Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists | Monday, 8 p.m., HBO

The boozy, brawling days of New York tabloids are vividly evoked in the documentary “Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists,” a portrait of columnists Jimmy Breslin, who died in 2017 at age 88, and Pete Hamill, 83. They wrote for the New York Daily News and the New York Post. They were both Irish kids, one from Queens (Breslin), the other Brooklyn (Hamill), who transcended their extremely humble beginnings to become masters of their craft and celebrities in their own right. As co-director Jonathan Alter puts it, “They were there for every big story of the second half of the 20th century, between 1950 and 2001.” That included assassinations (the Kennedy brothers, Malcolm X), crime figures (Son of Sam, Bernhard Goetz), urban horrors (AIDS, the Crown Heights riots) and terrorist attacks (9/11).

Alter, 61, spoke to The Post by telephone from New Jersey, where he lives with his family.

How long did it take you to make the film? Some of the on-camera contributors are no longer with us.

We started in the summer of 2015. We interviewed 45 people and have one of the very last interviews with Tom Wolfe and Les Payne, the great African-American columnist.

How did Breslin and Hamill change journalism?

They personified an era when print journalists could be swashbuckling figures. It’s unimaginable now. Could you imagine a print journalist (Hamill) dating the most famous woman in the world (Jackie Onassis) and a top Hollywood star (Shirley MacLaine) at the same time? Or hosting “Saturday Night Live” (Breslin)? Before Woodward and Bernstein, Jimmy was the most famous journalist in America. He showed that you could write novelistically in a newspaper using facts. Breslin’s column, “A Death in Emergency Room One,” about the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination, blew the doors off journalism.

As far as Pete Hamill goes, he showed that even if you are a high-school dropout you can educate yourself. His stories are rich in the beauty of the English language.

They were stars, for sure. But was stardom good for journalism?

Journalism is big enough to have worker bees and queen bees. When I was in high school, Woodward and Bernstein became famous [because of “All The President’s Men”]. They inspired other people to get into the business.

Breslin achieved another level of fame when serial killer Son of Sam started writing to him at the Daily News. How do you think that relationship would be viewed today?

It was controversial at the time. Now Jimmy would get hammered on Twitter. People would say, “You’re doing this to promote yourself.” “These people are dead.” “You’re not helping the police that much.”

Did either Breslin or Hamill comment on the decline of newspapers?

We talked to them about that. I think Jimmy felt like good storytelling would find its place. Gloria Steinem sounds an optimistic note at the end. We didn’t want the film to be a journalism seminar. We tried to make it fast-paced and entertaining.

And here’s what else to watch this week:

Rent | Sunday, 8 p.m., Fox

This is a live production of Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer prize-winning Broadway musical, based on “La Boheme.” Brandon Victor Dixon, who stole “Jesus Christ Superstar,” from John Legend last year on NBC, stars along with Vanessa Hudgens and Jordan Fisher.

Roswell, New Mexico | Tuesday, 9 p.m., The CW

After uncovering some info about Max (Nathan Parsons), Liz (Jeanine Mason) runs some tests to gauge the extent of his powers.

A Million Little Things | Thursday, 9 p.m., ABC

Delilah (Stephanie Szostak) struggles to keep the house, while Ashley (Christina Ochoa) has a secret meeting with someone who may be able to help. Maggie (Allison Miller) receives a medical update.

Will (Eric McCormack), Karen (Megan Mullally) and Jack (Sean Hayes) unknowingly take a hallucinogenic drug. A long, strange trip awaits this trio.

True Detective | Sunday, 9 p.m., HBO

Hays (Mahershala Ali) and West (Stephen Dorff) connect the Purcell crime to the local church. As the detectives search for one suspect and round up another for interrogation, Vietnam vet Woodard (Michael Greyeyes) is targeted by a vigilante group.

I Am the Night | Monday, 9 p.m., TNT

Series premiere. Fauna Hodel (India Eisley), who was given away by her teenage birth mother, crosses paths with a Hollywood gynecologist (Jefferson Mays). Chris Pine co-stars as a Jim Rockford-style journalist who gets beat up while on the job.

The Masked Singer | Wednesday, 9 p.m., Fox

The remaining disguised C-list “singers” perform numbers with “touchy-feely clues.” Host Nick Cannon welcomes this B-list panel: Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke.