A ‘Ghosts’ Séance, New ‘Cribs’ on MTV, ‘Kat’ Mourns Leslie Jordan, Del Toro Salutes Lovecraft

CBS hit Ghosts celebrates Halloween with a séance that conjures a new spirit who’s most unwelcome for Hetty. MTV revives its Cribs franchise with back-to-back episodes. Call Me Kat dedicates this week’s episode to scene-stealer Leslie Jordan, who tragically died earlier this week. Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities anthology features two creepy tales based on stories by the influential H.P. Lovecraft.

Ghosts Season 2 Episode 4 'Halloween 2: The Ghost of Hetty's Past'
CBS

Ghosts

When Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) throw a last-minute Halloween party that’s a dud, Hetty (Rebecca Wisocky) suggests an old-school séance, and lives—if that’s the word—to regret it when the spirit who’s conjured is that of Molly (Hannah Rose May), the Irish maid her despised late husband once dallied with. “How did that floozy get to heaven and not me?” demands Hetty in her patented high dudgeon. A funny subplot involves fussy Isaac’s (Brandon Scott Jones) pungent response to human interaction, a shame he’d like to keep secret from his redcoat beau Nigel (John Hartman).

Cribs

Season Premiere

The voyeuristic MTV phenom returns with back-to-back episodes, inviting viewers to check out the deluxe digs of the rich and sometimes somewhat famous. The first episode opens the doors of Bachelor alums Matt James and Tyler Cameron’s luxury apartment in New York City, the L.A. residence of Miss USA/Miss Universe Olivia Culpo and the Atlanta estate of NBA champ Dwight Howard. Followed by a music-themed episode featuring Masked Singer judge Nicole Scherzinger at home in L.A. and Nashville couple Jessie James Decker and Eric Decker in their countrified chateau.

Leslie Jordan in 'Call Me Kat'

Call Me Kat

The untimely death earlier this week of the beloved Emmy-winning scene stealer Leslie Jordan will be acknowledged with an “in memoriam” during this week’s episode of the show that features the charmingly impish performer as café worker Phil. In a Halloween-themed episode, Phil enjoys time with a possible new love interest. Needless to say, everyone enjoyed time spent with Jordan. He will be missed.

Ken Woroner/Netflix

Cabinet of Curiosities

The lavishly produced horror anthology turns its attention to influential supernatural legend H.P. Lovecraft with two vignettes based on his eerie stories. “Pickman’s Model,” which also inspired a Night Gallery episode back in 1971, stars Westworld’s Ben Barnes as a would-be artist who glimpses madness in the canvases of a fellow painter’s (hammy Crispin Glover) drawings. Twilight’s Catherine Hardwicke directs “Dreams in the Witch House,” headlined by Harry Potter star Rupert Grint as an obsessed student of spiritualism who seeks any weird avenue to reunite with his sister, who died as a child. The episodes are overlong and more ghoulish than truly scary, but there are worse ways to spend the week before Halloween.

Christine Baranski in The Good Fight
Patrick Harbron/CBS

The Good Fight

No show better captures the breakdown of today’s polarized society than this wildly entertaining legal drama. While investigator Jay (Nyambi Nyambi) and Marissa (Sarah Steele) track down the source of the bullets that have been piercing the law firm’s high-rise windows, leaders Ri’chard (Andre Braugher) and Liz (Audra McDonald) try to stem an office exodus after their parent company hits rough international legal waters. “People are confused by our confusion,” Ri’chard admits. Silicon Valley’s Thomas Middleditch guests as a less-mousy-than-he-looks building manager investigating the recent death of an activist who fell outside Diane’s (Christine Baranski) window.

Inside Thursday TV:

  • Young Sheldon (8/7c, CBS): At college, dorm resident advisors come in all shapes and sizes, but how will the students deal with Young Sheldon (Iain Armitage) when he signs up for RA duty? Back at home, Mary (Zoe Perry) and George Sr. (Lance Barber) hope it’s not too late to rekindle their relationship.
  • Walker (8/7c, The CW): It’s “Rangers hell week” for Trey (Jeff Pierre), who’s put through his paces by Walker (Jared Padalecki) and the rest of the team in the final stages of training, but Walker has his own challenges getting back in sync with partner Cassie (Ashley Reyes).
  • Grey’s Anatomy (9/8c, ABC): Must be Halloween, because the new interns are practicing trauma work with real cadavers. Elsewhere, Levi (Jake Borelli) is feeling the stress of overwork and Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) tries to find some alone time with Nick (Scott Speedman).
  • Law & Order: Organized Crime (10/9c, NBC): Stabler (Christopher Meloni) testifies against the Brotherhood in court, while the rest of the task force seeks a criminal gang whose members are pretending to be police.
  • Alaska Daily (10/9c, ABC): Young, eager Gabriel (Pablo Castelblanco) gets his first reporting assignment at the Alaska State Fair, and when the story turns out bigger than he imagined, seasoned journalist Eileen (Hilary Swank) helps him meet the challenge.
  • Star Trek: Lower Decks (streaming on Paramount+): The animated Trek workplace comedy wraps its third season with the Cerritos crew participating in a mission race. As Decks signs off, animated kids’ series Star Trek: Prodigy returns, adding Next Generation alums Ronny Cox (Admiral Edward Jellico) and Billy Campbell (space captain Thadiun Okona) to the recurring voice cast.
  • Bullets (streaming on Topic): A thriller from Finland launches with three episodes (seven more following weekly), in which an undercover cop infiltrates the terrorist organization of a suicide-bomber recruiter who has returned to Finland with her own agenda: reuniting with her daughter.