ShareThisTracey Ullman is back with a new array of characters for the second season of "Tracey Ullman's State of the Union."
She'll be doing her own spin on Renee Zellweger, Seth Rogan, Laura Bush and J.K. Rowling. Ullman also has an arsenal of characters she's created especially for the sketch show (returning 10 p.m. EDT Sunday, Showtime). Among them is Padma Perkesh, an East Indian pharmacist working in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Ullman doesn't profess to know much about Oak Ridge. "We just loved the name," Ullman says.
As Padma, she advises customers before breaking out into a Bollywood production number.
If the idea of placing a Bollywood singer and dancer in Oak Ridge sounds random, well, it is. "We looked at a map ... and said, 'Let's place (a character) there,' " Ullman says.
She had considered not bringing the character back for the second season, but had second thoughts.
"I had so much fun with her," she says. "I love the singing and dancing of it. I couldn't let it go. I have figured out a way for her to interact more with the local (characters) that comes into the pharmacy."
Other highlights for the week of April 12-18 (all times EDT; listings subject to change; check local listings):
SUNDAY
-- "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" (9 p.m., HBO). Precious goes undercover when a man is suspected of poisoning his family.
MONDAY
-- "Doing da Vinci" (10 p.m., Discovery Channel). The legacy of the iconic inventor is examined, with a team from today attempting to build one of his weapons.
TUESDAY
-- "Deadliest Catch" (9 p.m., Discovery Channel). The crew faces storms as it searches for a ship that sank.
WEDNESDAY
-- "Kathy Griffin" (9 p.m., Bravo). The comedian returns with another standup special.
SATURDAY
-- "Grey Gardens" (8 p.m., HBO). Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange play eccentric relatives living in an old house and refusing to leave.
(E-mail Terry Morrow of The Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee at morrow2(at)knews.com.)
TV HILIGHTS
