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CHARLIE SAYS (2019) 9 p.m. on Showtime. Mary Harron vacillates between prison and movie ranch in “Charlie Says,” her drama about the Charles Manson cult. Though she is best known as the director of the satirical serial-killer study “American Psycho,” Harron here pays relatively little attention to Manson himself (played by Matt Smith), instead focusing on three of his female followers (played by Hannah Murray, Marianne Rendón and Sosie Bacon). That trio tells the story here. The movie shows them both during their time with Manson and after the fact, in prison, where they recount their story to a graduate student (Karlene Faith, played by Merritt Wever). “It’s a tough, difficult story that, anchored by Guinevere Turner’s script, Harron recounts with lucid calm, compassion and intelligent interpretive license,” Manohla Dargis wrote in her review for The New York Times. “She revisits some of the familiar locations, including the dusty California ranch where the Manson family set up house, and she carefully restages some of the murders. For those familiar with the horrific details of those crimes, the movie may seem wholly uninviting, but bear with Harron — she has something to say.”

THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT 11:35 p.m. on CBS. Last week, the Dixie Chicks released the title track of their latest record, “Gaslighter,” which will be the group’s first new album since 2006. They will be interviewed and perform on “The Late Show” on Thursday night in support of that album. Also in the lineup: the author Michael Pollan, who recently released an audiobook about caffeine.

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