Comeback of ‘The Comeback,’ ‘Forsytes’ and ‘Count of Monte Cristo’ on PBS, ‘Faithful’ Biblical Drama, ‘Madison’ Finale

The Comeback

SUNDAY: Every decade or so, this biting satire about fame and the TV industry returns, spoofing whatever’s new in the topsy-turvy business, from reality TV to (in its third and final season) the AI revolution. Lisa Kudrow is brilliant, maddening yet poignant, as the self-absorbed but mostly well-meaning sitcom star Valerie Cherish, who, whenever she says, “So fun,” rarely means it. First seen attempting a Broadway run as the latest “name” to appear in Chicago, she quickly retreats to strike-besieged Hollywood, where an offer from a rebranding broadcast network beckons Valerie back to her comfort zone of multi-cam sitcoms. The twist: This one will be created almost entirely by AI. “They’ll think I’m a hypo-crat,” she frets to her husband Mark (Damian Young), whose career has derailed to the point that he’s now part of a Finance Dudes reality show. Valerie, who once appeared (briefly) on The Traitors, worries she’ll be seen as an actual turncoat. If we must say goodbye to The Comeback and to Valerie, the good news is they’re going out on a bitter high.

The Forsytes

SUNDAY: Masterpiece returns yet again to the voluminous John Galsworthy classic known as The Forsyte Saga for a lavish period drama (set in 1877) that uses as its starting point events that predate the novels. Thus, we find younger versions of rival cousins Soames (Joshua Orpin) and Young Jolyon (Danny Griffin)—Soames being the ruthless one, Jo the would-be artist—as they conduct business while affairs of the heart threaten the composure of the wealthy banking family. (Jack Davenport and Stephen Moyer play their respective fathers, James and Jolyon Sr.) In the premiere, Young Jo has an unexpected encounter with his first love, the dressmaking widow Louisa (Eleanor Tomlinson), at his daughter June’s (Justine Moore) coming-out ball, while the stuffy Soames is smitten by the penniless Irene (Millie Gibson), whose ballet dreams will be put aside when she joins this family. As matriarch Ann (Francesca Annis) advises June, “A Forsyte is someone who knows the value of stock, and family, and repute. … Never ever fail to come up to scratch.” Downton Abbey‘s Dowager Countess would have loved Ann, and shows like Downton, Upstairs Downstairs, and even The Gilded Age owe a debt to The Forsyte Saga, whose first dramatization was one of the first British serial dramas to make a splash in the U.S. in the late 1960s.

The Count of Monte Cristo

SUNDAY: Yet another Masterpiece classic adaptation revisits the oft-told Alexandre Dumas revenge epic, starring Sam Claflin as the dashing Edmond Dantes, a noble young sailor falsely accused by rivals of treason and cruelly imprisoned in an island fortress. Things look bleak for poor Edmond in the first episode (of eight), but as anyone knows who has either read the book or, more likely, seen one of the many film and TV versions—with such stars as Richard Chamberlain, Jim Caviezel, and Gérard Depardieu—Edmond will eventually taste freedom and fortune in his desire to exact vengeance on those who did him wrong.

The Faithful: Women of the Bible

SUNDAY: What would the holy season of Easter and Passover be without a new Biblical drama? The Faithful, a three-week series of two-hour episodes, is distinguished by its focus on the women of the Old Testament. Minnie Driver stars in the premiere as Sarah, wife of Abraham (Jeffrey Donovan) and “The Woman Who Bowed to No One.” The film depicts Sarah’s despair at being childless, prompting her to enlist Egyptian slave-turned-handmaiden Hagar (9-1-1: Lone Star‘s Natacha Karam) to provide a son for her faithful husband. God, of course, has other plans for these people.

The Madison

SATURDAY: Taylor Sheridan’s drama of loss, grief, and rejuvenation in the open spaces of Montana presents the final three episodes of its first season, with Stacy (the luminous Michelle Pfeiffer) laying her loved one to rest while coming to grips with the privileged life she left behind on the island of Manhattan. Will Arnett is terrific as her therapist, assuring her, “You will survive it,” but first she’ll need to get past the memorial service she’s reluctantly hosting in her grand townhouse. The pull of Montana remains strong, including for daughter Abby (Beau Garrett), who left things unresolved with widowed sheriff Van (Ben Schnetzer). A second season has already been filmed.

INSIDE WEEKEND TV:

• Hope Valley: 1874 (Saturday, streaming on Hallmark+): A prequel to When Calls the Heart stars Bethany Joy Lenz as Rebecca, a single mother who relocates from Chicago to the Canadian frontier, where a rancher (Benjamin Ayres) and an independent pioneer woman (Jill Hennessy) help her and her 11-year-old daughter get settled.
• BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang (Saturday, 7 am/ET, streaming on Netflix): The K-pop superstars perform live in Seoul with music from their new album.
• Saturday Night Live UK (Sunday, streaming on Peacock): Tina Fey hosts the premiere of the British adaptation of the late-night comedy show. Wet Leg is the musical guest.
• I Killed Him in My Sleep (Saturday, 8/7c, Lifetime): Abigail Breslin stars in a psychological thriller as Kelty, a stressed millennial who enrolls in a sleep study that goes awry when she dreams she stabbed a man and begins to wonder if it actually happened.
• Two for Tee (Saturday, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel): Pretty Little Liars‘ Janel Parrish is Chinese American pottery artist Tee, who works with a handsome handyman (When Calls the Heart‘s Chris McNally) to save the local community center.
• 48 Hours (Saturday, 10/9c, CBS): Peter Van Sant interviews convicted killer Austin Herbst about why he murdered his allegedly abusive father, Gary, in 2013.
• Call the Midwife (Sunday, 8/7c, PBS): The popular British drama returns for its 15th season, now set in 1971 as the midwives join the women’s liberation movement.
• When Calls the Heart (Sunday, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel): The Hope Valley Harvest Festival is an occasion for the community to look back and look forward in the Season 13 finale.
• Marshals (Sunday, 8/7c, CBS): Kayce (Luke Grimes) and Cal (Logan Marshall-Green) look for survivors after a helicopter crash. Followed by Tracker (9/8c), with Erica Durance (Smallville), David Ramsey (Arrow), and pro wrestler Chris Jericho as guest stars, when Colter (Justin Hartley) investigates the disappearance of a stuntman from a B-movie set.
• DTF St. Louis (9/8c, HBO): In flashbacks, Clark (Jason Bateman) helps his buddy Floyd (David Harbour) prepare for his physical, while in the present, Floyd’s life-insurance policy factors into the murder investigation.
• Dark Winds (9/8c, AMC): While Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) recovers from his injuries and “ghost sickness,” Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) works with the feds in L.A. to lay a trap for the German assassin (Franka Potente).
• Standoff: The FBI, Power and Paranoia (Sunday, 9/8c, CNN): A docuseries explores the often-fractious relationship between presidents and their FBI directors, with episodes focusing on the clash between former FBI director James Comey and President Trump and the tension between Nixon and FBI founder J. Edgar Hoover.
• Rooster (10/9c, HBO): Greg’s (Steve Carell) slippery new shoes become an issue when he embarks on his teaching career.