major League Baseball All-Star Game (7:30/6:30c), from San Diego. … Ne-Yo joins the judging panel on NBC’s America’s Got Talent in the first round of “Judge Cuts,” ready to push the Golden Buzzer to ensure his favorite act makes it to the Top 36. … Scientists use X-ray and 3D technology to recreate the Lost World of Pompeii (9/8c, Science Channel) and examine what life was like before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried the Roman city in 79 AD. … Summer season finales on ABC’s To Tell the Truth (10/9c), as Shark Tank’s Daymond John sits in with the panel, and NBC’s woefully uneven variety show Maya & Marty (10/9c), with guests including Steve Martin, Sean Hayes, Emma Stone and Kelly Ripa, who endures a grilling by Martin Short as Jiminy Glick.