Ted Lasso’s Teamwork Challenge, ‘Celebrity Wheel’ and a Show About Game Shows, ‘Muppets Mayhem,’ ‘Class of ’09’

Broadway fans may notice the score of Jerry Herman’s hit musical La Cage aux Folles playing during this episode—a not-so-subtle hint that the soccer sitcom is finally ready to directly address the situation of Colin (Billy Harris), the Welsh left winger who has kept his homosexuality a secret from everyone except journalist Trent Crimm (James Lance). Inadvertently, team captain Isaac McAdoo (Kola Bokinni) also recently discovered the truth about Colin, and the cold shoulder he’s giving his teammate could be read as bigotry, or is something deeper going on? Elsewhere in the saga of AFC Richmond, the infamously gruff Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) is none too keen on filling in for Coach Ted (Jason Sudeikis) at a press conference, which sets Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) off on one of her more memorable tirades. And rival team owner (and Rebecca’s ex) Rupert (Anthony Head) meets wunderkind Nate’s (Nick Mohammed) girlfriend, Jade (Edyta Budnik), which has us thinking Nate should keep her far away from this smarmy villain.

9/8c

The traditional TV season isn’t over yet, and already ABC is doubling down on game shows. Following the third round of the Jeopardy! Masters tournament (8/7c), a new episode of the celebrity Wheel presents an “Ultimate Host Night,” in which Vanna White moves behind the wheel for a change as a contestant, playing for charity opposite Jeopardy! hosts Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik. So who’ll be turning the letters? Maggie Sajak, host Pat’s daughter.

Series Premiere

10/9c

The network’s allegiance to fun and games in prime time has now resulted in a four-part docuseries about the history and evolution of the genre. The Game Show Show series begins with a salute to the quiz show and our fascination with trivia, including a look at how the types of questions we’re now being asked may reflect shifts in culture. Celebrities providing commentary include The $100,000 Pyramid’s Michael Strahan and The Chase’s Sara Haines, along with Jay Leno, Sherri Shepard, Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban and more.

Series Premiere

It’s time to play the music—but this isn’t the classic The Muppet Show. A new 10-episode comedy series features Dr. Teeth and his raucous Electric Mayhem Band: Animal on drums, Floyd Pepper on vocals and bass, Janice on vocals and lead guitar, Zoot on sax and the unintelligible Lips on trumpet. With celebrity testimonials from the likes of Chris Stapleton, Lil Nas X and Tommy Lee (brandishing his “mayhem” chest tattoo), the band’s influence is clear, despite the fact they’ve never stopped touring long enough to cut a studio album. Enter music-label exec—or rather, lowly assistant—Nora Singh (former late-night host Lilly Singh), who hopes to corral the unruly rockers into the recording studio. Celeb cameos include (in the pilot) Ryan Seacrest and Danny Trejo, with appearances later in the season by Paula Abdul, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, Morgan Freeman, Kesha, Kristen Schaal, Weird Al Yankovic and many more.

Series Premiere

From FX comes an intriguingly layered crime thriller from scribe Tom Rob Smith (London Spy) that follows a class of FBI agents as the story toggles between three time periods. The story begins in 2009, when the recruits learn the ropes through a grueling training regimen that also tests character. In present-day 2023, the agents face a devastating threat from a domestic terror cell. And in the future of 2034, they’re facing an existential Big Brother crisis, now that an artificial intelligence system originally designed as a criminal database has taken on a life of its own. The strong cast is led by House of Cards’ Kate Mara and Atlanta’s Brian Tyree Henry as agents who end up on different sides of the debate over the bureau’s new emphasis on machines over flawed humanity.

INSIDE WEDNESDAY TV:

• The Masked Singer (8/7c, Fox): The final three contestants—California Roll, Macaw and Medusa—compete in the semi-finals, with only two moving on to next week’s finale.
• The Thin Man (8/7c, Turner Classic Movies): “Star of the Month” William Powell is best known as sophisticated sleuth Nick Charles, who with wife Nora (Myrna Loy) wittily solved crimes in a series of six Thin Man films, starting with the 1934 original, followed by five sequels through 1947’s Song of the Thin Man (5:15 am/4:15c).
• Chicago Med (8/7c, NBC): Crockett (Dominic Rains) and Will (Nick Gehlfuss) go to war against Med’s new policies on behalf of a cancer patient. Followed by Chicago Fire (9/8c), where Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) bonds with a homeless victim, and Chicago P.D. (10/9c), which finds Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) once again in a life-or-death situation.
• Riverdale (9/8c, The CW): Concerned mom Alice (Mädchen Amick) signs up Betty (Lili Reinhart) for the after-school dance show American Grandstand, while Tom (Martin Cummins) forces Kevin (Casey Cott) to join the Riverdale High basketball team.
• We Need to Talk About America (10/9c, Fuse): A wildly diverse panel of comedians and roasters take on the peculiarities of American pop culture.
• Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens (10:30/9:30c, Comedy Central): Nora’s (Awkwafina) insecurity grows as her cousin Edmund (Saturday Night Live’s Bowen Yang) settles in as a new regular on Love & Order, only to learn something about his ancestry.
• Queen Cleopatra (streaming on Netflix): Executive producer/narrator Jada Pinkett Smith’s series of documentaries about African queens devotes four episodes to the life, heritage and history of Egyptian queen Cleopatra. If your first image goes to Elizabeth Taylor with Richard Burton, think again.
• The Big Door Prize (streaming on Apple TV+): The penultimate episode of the quirky comedy, renewed for a second season, takes place as Deerfield’s annual Deerfest begins, with a storm brewing and Dusty (Chris O’Dowd) having a major epiphany about the mysterious Morpho machine that has been predicting everyone’s life potential.