What’s Worth Watching: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘The Big Bang Theory’, ‘Pitch’ and more for Thursday, November 17
Grey’s Anatomy (8/7c, ABC): In the hospital drama’s last episode of the calendar year, Alex (Justin Chambers) is facing an uncertain future, career-wise and personally, as he prepares himself for a stint behind bars after the assault on DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti). Dr. Webber (James Pickens Jr.) is also feeling the heat, and confronts Bailey (Chandra Wilson) about the constant presence of new teaching consultant Eliza (Marika Dominczyk). Don’t expect everything to be resolved, because something’s got to be left for the second half of the season, which begins Jan. 19, when ABC’s entire “TGIT” Thursday lineup is restored, with Scandal finally returning from a long hiatus resulting from star Kerry Washington’s pregnancy. This is also the turning point for How to Get Away With Murder (10/9c), which will reveal whose body is under the sheet at Annalise’s (Viola Davis) house fire.
The Big Bang Theory (8/7c, CBS): Stephen Hawking returns to this genius sitcom, which finds Sheldon (Jim Parsons) questioning his own bona fides out of jealousy when a fellow Caltech academic (Brian Posehn as Bert the hulking geologist) is awarded a MacArthur Genius fellowship. Also returning: John Ross Bowie, so good as Minnie Driver’s long-suffering husband on ABC’s Speechless, as Sheldon’s snarky nemesis, Kripke.
Transformation (10/9c, MTV): Who doesn’t love a good makeover story? In this hourlong documentary, MTV spotlights six transgender and gender non-conforming youths in Los Angeles as they meet Madin Lopez, a gender non-conforming hair stylist who’s part of ProjectQ, which provides mentoring as well as fashion, make-up and hair makeovers to help their clients embrace their true identity. The special is preceded by a new episode of True Life titled “We Are Transitioning” (9/8c), profiling two couples who are working to stay together while one member of each pair transitions.
Inside Thursday TV: NBC’s regular Thursday lineup is on hiatus for several weeks, with the arrival of Thursday Night Football (8:20/7:20c) pitting the New Orleans Saints against the Carolina Panthers. … A rain delay escalates tension in the clubhouse in Fox’s baseball drama Pitch (9/8c). … The sins of the mothers could be having an impact on the next generation on CBS’s Mom (9/8c), as Christy (Anna Faris) and Bonnie (Allison Janney) freak out when they learn that adorable little Roscoe (Blake Garrett Rosenthal) was caught smoking pot.