Star gazing

For the sixth time, some of Hollywood’s biggest names will “Stand Up to Cancer” in a one-hour telethon airing on all four major networks and many cable outlets. Bradley Cooper, Mahershala Ali, Reese Witherspoon and Kathy Bates are among the celebrities appearing in this live event.

7 p.m. Friday, various channels

There goes the neighborhood

Jim Carrey plays a creepy Mister Rogers-like character in “Kidding,” his first TV series in two decades. Watching a seemingly nice guy slowly fall apart — divorce, the death of a child and working with puppets will do that to you — is a process we’ve seen many times on TV. What does feel new is Frank Langella as a father/executive producer who firmly believes ratings are thicker than blood. Michel Gondry, who teamed up with Carrey on “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” directed the first two episodes.

New newlyweds

Ashlee Simpson slips on big sister Jessica’s boots in “Ashlee + Evan,” a clear attempt to copy the success of “Newlyweds: Jessica and Nick.” Ashlee has a hard time filling the “dumb blonde” role (I’m pretty sure she knows what Chicken of the Sea consists of) but the six-part series does include some fleeting glimpses of mother-in-law Diana Ross.

9 p.m. Sunday, E!

Small minded

Amsterdam comes across as the gloomiest place on Earth in “The Miniaturist,” a three-part series set in the Dutch Republic in 1686, a time and place where sugar was considered a sin and homosexuality could lead to public execution. The story, based on Jessie Burton’s novel, should have been told in one 90-minute movie.

8 p.m. Sunday, TPT, Ch. 2

Neal Justin