It’s the busiest night of the year for fact checkers: the 2026 State of the Union Address (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS, CNN, CSPAN, MSNBC, 9 p.m.) from a bloviator who probably doesn’t need a microphone and sports a 60 percent disapproval rating.
Lots of Democrats have pledged not to go at all; which is better than yelling out or hoisting little signs. Others will appear at the People’s State of the Union (streaming at moveon.org/live and Indivisible’s YouTube channel, 8:30 p.m.), from the National Mall. Hosted by Joy Reid and Katie Phang, it features Sens. Chris Van Hollen, Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley, Chris Murphy and Tina Smith, among others. The official Democratic response to the State of the Union will be issued by newly elected Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger.
Comedians will parse the main speech for the usual inaccuracies, exaggerations, zingers and ironies in the days to come. Late night shows tonight with special live shows will get the first shot, though. For “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS, 11:35 p.m.) it will be historic for another reason: it will be the last live show from Colbert (above), who has to leave his show in three months for reasons that can be traced directly to the one doing the State of the Union address. Also with a live show and immediate response tonight will be “JImmy Kimmel Live” (ABC, 11:35 a.m.), whose host has been the target of the administration’s FCC loyalists.
Spike Lee and Kristin Chenoweth learn about their ancestors on “Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” (PBS, 8 p.m., check local listings).
“Vanderpump Rules” (Bravo, 9 p.m.) throws a Pride Parade.
Cheating rumors continue to dog Salma on “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” (MTV, 8 p.m.).
“Fixer to Fabulous” (HGTV, 8 p.m.) ends its 12th season. So everything must be fabulous.
Wine that’s been turned to moonshine is judged on “Moonshiners: Master Distiller” (Discovery, 9 p.m.).
“Moonshiners” (Discovery, 8 p.m.) looks up a Kentucky kingpin.
Reckoning day approaches on “Suddenly Amish” (TLC, 10 p.m.).
Turner Classic Movies’ 31 Days of Oscar collects remakes tonight with “Gaslight” (8 p.m.), “Imitation of Life” (10 p.m.), “The Magnificent Seven” (12:15 a.m.), “A Star is Born” (2:30 a.m.) and “Show Boat” (5 a.m.).
During the day are Oscar-winning or -nominated films about historical figures, with “Viva Villa!” (6:30 a.m.), “Rasputin and the Empress” (8:30 a.m.), “The Private Life of Henry VIII” (10:45 a.m.), “Marie Antoinette” (12:30 p.m.), “Julius Caesar” (3:15 p.m.) and “Sunrise at Campobello” (5:30 p.m.).
NBA action has Knicks at Cleveland (Peacock, 7:30 p.m.) and Minnesota at Portland (Peacock, 10 p.m.).
Spring baseball has Detroit at Atlanta (MLB, 1:05 p.m.), Yankees at Toronto (MLB, 1:07 p.m.), and Angels at Colorado (MLB, 3:10 p.m.).
Men’s college basketball includes Duke at Notre Dame (ESPN, 7 p.m.), Cincinnati at Texas Tech (ESPN2, 7 p.m.), West Virginia at Oklahoma State (CBS Sports, 7 p.m.), Northwestern at Indiana (Fox Sports 1, 7 p.m.), Marquette at Georgetown (Peacock, 7 p.m.), Xavier at Providence (TNT, truTV, 7:30 p.m.), Arizona at Baylor (ESPN2, 9 p.m.), Iowa State at Utah (Fox Sports 1, 9 p.m.), Arizona State at TCU (CBS Sports, 9 p.m.), Auburn at Oklahoma (ESPNU, 9 p.m.), UCF at BYU (ESPN2, 11 p.m.), New Mexico at Nevada (CBS Sports, 11 p.m.) and USC at UCLA (Fox Sports 1, 11 p.m.).
Daytime Talk
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos: Neve Campbell, Jeff Probst, Chloe Kim. The View: Teyana Taylor, Priyanka Chopra Jones. Kelly Clarkson: Tracy Morgan, Ryan Michelle Bathe, Hilarie Burton Morgan, Filmore. Drew Barrymore: Alicia Keys, Oliver Hudson, Tiffany Haddish. Jennifer Hudson: Lizzo, Zara Larsson, Laila Edwards. Tamron Hall: Aldis Hodge, Isiah Mustfa, Gabriella Carr.
Late Talk
Stephen Colbert: John Dickerson, Mitski. Jimmy Kimmel: Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer, Tommy Vietor, Linda Perry. Jimmy Fallon: Courteney Cox, Jeff Probst, James Blake. Seth Meyers: Jerry Slate, Michael Vignola. Daily Show: Padma Lakshmi.