No pain, no gain

Hannah Gadsby deserves all the praise she's getting for turning comedy on its head in Netflix's "Nanette," but save some accolades for "Drew Michael," a one-hour special equally determined to expose the pain and self-loathing behind the jokes. Jerrod Carmichael, who gave us one of the best stand-up concerts of 2017, directed this raw, disturbing film without an audience.

9 p.m. Sat., HBO

Scary movie

The title "Ghoul" may suggest a supernatural drama, an assumption backed up by a spooky opening sequence. But the three-part miniseries quickly zeros in on a different kind of horror story, one in which a totalitarian government threatens to make George Orwell's "1984" seem like Disneyland. Originally produced in India with English subtitles.

Now streaming on Netflix

Smile for the camera

Sacha Baron Cohen wraps up his attempt to ridicule both liberals and conservatives — well, mostly conservatives — in "Who Is America?" This series ended up saying more about people's desire to play to the camera than spreading their political beliefs.

9 p.m. Sun., Showtime

Cohen

Neal Justin