Justice Smith in Genera+ionPhoto: Jennifer Clasen/HBO Max
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Thursday, March 11. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Genera+ion (HBO Max, 3:01 a.m., series premiere, episodes 1-3): “Produced by Lena Dunham, Genera+ion will inevitably be compared to HBO’s other recent offering in the genre, the Zendaya-led Euphoria. The two might tackle similar themes, but Genera+ion is not as heavy with despair. It’s still full of coming-of-age stories that deal with sexuality, familial relationships, and self-identity, but the storylines are presented with a more fun, self-aware energy—an energy that can be summed up with one word: extra. Genera+ion feels like it is doing too much, especially in the beginning. The premiere introduces different characters by showing bits of the same scene from their respective points of view, filling out some backstories in the process. These characters are meant to be relatable—and maybe they are, if only Gen Z is the target audience—but the dialogue writing tends to bog down the series.” Read the rest of Saloni Gajjar’s pre-air review.
Presidential Address To The Nation (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, streaming; 8 p.m.): If you’re wondering why Clarice starts at 10:20, it’s because all regularly scheduled network programming has been shuffled about to accommodate President Biden’s first prime-time address to the nation, which press secretary Jen Psaki said would focus on “the many sacrifices the American people have made over the last year and the grave loss communities and families across the country have suffered.”
Wild cards
Cake(FXX, 10 p.m., fourth-season premiere, back-to-back episodes): FXX’sengaging, inventive short-form series returns with “Ask, Believe, Receive” and “Here, There & Nowhere.” This season’s episodes will each be anchored by one of Peter Huang’s Nine Films About Technology, which the network describes as “loosely connected and darkly comedic live-action stories about human relationships in this modern age of smartphones, social media, and connectivity.”
Desus & Mero (Showtime, 11 p.m.): Is there a universe in which you don’t want to see what these two have to say about Oprah’s “What?”
