TV picks: 'Henrietta Lacks,' 'Silicon Valley,' 'Great News,' 'Handmaid's Tale' and more
Oprah Winfrey gives a heartbreaking performance as the daughter of a woman whose cells changed medicine, Tina Fey presents a new comedy, and Margaret Atwood's dystopian classic becomes a Hulu series.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Rose Byrne plays writer Rebecca Skloot in an adapation of Skloot's bestseller about the quest to tell the story of the cancer-stricken woman whose remarkable cells have enabled decades of medical research. Oprah Winfrey delivers a heartbreaking performance as Lacks' daughter, Deborah, whose loss of her mother at an early age affected her entire life. 8 p.m. Saturday, HBO.
Silicon Valley. Season 4 of the Mike Judge comedy about digital entrepreneurs opens with Richard (Thomas Middleditch) and his co-workers trying to find investors for their video-chat app. But Richard's heart isn't in it, and he's soon chasing another big idea for his signature-compression software. 10 p.m. Sunday, HBO.
Gotham. The Batman prequel returns from hiatus with an episode titled, "Heroes Rise: How the Riddler Got His Name." So I guess we'll find out. 8 p.m. Monday, Fox.
Great News. Still missing 30 Rock? Upper Darby's Tina Fey is executive producing this new comedy, created by one of her 30 Rock colleagues, Tracey Wigfield. Briga Heelan (Ground Floor) stars as a TV news producer whose mother (SCTV veteran Andrea Martin) comes to work in her newsroom as an intern. Hilarity actually does ensue. Episodes will run back to back. 9 and 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, NBC.
Genius. An adaptation of Walter Isaacson's bestselling biography, Albert Einstein: His Life and Universe, becomes the first season of a new anthology series from Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush stars as the wild-haired scientist in his later years, with Johnny Flynn portraying him as a young iconoclast (and heartbreaker). Emily Watson co-stars as Einstein's second wife, Elsa. 9 p.m. Tuesday, National Geographic Channel.
The Handmaid's Tale. Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss stars in a 10-episode adaptation of Margaret Atwood's dystopian classic about a theocratic, post-U.S. society in which women lose all civil rights, and those considered still capable of bearing children are forced into reproductive slavery. Wednesday, Hulu.
Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-92. Twenty-five years after the L.A. riots that followed the acquittal of four police officers in the beating of Rodney King, this two-hour documentary by Oscar winner John Ridley (12 Years a Slave, American Crime) looks back at the decade that set the stage for the African American community's uprising. 9 p.m. Friday, ABC.
Dear White People. Justin Simien's 2014 film about black students at a predominantly white, Ivy League-ish college becomes a series, with Logan Browning starring as Samantha White, whose provocative college-radio show shares the show's title. Oh, and that ironic voiceover at the beginning? That's Giancarlo Esposito, of Breaking Bad (and now Better Call Saul) fame. Friday, Netflix.
Catastrophe. Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney return for a third season as Sharon and Rob, a couple whose casual fling turned into a much bigger thing (and a great comedy). One downer: This season's finale marks the late Carrie Fisher's last appearance as Rob's mom, Mia. Friday, Amazon.