‘In the Know’ Spoofs NPR, Sofia Vergara Is Griselda, ‘Sexy Beast’ Prequel, ‘Truth and Lies’ of the Gilgo Beach Killer

Series Premiere

“I’m sexually attracted to ideas,” purrs Lauren Caspian, the unctuous host of the fictional NPR talk show In the Know—which is also the title of a bitingly satirical animated workplace adult comedy populated by grotesque stop-motion puppets. Lauren (voiced by Silicon Valley’s hilarious Zach Woods, a co-creator and showrunner) is self-obsessed, easily flattered, but also insecure enough to be gutted when rumors circulate that his soft-as-Charmin voice is making people sick. “This is my 9/11,” he groans. His real-life interview subjects—an eclectic group including Ken Burns, Hugh Laurie, Mike Tyson, Nicole Byer, Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard and Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness (described as “the Malcolm X of the gay community”—look like they’re having a ball playing along with Lauren’s outrageously inappropriate questions. His co-workers are an equally odd lot, including Succession’s J. Smith Cameron as his enabling producer and co-creator Mike Judge as the office freak, an aging hippie who comments on culture that’s only several decades old. Whatever you do, don’t change that dial.

Series Premiere

Modern Family’s Sofia Vergara as a druglord in 1980s’ Miami? Sounds about as logical as Charo playing Lady Macbeth. And yet she acquits herself well as the cunning Griselda Blanco in a stylish and violent docudrama that depicts her flight from Medillin, Columbia, with her young sons to establish a market among rich white people, subverting the low expectations of the macho mobsters who resent this “Godmother” muscling onto their turf. In a strong parallel storyline, Juliana Aidén Martinez plays the Miami detective who has trouble convincing her sexist co-workers that a woman drug dealer is on the loose.

Series Premiere

Back in 2000, Jonathan Glazer’s acclaimed caper Sexy Beast earned Ben Kingsley an Oscar nomination as sociopathic gangster Don Logan, who lures happily retired crook Gal Dove (Ray Winstone) back into the game to pull off an elaborate bank heist for crime boss Teddy Bass (Ian McShane). Rewind the clock for a prequel TV series set in the 1990s, with Gal now played by Andor’s James McArdle, Don by Emun Elliott (PBS’ Guilt) and Teddy by True Blood’s Stephen Moyer. See how it all began as petty thieves Gal and Don are recruited by Teddy to pull off bigger scores, complicating Gal’s relationship with adult film star Deedee (Bad Sisters’ Sarah Greene).

Documentary Premiere

9/8c

The docuseries from ABC News Studios returns with three new two-hour episodes, starting with an examination into the decade-long hunt for a serial killer targeting sex workers whose remains were discovered on Gilgo Beach, Long Island. The special alleges that corruption and police bias stymied the investigation for years until a task force using new technology zeroed in on Rex Heuermann, arrested in July 2023 and initially charged with four of the murders.

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• Son of a Critch (8/7c, The CW): The third season of the nostalgic Canadian family comedy opens with an emboldened Mark (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) entering ninth grade, only to discover he needs glasses.
• Hell’s Kitchen (8/7c, Fox): In the two-hour season finale, the final three contestants hope to impress guest chefs Brian Malarkey, Curtis Stone, Giada De Laurentiis, Michael Cimarusti and Nyesha Arrington. Then it’s down to the last two, who design a menu for their dream kitchen before Gordon Ramsay declares a winner.
• Theresa Caputo: Raising Spirits (9/8c, Lifetime): The “Long Island Medium” is back with a new gig on Lifetime, seen on tour connecting loved ones (sometimes famous) with their dearly departed.
• Law & Order: Organized Crime (10/9c, NBC): Breaking Bad’s Dean Norris arrives on the scene as Stabler’s (Christopher Meloni) estranged older brother, Randall. Will he be a help or a hindrance to their mother, Bernadtte (Ellen Burstyn)?
• Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning (streaming on Paramount+): Last summer’s action blockbuster is now available for streaming, whetting fans’ appetite for the sequel that’s expected in 2025.