‘Law & Order’ Returns, ‘Grey’s Crossover Crisis, All in the ‘Ghosts’ Family, New Frontier for ‘Discovery’

Season Premiere

8/7c

One of the Shows That Changed Television, Dick Wolf’s bifurcated procedural that begat a cottage industry, returns after a 12-year absence with its ripped-from-the-headlines approach undiminished. Sam Waterston leads the cast as DA Jack McCoy, and veteran Det. Kevin Bernard (Anthony Anderson, post-black-ish) is now paired with combative Det. Frank Cosgrove (Burn Notice’s Jeffrey Donovan) as they investigate the murder of an entertainer (Broadway star Norm Lewis) whose rap (rape) sheet echoes that of a former “America’s dad.” As the formula dictates, the police hand off the story to the prosecutors at midpoint, introducing Homeland’s Hugh Dancy as ADA Nolan Price, who makes a high-minded decision that could hurt the case he’s taking to court with ADA Samantha Maroun (Odelya Halevi). Thursdays on NBC are now wall-to-wall Law & Order, with the rebooted original followed by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (9/8c), where Rollins (Kelli Giddish) and Carisi (Peter Scanavino) consider taking their relationship public; and Law & Order: Organized Crime (10/9c), with the squad handling a series of bomb threats.

9/8c

Back from a two-month hiatus, the long-running medical drama crosses over with first-responder spinoff Station 19 (8/7c) as both crews tend to a fallen colleague: Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd), who in December’s literal cliffhanger was last seen sliding down a ravine inside a car. In the first hour, the Station 19 team (now working under a new chief) comes to Owen’s rescue, and in the second hour, his Grey Sloan colleagues try to save him. It’s a busy hour at the Seattle hospital, with Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) also working to keep alive her Parkinson’s mentor and trial subject, Dr. Hamilton (Peter Gallagher), while Levi (Jake Borelli) reels from losing a patient using the “Webber Method” and Link (Chris Carmack) confronts Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) about her relationship with Parkinson’s lab partner Kai (E.R. Rightmaster).

8:30/7:30c

The more we watch, the more we learn about the colorful ghosts in this first-rate comedy. The focus now falls on Native American spirit Sasappis (Román Zaragoza), who was destined to be a storyteller before his untimely passing centuries ago. He hopes to use his way with words and images to help Sam (Rose McIver) polish the B&B’s website, but complications ensue. In flashbacks, Zaragoza’s father Gregory Zaragoza portrays Sasappis’ father, Naxasi. Another bonding exercise is threatened when Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) abandons his hoops-watching ghost buddy Pete (Richie Moriarty) for a flesh-and-blood alternative, and the former scoutmaster can’t see how much hippie ghost and fellow basketball fan Flower (Sheila Carrasco) wants to get in on the game.

“Frontiers are always cool,” remarks Saru (Doug Jones) as the Discovery crew prepares to enter uncharted territory—or as Capt. Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) puts it, “Going where no one has gone before.” If that’s not a classic Star Trek moment, what is? The ship’s risky mission: traversing the Galactic Barrier in an attempt to make first contact with the unknown species behind the destructive anomaly (now threatening Earth). Rogue fugitives Book (David Ajala) and Tarka (Shawn Doyle) are on their own quest, which brings back painful and hopeful memories for Tarka, whose reckless actions may have endangered the entire galaxy.

Inside Thursday TV:

• Young Sheldon (8/7c, CBS): The young genius (Iain Armitage) may have met his match at East Texas Tech, when he crosses academic swords with Dr. Carol Lee (The Book of Boba Fett’s Ming-Na Wen), the school’s new director of experimental cosmology.
• Undercover Underage (9/8c, Investigation Discovery): Previously seen on discovery+, this true-crime docuseries follows child advocate Roo Powell, who at 38 uses a wig, fake braces, a higher voice and a staged bedroom for video calls to expose online predators who think she’s 15.
• B Positive (9:30/8:30c, CBS): A member of the Chuck Lorre repertory company, Rondi Reed (Mike & Molly), guests as Norma’s (Linda Lavin) much ruder sister, Irene, who clashes with Gina (Annaleigh Ashford) when she arrives at Valley Hills.
• Big Sky (10/9c, ABC): Back from a winter break, the Western crime drama picks up with Cassie (Kylie Burbury) grieving the murder of her father Joseph (Jeffrey Joseph), seeking answers to a whodunit we already know—that deranged serial killer Ronald Pergman (Brian Geraghty) killed her dad. Now it’s really personal.
• Bull (10/9c, CBS): Bull’s (Michael Weatherly) personal life spills into the professional when he’s unexpectedly greeted by Jacob Bull (Patrick Mulvey), the brother from whom he’s been estranged for 13 years.
• Raised by Wolves (streaming on HBO Max): The sci-fi drama feels more like a horror movie when a terrifying intruder disrupts Marcus’ (Travis Fimmel) exploration of a newly discovered temple, while back on base, Sue (Niamh Algar) goes to dangerous extremes to save young Paul (Felix Jamieson).
• Love, Tom (streaming on Paramount+): An inspirational performance piece by country singer-songwriter Tom Douglas, based on a 2014 acceptance speech he gave at the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, features renditions of his biggest hits (including “Grown Men Don’t Cry” and “The House That Built Me”) with their backstories.
• Beyond Ed Buck (streaming on ALLBLK): A true-crime documentary analyzes the deaths of two gay Black men, Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean, and their killer, political donor Ed Buck, found guilty of supplying both men with fatal doses of methamphetamine. The special uses this tragedy to illuminate the dangers facing the Black and Brown LGBTQ+ community with systemic homophobia putting them further at risk of predators and drug use.
• Wasteland (streaming on Paramount+): In an alarming four-part docuseries, CBS News correspondent/executive producer Adam Yamaguchi explores the environmental challenges faced in parts of the country where waste (from raw sewage, coastal climate change, inadequate infrastructure and, in Iowa, excess pig waste) threatens water supplies and people’s homes.