Overpraised and over-awarded, the first season of Mike White’s “The White Lotus” (HBO, 9 p.m.) was nonetheless pretty entertaining with a solid cast even if it didn’t always ad up. The series is back again, at another hotel (the Lotus is an international franchise apparently), this one in Sicily.
The guests are mostly Americans and the one returning face is the best one — Jennifer Coolidge and her new husband. Otherwise we have Aubrey Plaza being uptight, F. Murray Abraham and Michael Imperioli as part of a trio seeking Sicilian roots. And there’s a minor murder mystery meant to be forgotten about. The staff plays less of a role, though there are a couple of local working women who enliven things. It’s mostly fun TV once more, but still far from being great art.
Part of the fun of the “White Lotus” is the beautiful scenery, which is also one of the selling points of another popular cable offering at that hour: “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” (CNN, 9 p.m.), already having its second season finale. Did his passport expire?
Season finales also come on “American Gigolo” (Showtime, 9 p.m.) and “The Serpent Queen” (Starz, 8 p.m.), their first; and “War of the Worlds” (Epix, 9 p.m.), its third.
The calendar allows “The Simpsons” (Fox, 8 p.m.) to have a timely Halloween-eve “”Treehouse of Horror XXXIII,” where Marge’s resentment takes monstrous form and Lisa tries to save the planet through murder.
Sunday Night Football has Green Bay at Buffalo (NBC, 8:20 p.m.). Other games begin early with Denver vs. Jacksonville (ESPN+, streaming) from London’s Wembley Stadium. Other games include Pittsburgh at Philadelphia (CBS, 1 p.m.), Chicago at Dallas (Fox, 1 p.m.) and Washington at Indianapolis (Fox, 4:25 p.m.).