The CW continues shrinking its DC Comics footprint with the finales of Superman & Lois (which will return) and Gotham Knights (which won’t). PBS’ American Experience explores the curious history of Casa Susanna, a Catskills resort where cross-dressing men found safe haven in the 1950s and ’60s. Performance artist Taylor Mac’s epic “24-Decade History of Popular Music” concert is captured in an HBO documentary.
Shane Harvey/The CW
Superman & Lois
After this week, Superman & Lois will be the only remaining show from the DC-branded universe on the network, which has radically shifted programming strategy since being sold to new owners. In the Season 3 finale, all of Smallville gathers to observe a meteor shower, perfect timing for Lex Luthor (Michael Cudlitz, one of the few who’ll be a full-time regular next season) to make his move.
Amanda Mazonkey/The CW
Gotham Knights
This spinoff from the Batman world wasn’t so lucky, canceled after just one season. In what is now the series finale, the teenage Knights come to terms with their new identity as Gotham’s protectors. But what of do-gooder DA Harvey Dent (Misha Collins), who’s faced with a life-changing decision. Will he finally be driven to become the villainous Two-Face—or was that something that was planned for a future season that’s no longer in the cards?
PBS
Casa Susanna
Dramatized in a play (Casa Valentina) by Harvey Fierstein, the true story of Casa Susanna becomes a fascinating installment of American Experience. Director Sébastien Lifshitz’s film tells the little-known story of a retreat in New York’s Catskills where transgender women and cross-dressing men, many of them heterosexual and married (sometimes with their wives in tow), could be themselves in the repressive 1950s and ’60s. With limited archival footage, much of the house’s history is revealed in the reflections of Diana and Kate, two of those whose lives were changed by their visits there. They return to the property decades later, along with family members of others connected to the home, to remember Susanna Valenti, a former military man whose alter ego ran the house.
Courtesy of HBO
Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music
Performance artist Taylor Mac had a dream that was realized in 2016 with a one-time-only 24-hour theatrical extravaganza, staged at Brooklyn’s St. Ann’s Warehouse. There, Taylor gave an eccentric and flamboyant take on 240 years of American history through popular songs of the time, transforming himself in elaborate period costumes by collaborator Machine Dazzle. Excerpts of the marathon show are interspersed with backstage interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of Dazzle’s dazzling and museum-worthy designs.
INSIDE TUESDAY TV:
- Daughter of the Bride (8/7c, Fox): In a twist on the romcom movie formula, it’s the daughter (Halston Sage) who is uneasy with her mom’s (Marcia Gay Harden) new romance, setting out to sabotage her nuptials with the new guy (Aidan Quinn). Will she be too obsessed to realize her own perfect match (Andrew Richardson) is right next door?
- America’s Got Talent (8/7c, NBC): A fifth batch of performers auditions in hopes of securing that all-important Golden Buzzer.
- How I Met Your Father (streaming on Hulu): The gang tries to go a full day without their cell phones, which may be one reason that the episode is titled “Out of Sync.” (The real reason: the guest-star cameos of NSYNC boy-band veterans Lance Bass and Joey Fatone as themselves.)