‘Resident Alien’ and an Alien Baby, ‘Dance’ Finale, ‘Court Night Live,’ Adventures of Baby Groot

10/9c

Harry (the hilarious Alan Tudyk), the alien in human’s clothing, has company as Season 2 resumes with a newly hatched and alarmingly hungry alien baby on the loose. The considerable humor in this episode is leavened by the emotional fallout from Asta (Sara Tomko) gunning down Harry’s stalker. Harry is also recovering from a gunshot wound, musing, “I do not like this human feeling of being almost dead.” He is even less thrilled about having to play marriage counselor to “Mayor Snowflake” Ben (Levi Fiehler) and his wife (Meredith Garretson): “I was doing math problems in my head just to pass the time.” I missed Harry.

Season Finale

9/8c

No one can accuse the winner of this dance competition of coasting to the finish line. In the season finale, contemporary dancer Keaton Kermode and latin/ballroom dancer Alexis Warr fight for the “America’s Favorite Dancer” crown, performing five numbers each in a variety of styles. The winner takes home $100,000.

Series Premiere

9/8c

The network that created, then canceled, Live PD (now reinvented as On Patrol: Live on Reelz) turns to the courtroom for a new series that presents civil cases litigated in real-time before community members in pop-up courtrooms in Philadelphia, Tampa, and Chicago. For some cases, viewers will be able to weigh in and vote on the verdicts from home through text messages. (Does this remind anyone of the chaotic fictional court presided over by a manic Mandy Patinkin on the most recent season of The Good Fight?) Court TV’s Vinnie Politan and Emmy-winning TV Judge Greg Mathis are the hosts, with retired judge Vonda Evans providing analysis and context to the proceedings. Let’s hope for order in these courts.

Series Premiere

Watch your back, Baby Yoda. The adorable sapling from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise gets his own series of five animated shorts, with Vin Diesel (the original Groot) voicing Baby Groot as he takes root in our imagination with whimsical animated misadventures. Bradley Cooper reprises his role as raccoon bounty hunter Rocket, acting as Groot’s surrogate father.

Inside Wednesday TV:

• MasterChef (8/7c, Fox): Season 3 winner Christine Ha returns with a “mystery box” she curated, presenting it to the remaining contestants, who must then create a Vietnamese dish using every ingredient in the box.
• Supersenses (8/7c, Smithsonian Channel): A three-part nature docuseries provides fascinating insight into the heightened senses of animals, helping them survive and thrive in the wild. The first episode deals with “Super Sight” among caribou, dragonflies and more.
• Wellington Paranormal (9/8c, The CW): Aaayy! The ghost of Happy Days’ Fonzie apparently lives on Down Under in New Zealand, when the latest assignment for the paranormal cops involves a haunted leather jacket that makes any wearer instantly cool. Which would be a new experience for hapless officers Minogue and O’Leary.
• Locke & Key (streaming on Netflix): The supernatural family thriller drops a third season, with a new threat targeting the Lockes in Keyhouse with an eye on those magical keys. The streamer also doubles down on reality TV with the premiere of Instant Dream Home, in which surprise home renovations are accomplished in a single day, and a second season of Indian Matchmaking.