
Disney / Gilles Mingasson
Abbott Elementary
The Emmy-winning comedy’s fourth season goes out on a very enjoyable high when the entire school descends upon Philadelphia’s Must Touch Museum for some hands-on fun. For Janine (Quinta Brunson), the field trip is a chance to impress Gregory’s (Tyler James Williams) stern father (Orlando Jones), who volunteered to chaperone — though it means suppressing the “fun Janine” side of her personality. Newly restored principal Ava (Janelle James), who’s not above exploiting her return to authority with some wacky executive orders, brings along her beau O’Shon (Matthew Law), whose generous gift gives her pause. While most of the kids are thrilled with the outing, Jacob’s (Chris Perfetti) jaded eighth graders think the place is “for babies,” until they discover a creative outlet that brings the episode to an uproarious finale. This is Abbott at its best.

Courtesy of BritBox
Towards Zero
This loose adaptation of an Agatha Christie classic opens with a solicitor (Clarke Peters) laying out his theory of a good detective story. “They begin in the wrong place. They begin with the murder. … The murder is the end. The story begins long before, years before, when the murder is seeded. The point zero, if you will.” And so it is as the first chapter of a three-part whodunit sets up the intrigue to come, when 1930s golden-boy tennis star Nevile Strange (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) visits his invalid aunt (Anjelica Huston) at her seaside estate of Gull’s Point, creating an awkward triangle after he arranges for both his ex-wife Audrey (Ella Lily Hyland) and glamorous new wife Kay (Mimi Keene) to be there at the same time, all still recovering from a messy public divorce hearing. Other guests become suspects as well when murders occur, and it’s up to a war-damaged Inspector Leach (a bedraggled Matthew Rhys, not far removed from his Perry Mason persona) to solve the crimes. More episodes drop Thursday and Friday.

Fionn McCann / Starlings Entertainment
Sherlock & Daughter
The great Sherlock Holmes returns to TV in a Victorian-era caper that pairs him with a spunky young American woman who claims to be his daughter. We meet Sherlock, played with optimum fussy arrogance by Fargo and Harry Potter alum David Thewlis, in a moment of crisis, shirking crime scenes for reasons he can’t discuss, though the absence of Dr. Watson factors into it. “These days I cannot even help myself,” he confides in Amelia Rojas (Blu Hunt), whom he first mistakes for hired help. Though they’re often at odds, Holmes sees Amelia as useful, being able to go where he cannot, and before long, the game’s afoot.

Peter Gordon / NBC
Chicago Fire
Firehouse 51 welcomes back its former chief, now Deputy Commissioner Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker) — though it’s anything but a happy reunion. He locks horns with Chief Pascal (Dermot Mulroney) during a tough interrogation of the 51 crew in the wake of a disastrous firefight that left one of their own in bad shape. Battling fires is harrowing enough, but facing the wrath of Boden is another level of intense.

FOX
The Masked Singer
With this season’s field narrowed to the top two from each group, it’s time for the “merging of the masks” for the Lucky 6: Boogie Woogie, Coral, Mad Scientist Monster, Nessy, Paparazzo, and Pearl. Each costumed contestant takes the stage, answering rapid-fire questions from the panel and singing their hearts out in hopes of moving on.
INSIDE WEDNESDAY TV:
- The Conners (8/7c, ABC): As the sitcom nears its end, Dan (John Goodman) struggles with his feelings about Roseanne’s death while preparing for a deposition.
- Survivor (8/7c, CBS): The castaways are paired up for the immunity challenge, testing bonds and strengthening others. At the challenge reward meal, one player finds an advantage in their food. Followed by The Amazing Race (9:30/8:30c), with teams heading to Bulgaria (a first for the show), where they find a surprise double U-Turn.
- Chicago Med (8/7c, NBC): It’s Naomi’s (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) last day in the ED, and Archer (Steven Weber) gives her a patient to treat on her own.
- Expedition Files (9/8c, Discovery): Josh Gates returns for a second season of tackling historical mysteries, including a new angle on the sinking of the Titanic that suggests a fire in the coal bunker may have contributed to the disaster. He also explores the death of Harry Houdini and lost Civil War gold.
- Nova (9/8c, PBS): The science program investigates “Secrets of the Forest” in locales including Costa Rica, Brazil and Australia in hopes of gaining new insight into climate change and species extinction.
- Chicago P.D. (10/9c, NBC): Voight (Jason Beghe) works with Assistant State’s Attorney Chapman (Sara Bues) to expose Deputy Chief Reid’s (Shawn Hatosy) secret operations.
- Ghost Adventures (10/9c, Discovery): The 29th season opens with a two-hour special, as Zak Bagans and his crew explore California’s infamous “Poltergeist House” to get to the bottom of the so-called curse surrounding the 1982 horror film.
- The Stolen Girl (10/9c, Freeform): Denise Gough stars in a five-part British thriller as Elisa, who learns that her 9-year-old daughter has been kidnapped after letting her sleep over with a new friend.
ON THE STREAM:
- The Studio (streaming on Apple TV+): A war of pranks breaks out on the lot between Quinn (Chase Sui Wonders) and the higher-ranking Sal (Ike Barinholtz), with calamitous consequences.
- Government Cheese (streaming on Apple TV+): David Oyelowo stars in an overly stylized comedy set in 1969 as newly released ex-con Hampton Chambers, who hopes his invention of a self-sharpening drill goes better than his shaky reunion with an oddly detached family. Launches with four episodes.
- No Man’s Land (streaming on Hulu): In Season 2 of the international thriller, Antoine (Félix Moati) joins a group of female Kurdish freedom fighters in ISIS-occupied Syria as he searches for his sister, presumed dead.