Tune in Tonight: Elisabeth Moss gets gothic in Hulu’s 'Shirley'

Few actresses have ascended so quickly in such memorably good shows as Elisabeth Moss. She quickly went from President Bartlet's daughter on "The West Wing" to the overachieving Peggy on "Mad Men." And she's hardly looked back, appearing in Jane Campion's "Top of the Lake" series and, of course, Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale," as well as acclaimed horror movies "Us" and "Invisible Man."

She appears now in the 2020 speculative psychodrama "Shirley," currently streaming on Hulu. In it, Moss plays novelist Shirley Jackson ("The Haunting of Hill House," "The Lottery") who hosts a young couple only to find that the disintegration of their marriage provides fodder for her next work of gothic horror.

Released at the Sundance Film Festival, "Shirley" has received generally favorable reviews. It is one of many 2020 films to go directly to a streaming service.

— Tom Hanks stars as Fred Rogers in the 2019 drama "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" (8 p.m., Starz). He also portrayed Walt Disney in "Saving Mr. Banks." It's almost cliche to say that Hanks has played too many nice guys at the expense of more complicated roles. But that doesn't make it untrue.

He's played a Pixar cowboy toy, Forrest Gump, the guy who saved "Private Ryan," an astronaut and a widower left "Sleepless in Seattle." I liked his imperfect, hard-drinking character in "Charlie Wilson's War." But even in that he emerges a prophetic hero.

Contrast Hanks with his acting contemporary Gary Oldman, who made a reputation for playing Sid Vicious, Lee Harvey Oswald, Dracula, an evil terrorist in "Air Force One" and a deranged pimp in "True Romance" in fairly quick succession. Oldman's walks on the dark side allowed him to bring a remarkable gravitas to his performance as Winston Churchill in "Darkest Hour."

Hanks has contended that he doesn't think he could muster the malevolence to play a true villain. But everybody knows villains offer the greatest roles. I can't help feeling he's shortchanging himself and his audience.— Another Sundance premiere to go directly to streaming, the 2020 documentary "We Are Freestyle Love Supreme" debuts on Hulu. "Love" documents the 15-year history of a hip-hop improv group founded by Lin-Manuel Miranda before he became famous for the Broadway hits "In the Heights" and "Hamilton."

— Amazon Prime begins streaming the Spanish-language crime drama "El Presidente." Don't let the title fool you, the title in the title isn't a political position but that of the head of the Argentinian soccer league, arguably among the most powerful and prestigious positions in the country.

— Cinemax doesn't deviate from its brand. You know where you can find kinetic action, almost ceaseless violence and gratuitous sex. Set in Cape Town and based on a book by South African novelist Deon Meyer, "Trackers" (10 p.m., Cinemax, TV-MA) offers a tale of motorcycle mayhem, smuggling, terror and gun battles galore.

— The voice actors behind a durable cartoon hit offer a table read of their favorite lines and scenes on "The Stars of SpongeBob Fan Favorites Special" (7 p.m., Nickelodeon, TV-Y7).

TONIGHT'S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

— Five days into June, some are on the "Road to Christmas" (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).

— "Live From Lincoln Center" (9 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings) repeats a performance of the Broadway musical "Falsettos" from 2017.

— A sociopath may have key evidence on "Blue Bloods" (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).

CULT CHOICE

— People who think our current hard times leave no room for comedy should recall that during the depths of the Great Depression, the Marx Brothers created and starred in "Monkey Business" (8 p.m., TCM, TV-G), "Horse Feathers" (9:30 p.m., TV-G), "Animal Crackers" (10:45 p.m., TV-G) and "Duck Soup" (12:30 a.m.).

SERIES NOTES

Nobody's vault on "MacGyver" (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) ... Jennifer Lopez, Derek Hough and Ne-Yo judge on "World of Dance" (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) ... "WWE Friday Night SmackDown" (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) ... The proof is in the polenta on "Shark Tank" (8 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) ... Dean Cain hosts "Masters of Illusion" (8 p.m. CW, TV-PG), followed by a repeat episode.

Unmasking the White Knight on "Magnum P.I." (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) ... "The Wall" (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) ... "20/20" (9 p.m., ABC) ... Improvisations on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., r, CW, TV-14) ... "Dateline" (10 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).

LATE NIGHT

Jimmy Fallon welcomes Gordon Ramsay, Maude Apatow and Jimmy Buffett on "The Tonight Show" (11:35 p.m., NBC) ... RuPaul, Stacey Abrams, Maria Bamford and Elijah Wood visit "Late Night With Seth Meyers" (12:35 a.m., NBC, r).