Jean Smart is turning in a pretty deft performance on “Mare of Easttown,” but has an even juicier role in the new series “Hacks” (HBO Max, streaming), playing a snarling Vegas comedian whose act is getting stale. Enter young comic (Hannah Einbinder), reluctantly hired as a joke writer. They’re at odds generationally and comedically in a show that’s rather like a distaff version of Judd Apatow’s “Funny People.” There’s more drama than comedy in the result but it’s a pretty good female-led show and Einbinder, the daughter of Laraine Newman (and niece of Paul Newman) is a solid match for Smart.
Another comedy led by women has its final episode as “Mom” (CBS, 9 p.m.) has a series finale after eight years, with Anna Faris returning for the occasion.
From the UK comes the new sci-fi series “Intergalactic” (Peacock, streaming), a kind of futuristic cop drama starring Savannah Steyn as a young officer wrongly convicted of a treasonous crime.
The new “Dark Side of Football” (Vice, 10 p.m.) looks at the violence that follows players around.
The fourth and final season of the animated “Castlevania” (Netflix, streaming), based on the computer game.
The 2020 WNBA season and its commitment to social justice is explored on the documentary “144” (ESPN, 9 p.m.).