‘Picard’ Final Battle, Keri Russell as Netflix’s ‘Diplomat,’ Betty Gilpin Fights AI in ‘Mrs. Davis,’ Bailey a Target on ‘Grey’s’

Series Finale

If you were ever a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan, let’s just say resistance is futile as Admiral Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his stalwart crew board a very familiar vessel to take on the Federation’s most fearsome enemy. There are plenty of easter eggs and callbacks to enjoy as well in the action-packed series finale, with the odds stacked against our heroes when they’re the last hope to defend Earth and a terrifyingly assimilated Starfleet. But will Jean-Luc be forced to sacrifice his son Jack (Ed Speleers) for the greater good? This final season has provided a bonanza of Trek nostalgia, and that holds true through the final scenes.

Series Premiere

The Americans’ Keri Russell is typically terrific in this geopolitical thriller, shifting gears from secret Soviet spy to no-nonsense war-seasoned U.S. diplomat. She’s Kate Wyler, who’s not happy to learn that her posting to Afghanistan has been altered to a gig as ambassador to the U.K., which has been rocked by the mysterious bombing of a Royal Navy aircraft carrier off the coast of Iran. Suddenly, she’s embroiled in international intrigue, trying to keep her charismatic husband (a wry Rufus Sewell), a former ambassador himself, from muddying the taut situation. He tells her to “lean into the Cinderella thing” from their lavish new residence, but she’d rather deal with spies than stylists. The vibe in the eight-episode first season reminds me in a good way of Madam Secretary with a bit more bite.

Series Premiere

The title character is not a she, it’s an algorithm, and the nemesis of Betty Gilpin (GLOW), who plays the ferocious Sister Simone, a warrior nun who wants nothing more than to extinguish this pervasive Artificial Intelligence that has taken the world by storm. Premiering with four episodes, this surreal action/sci-fi romp from Damon Lindelof (Lost, Watchmen) and Tara Fernandez (The Big Bang Theory) co-stars Jake McDorman as Simone’s ex, who’s also part of the resistance. What all of this has to do with a search for the mystical Holy Grail remains to be seen. If not entirely understood.

9/8c

With most of the broadcast networks in repeat mode, the best bet is the long-running medical drama, with another return appearance by Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery, who sympathizes with Bailey (Chandra Wilson) for enduring harassment from anti-choice zealots—whose threats are becoming more personal and even infiltrate the walls of Grey Sloan Memorial. Elsewhere, Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) is taking out her abandonment issues on everyone within reach. It’s not a good look.

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• Latin American Music Awards (7 pm/ET, Univision, UniMás, Galavisión): Pitbull and Lil Jon kick off the eighth edition of the awards show from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Other headliners include Rubén Blades, Becky G (the night’s most nominated female artist) with Peso Pluma, Mambo Kingz and many more.
• Erin & Aaron (7:30/6:30c, Nickelodeon): A new family comedy stars Ava Ro and Jensen Gering as new stepsiblings with similar-sounding names who bond over their shared love of music. Hey, let’s start a band!
• Next Level Chef (8/7c, Fox): The remaining chefs know how to cook, but what about the art of frying?

 ON THE STREAM:

• Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head (streaming on Paramount+): A second season of the rebooted animated comedy opens with two episodes, in which the chuckleheads try their hand at meditation, mistake a polling place for a strip club and go hunting for deer. In the most elaborate stunt, Butt-Head’s attempt to make Beavis look old enough to buy beer works so well his buddy ends up at a senior-citizen home.
• Funny or Die’s High Science (streaming on HBO Max and discovery+): B&B might enjoy this trippy series (well-timed for 4/20) in which WandaVision’s Paul Bettany provides the voice of “Dr. Oh,” a hyper-intelligent robot bong who sends stoners Matt Klinman and Zack Poitras on psychedelic journeys of discovery. Mr. Peabody is somewhere rolling in his kennel.
• Fired on Mars (streaming on HBO Max): Luke Wilson provides the voice of Jeff, the hapless protagonist of a loopy animated series about a graphic designer whose plum gig on the red planet is suddenly terminated, leaving him stranded and in need of a surprising new purpose.
• Totally, Completely Fine (streaming on Sundance Now and AMC+): Offbeat doesn’t quite do justice to this dark comedy from Australia, starring Thomasin McKenzie as a reckless young woman who inherits her grandfather’s cliffside home, from which she’s tasked to stop suicidal people from jumping to their deaths. Is she the right person for the job?