All times Eastern. FRIDAY, March 11The Last Days of Ptolemy GreySamuel L. Jackson stars in this new original series, based on the novel by Walter Mosley, about an elderly man who gets a new outlook on life when starts taking care of an orphaned teenager (Dominique Fishback), and they learn about a treatment that can restore Ptolemy’s dementia-addled memories (Apple TV+). The Adam ProjectRyan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Walker Scobell, Catherine Keener and Zoe Saldaña star in this original drama about a time-traveling pilot who teams up with his younger self and his late father to come to terms with his past…and save the future (Netflix). SATURDAY, March 12Build It ForwardLocal heroes get surprised by well-deserved recognition and renovations for their homes and community projects in this new series helmed by home renovator Matt Blashaw and designer Taniya Nayak (6 p.m., HGTV). Cruel InstructionLaw and Order’s Camryn Manheim, plus Cynthia Bailey, Kelcey Mawema and Morgan Taylor star in this drama, inspired by real events, about teenage girls sent to a youth residential treatment center and the extreme methods to which they’re subjected (8 p.m., Lifetime). SUNDAY, March 13The Critics’ Choice AwardsWest Side Story, Belfast, Dune and The Power of the Dog are among the contenders for the best movies, performances and other cinematic achievements of 2021, and Billy Crystal will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, in his 27th annual ceremony voted by entertainment journalists and hosted by Taye Diggs and Nicole Byer (7 p.m., CW and TBS). The Presence of LoveAn adjunct professor (Eloise Mumford) travels to England to visit the farm where her late mother grew up, where she finds love grows with the single dad (Jullan Morris) whose family now owns it (9 p.m., Hallmark). MONDAY, March 14The Simpsons: “E Pluribus Wiggins”Escape the real-world election turmoil by basking in the wit and wisdom of this 2008 episode, in which Springfield hosts its first Presidential primary—and the citizens, fed up with all the suck-up candidates, choose 8-year-old Ralph Wiggins to represent them instead (7 p.m., FXX). Secrets of the Chippendale’s MurderFour-part true-crime documentary explores the world of drugs, arson, a long triangle and murder behind the rise (and fall) of the world-famous Chippendale’s nightclub, which spawned a world phenomenon of scantily clad male dancers (10 p.m., A&E). TUESDAY, March 15Mr. MayorAfter a couple of production delays due to COVID, Ted Danson returns for season two as a former billboard-advertising exec who becomes the major of Los Angeles after entering—and winning—his first election. With Holly Hunter, Bobby Moynihan and Kayla Kennedy (8:30 p.m., NBC) Adam by Eve: A Live In AnimationJapanese animated series follows a high-school student, Aki, who enters a world that she can’t tell is a dream, or reality, as she searches for her disappeared friend (Netflix). WEDNESDAY, March 16Temptation IslandFour new couples at relationship crossroads head to Hawaii to put their love to the test as each partner is “tempted” by looking-for-love singles. Can true love survive in the tropical heat? (10 p.m., USA Network). Beyond the EdgeNew adventure challenge reality series, from the producers of Naked and Afraid, features a group of country performers, pro athletes, actors, TV personalities and a supermodel who’ve been plunked down in the perilous jungles of Panama—far “beyond the edge” of their relatively cushy lives—for an endurance competition to raise money for their respective charities (9 p.m., CBS). THURSDAY, March 17Welcome to FlatchPaul Feig, the director of Bridesmaids, offers up this comedy series about a documentary crew on a mission to explore the lives of Americans in small towns, when they come across a most unusual one (9:30 p.m., Fox). Million Dollar HustleFollow health and fitness influencer, author and self-made millionaire Stormy Wellington and her elite group of leaders (called the Circle of Bosses) as they coach other woman and help them “hustle” to change their lives personally as well as professionally (10 p.m., Lifetime). NEW ON DVD The darkly funny, critically acclaimed comedy Red Rocket (Lionsgate Home Entertainment), directed by Sean Baker (The Florida Project), stars Simon Rex as a charismatic former porn star who returns to his small-town roots in Texas—but finds that nobody really wants him back. Director Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated reimagining of the Broadway movie musical West Side Story restages the story of fierce gang rivalries and young love in 1950s New York City, with a cast that includes Ariana DeBose, Ansel Elgort and Rita Moreno—who won an Oscar for her role in the 1961 film (Disney Home Entertainment). AT THE MOVIES An unathletic boy with autism works hard to become an unlikely marathon champ in Tyson’s Run, starring The Walking Dead’s Major Dodson and Amy Smart, from TV’s Justified, Shameless and Stargirl.
