TV This Week, April 23-29: ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ ‘Genius’ and more

SUNDAY

A prison employee (Penelope Ann Miller) helps two bad guys bust out in the new fact-based TV movie “New York Prison Break: The Seduction of Joyce Mitchell.” 8 p.m. Lifetime; also Mon.

The intrepid Jeremy Wade wades into the ninth and final season of his docu-series “River Monsters.” 9 p.m. Animal Planet

The new documentary “The L.A. Riots: 25 Years Later” takes a look back at those dark days in 1992. 9 p.m. History Channel

The limited series “Feud: Bette and Joan” wraps its run. With Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon. 10 p.m. FX

The tech-savvy satire “Silicon Valley” boots up a fourth season. With Thomas Middleditch, Zach Woods, Kumail Nanjiani, Martin Starr and T.J. Miller. 10 p.m. HBO

An ER doc (“Hannibal’s” Caroline Dhavernas) has a side job helping the terminally ill shuffle off this mortal coil in the six-part drama “Mary Kills People.” 10 p.m. Lifetime

Real people have real things happen to them, in real time, in the four-night event series “This Is Life Live.” 10 p.m. TLC; also Mon.-Wed.

MONDAY

The before-Batman drama “Gotham” is back with new episodes. With Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue and Morena Baccarin. 8 p.m. Fox

Liv Tyler, “Who Do You Think You Are?” The “Armageddon” actress is featured in the celebrity genealogy series’ season finale. 8 p.m. TLC

Is there anything funny about the Holocaust? Mel Brooks, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner, Sarah Silverman and other comics weigh in on that seemingly taboo topic in the documentary “The Last Laugh” on a new “Independent Lens.” 10 p.m. KOCE

Norma and Norman, we hardly knew ye: “Bates Motel,” the drama based on Hitchcock’s 1960 chiller “Psycho,” offers its series finale. With Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore. 10 p.m. A&E

Where to bend an elbow? Host Jack Maxwell will show you in his new spin-off series “Booze Traveler: Best Bars.” 10 p.m. Travel Channel

TUESDAY

She’s gonna make it after all: Briga Heelan (“Ground Floor”) stars in the new Tina Fey-produced workplace sitcom “Great News.” With John Michael Higgins, Nicole Richie and Andrea Martin. 9 and 9:30 p.m. NBC

Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush (“Shine”) plays it smart when portrays theoretical physicist Albert Einstein in the new biographical drama “Genius.” Emily Watson also stars. 9 p.m. National Geographic Channel

The competition series “Face Off” and “Cosplay Melee” conclude their respective seasons. 9 and 10 p.m. Syfy

Go behind the scenes of the real Naval Criminal Investigative Service in the new special “48 Hours: NCIS.” Rocky Carroll narrates. 10 p.m. CBS

See what a seafood-centric diet can and can’t do for you, the oceans, etc., in “The Fish on My Plate” on a new “Frontline.” 10 p.m. KOCE

Maybe this time they’ll find out who really killed Kennedy, and why, in the new investigative series “JFK Declassified: Tracking Oswald.” 10 p.m. History Channel

WEDNESDAY

“Mad Men’s” Elisabeth Moss discovers there is no balm in a totalitarian theocracy called Gilead in a new adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Any time, Hulu

The hills are alive! “Nature” scopes out the flora and fauna at a national park in the Austrian Alps in the new episode “Forest of the Lynx.” 8 p.m. KOCE

Efforts to put a lid on the site of one of the worst nuclear accidents ever are surveyed in “Building Chernobyl’s MegaTomb” on a new “Nova.” 9 p.m. KOCE

Scientists go to extremes to understand hurricanes, tornadoes, avalanches, etc., in the new special “Wild Weather.” 10 p.m. KOCE

Investigators re-examine murder convictions searching for grounds for appeal in the new unscripted series “Reasonable Doubt.” 10 p.m. Investigation Discovery

The imported-from-Italy crime drama “Gomorrah” is back for a second season. 10 p.m. SundanceTV

THURSDAY

A new installment of “Soundtracks: Songs That Defined History” looks at the music that helped the nation heal in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. 7 and 10 p.m. CNN

Six friends have a gay old time sharing a beach house on “Fire Island” in this new reality series. 8 p.m. Logo

“Empire’s” Taye Diggs and hip-hop artist Ne-Yo face off in an all-new “Lip Sync Battle.” 10 p.m. Spike

They’re making a federal case out of it, because that’s their job, in the new Dick Wolf-produced docu-series “Inside the FBI: New York.” 10 p.m. USA

FRIDAY

The unconventional rom-com “Catastrophe” is back for a third season. With Rob Delaney, Sharon Horgan and the late Carrie Fisher. Any time, Amazon

The race cards are played for laughs in “Dear White People,” a new series based on the 2014 campus comedy. Any time, Netflix

The 2017 documentary “Casting JonBenét” takes an unusual approach to exploring the still-shocking 1996 murder of JonBenét Ramsey. Any time, Netflix

“Can’t we all just get along?” Roger Guenveur Smith portrays “Rodney King,” whose videotaped beating by LAPD officers ultimately sparked the 1992 L.A. riots, in this Spike Lee-directed film of Smith’s one-man show. Any time, Netflix

“Game of Thrones’ ” Nikolaj Coster-Waldau plays an ex-cop/ex-con in the darkly-comic indie flick “Small-Town Crimes.” With Molly Parker and Gary Cole. Any time, Netflix

They’re gonna make it after all: Young female entrepreneurs compete in the new reality series “Girl Starter.” 7 p.m. TLC

Open wide — no, wider — for a new season of “Ginormous Food.” With host Josh Denny. 8 p.m. Food Network

Screenwriter John Ridley (“12 Years a Slave”) gets down to the root causes of the L.A. riots in the new documentary “Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992.” 9 p.m. ABC

We’re not saying it was ancient aliens, but… it was “Ancient Aliens” when this speculative series returns for a tenth season. 9 p.m. History Channel

Dysfunctional families get in on the act in a new season of “Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars.” 9 p.m. WE

SATURDAY

Whoa, not-so-tough crowd! “The Daily Show’s” Hasan Minhaj is the featured comic at the scaled-down “2017 White House Correspondents Dinner.” From Washington, D.C. 6:30 p.m. C-SPAN

Journey, ELO, Pearl Jam — and yes, Yes — are among the musical acts getting their due at the “2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.” Joan Baez, Nile Rodgers and rapper Tupac Shakur are also feted. 8 p.m. HBO

Bad kitties abound on a new season of the reality series “My Cat From Hell.” 9 p.m. Animal Planet

Identity theft is just the start of her problems in the new thriller “Woman on the Run.” With Sarah Butler. 10 p.m. Lifetime

“Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” offers its own snarky politically-themed shindig, dubbed “NOT the Correspondents’ Dinner.” 10 and 11:15 p.m. TBS

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TV listings for the week of April 23 - 30, 2017 in PDF format

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