The last we saw of Vincent Kartheiser — Pete Campbell of “Mad Men” — he was climbing aboard a Learjet on the way to a new job. In the miniseries “Saints & Strangers” (National Geographic, 9 p.m.), he’s on a much slower means of transportation, the Mayflower, a ship headed from England to Virginia that drifts instead north to Massachusetts.
There, on the way to the first Thanksgiving, there is much hardship, death, skirmishes with the natives, building a community with a cast that has glimpses of other familiar faces beneath the beards and costumes including Ron Livingston, Ray Stevenson, Natascha McElhone, Brian F. O’Byrne and Anna Camp. There is an attempt in bringing authenticity to the story, including the use of an ancient native language expressed with subtitles. But the whole thing is shot in South Africa, so that undercuts some of the geographic reality. Still, a better effort than most in telling the story, which concludes Monday.
Is this still a big thing? The American Music Awards (ABC, 8 p.m.) are held in Los Angeles and surprises may be low with Taylor Swift with six nominations, followed by Ed Sheehan and the Weekend with five each. Jennifer Lopez hosts the event, which offers performances from Coldplay, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Carrie Underwood, Ariana Grande, Walk the Moon, One Direction, Nick Jonas, 5 Seconds of Summer, Gwen Stefani, Justin Bieber, Alanis Morissette. Also: Celine Dion will sing Piaf to mark the attacks in Paris. E! is sufficiently moved to supply red carpet coverage at 6 p.m.
Disney continues to dilute its catalog with lesser sequels, hence “The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar” (Disney, 7 p.m.) which follows the animated adventures of Simba’s cub. Circle of shelf life and all that. James Earl Jones and Eddie Sabella reprise their voices from the big screen movie, joining in to voice new characters are Gabrielle Union, Rob Lowe and Sarah Hyland. A TV series based on the movie starts next year.
Two interesting documentaries are on cable tonight: “20 Feet From Stardom” (OWN, 9 p.m.), about the lives of backup singers, from Merry Clayton to Darlene Love, which was a hit at theaters and on streaming services; and Kirby Dick’s “The Hunting Ground” (CNN, 8 p.m.), covering sexual assault crisis on college campuses. It’s followed by a roundtable discussion, “Sexual Assault on Campus” (CNN, 9:54 p.m.).
Sunday Night Football has Cincinnati at Arizona (NBC, 8:30 p.m.). Earlier games include Washington at Carolina (Fox, 1 p.m.), Kansas City at San Diego (CBS, 4 p.m.) and Green Bay at Minnesota (Fox. 4 p.m.).
The new “Daily Show” host shows his stand-up comedy skills in the slightly out of date “Trevor Noah: Lost in Translation” (Comedy Central, 10 p.m.).
Carrie seeks help from the woman who put her on a kill list on “Homeland” (Showtime, 9 p.m.).
A new choreographer takes over on “Flesh and Bone” (Starz, 8 p.m.).
Abortion is the topic on a case on “The Good Wife” (CBS, 9 p.m.).
Lisa becomes a Broadway star on a new episode of “The Simpsons” (Fox, 8 p.m.).
Not sure this is the right time to raise tensions with Russia on the fictional “Madam Secretary” (CBS, 8 p.m.).
Kevin is getting a little sick of Patti hanging around on “The Leftovers” (HBO, 9 p.m.).
“A Raisin in the Sun” (TCM, 8 p.m.) is followed by a “Duel in the Sun” (TCM, 10:15 p.m.).
So much to tackle on “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO, 11:02 p.m.).
Peace comes to Alexandria on “The Walking Dead” (AMC, 9 p.m.), but probably not for long.
“Into the Badlands” (AMC, 10 p.m.) had quite a large premiere last week. Its presence means “Talking Dead” (AMC, 11 p.m.) is delayed for an hour.
“The Affair” (Showtime, 10 p.m.) is really finding its footing as the time seems to step up. By now Noah’s book is a big hit and he has to struggle with fame.
The opulent “Indian Summers” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings) concludes with a two hour finale.
Rhea Perlman plays demanding cancer patient with a history of daring escapes causes problems on “Getting On” (HBO, 10:05 p.m.).
Considering the title, the cast on “The Last Man on Earth” (Fox, 9:30 p.m.) has certainly gotten big.
Men’s college hoops include Harvard at Boston College (ESPNU, 12:30 p.m.), Georgetown vs. Duke (ESPN, 1 p.m.), Minnesota vs. Texas Tech (ESPNU, 2:30 p.m.), Wisconsin vs. VCU (ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.), Temple vs. Utah (ESPNU, 4:30 p.m.), Yale at SMU (ESPNews, 4:30 p.m.), Akron at Villanova (Fox Sports 1, 4:30 p.m.), Purdue vs. Florida (ESPN2, 5:30 p.m.), Tulsa vs. Indiana State (CBS Sports, 6:30 pm.), Oklahoma State vs. Long Beach State (ESPNU, 7 p.m.), Butler vs. Miami (ESPN2, 7:30 p.m.), Hofstra vs. South Carolina (CBS Sports, 9 p.m.), Virginia vs. George Mason (ESPN2, 9:30 p.m.) and Stanford at Saint Mary’s (ESPNU, 11 p.m.).
In women’s games, it’s Baylor vs. DePaul (CBS Sports, 3 p.m.) in the WNIT championship game.
NBA action includes Golden State at Denver (ESPN, 8 p.m.) and Portland at Lakers (NBA, 9:30 p.m.).
In hockey, Islanders at Montreal (NHL, 7 p.m.).
Sunday Talk
ABC: Ben Carson, Donald Trump, Martin O’Mally, Reps. Keith Ellison and Martha McSally. CBS: Rand Paul, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Rep. Michael McCaul, Brett McGurk, presidential envoy for the global coalition to counter ISIS. NBC: John Katich, Defense Secretary Leon Pancetta, New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton. CNN: Chris Christie, Reps. Devin Nunes and Marsha Blackburn, former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Fox News: Marco Rubio.