‘Organized Crime’ and ‘Law & Order’ Crossover, ‘Matlock’ and More Finales, Ramy Youssef’s ‘Happy Family USA’

Law & Order: Organized Crime

It’s a sign of the times when a spinoff of a legendary network-TV franchise moves exclusively to streaming — which is the fate of Organized Crime, starring Special Victims Unit alum Christopher Meloni as Det. Eliot Stabler. He’s once again going undercover, this time to infiltrate a trucking company involved in smuggling drugs — and, more important to Stabler, human trafficking including underage girls. Working with an FBI task force, the Organized Crime Control Bureau lets its loose cannon loose in yet another violent underworld. The fifth season opens with two episodes, but only the first will air on NBC — and the way that episode ends will have fans steaming who don’t or won’t stream. Special Victims Unit‘s Mariska Hargitay appears in the second episode.

Law & Order

It’s a big night for the franchise, when the Law & Order mothership crosses over with Special Victims Unit (9/8c) in a two-part story that begins when SVU‘s Capt. Benson (Hargitay) takes a phone call that leads to a brutal murder in Lt. Jessica Brady’s (Maura Tierney) precinct, bringing the two squads together to unravel a pattern of rapes and murders. Prosecutors Carisi (Peter Scanavino) and Price (Hugh Dancy) work together to charge the suspect with multiple crimes.

Matlock

The bombshells keep falling in the two-hour season finale of network TV’s most unexpected and enjoyable freshman hit. Matty Matlock’s (Kathy Bates) season-long ruse has been discovered by her boss Olympia (Skye P. Marshall), and while trust is no longer possible for now between this once-tight team of lawyers, Olympia agrees to follow the evidence that Matty compiled to learn the truth about who at the firm suppressed the pharmaceutical study on opioids that might have prevented many deaths, including that of Matty’s daughter. Back in the office, turmoil erupts when Sarah’s (Leah Lewis) off-the-books unsanctioned client is arrested for murder, and the team comes together to support the ambitious novice in the courtroom while Matty and Olympia carry on their secret mission. Multiple cliffhangers set up what’s going to be a wildly anticipated Season 2.

Bosch: Legacy

Signing off after seven seasons of Bosch and three of the Legacy spinoff, Titus Welliver closes his final case as Michael Connelly‘s iconic Harry Bosch. He enlists a war buddy to help him take down the murderous Finbar McShane (Michael Reilly Burke), while his police officer daughter Maddie (Madison Lintz) worries whether Harry will once again cross the line to get justice. It’s been a great run, but this may not be the last we see of Harry, because in the second episode and series finale, he crosses paths with RHD Detective Renee Ballard (Maggie Q), another of Connelly’s creations, and if the show follows the path of the Ballard books, she’ll turn to Harry on occasion for help. Let’s hope so.

#1 Happy Family USA

With cheeky and absurd humor masking authentic cross-cultural anxiety, Ramy Youssef‘s bold and brashly funny animated comedy depicts a Muslim American family, the Husseins — and in particular the adolescent Rumi (voiced by Youssef) — as they weather prejudice and their own struggles with identity in the wake of 9/11 in 2001. Rumi’s coming-of-age attempts to assimilate include physically transforming himself into less “alien” personas. Good luck with that.

 

Hacks

What happens in Vegas isn’t likely to stay in Vegas when Deborah Vance (Emmy winner Jean Smart) takes her new team of writers, including head writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder), to her old stomping grounds for a retreat. “I will show them the best weekend of their lives, right before I grind their bones to dust,” she tells Ava, with whom she’s formed a fragile truce. The pressure is on as the clock ticks toward the premiere of Deborah’s new late-night TV gig.

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• 9-1-1 (8/7c, ABC): In the conclusion of a two-part thriller, Athena (Angela Bassett) and Buck (Oliver Stark) work from the outside to rescue the 118 crew trapped in a dangerously toxic lab. Followed by Doctor Odyssey (9/8c), where the ship’s staff focuses on their own issues during Crew Week; and Grey’s Anatomy (10/9c), with the docs tackling an emergency on site after a window washer and his platform crashes through a hospital window.
• Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage (8/7c, CBS): Young Sheldon‘s Raegan Revord returns as Missy, who’s not thrilled to have Georgie (Montana Jordan) meddling in her love life. Followed by Ghosts (8:30/7:30c), where Trevor (Asher Grodman) gets more than he bargained for when a former finance bro (Richie Keen) and his daughter (Gideon Adlon) pay a visit to Woodstone.
• Top Chef (9/8c, Bravo): Pucker up. This week’s elimination challenge involves creating dishes that feature pickles as a main ingredient.

 ON THE STREAM:

• Ludwig (streaming on BritBox): The charming mystery-comedy ends its first season with faux detective John “Ludwig” Taylor’s (David Mitchell) true identity in danger of being revealed when a coworker is murdered, and his sister-in-law Lucy (Anna Maxwell Martin) is accused of the crime.
• Leverage: Redemption (streaming on Prime Video): The breezy caper series returns for a third season, launching with three episodes, starting with the elaborate takedown of a smooth-talking entrepreneur (Heroes‘ Jack Coleman) who’s stolen a small town’s water rights.
• Heartland (streaming on UP Faith & Family): The 18th season of Canada’s longest-running drama opens with the Fleming ranch facing a water shortage and financial strain. And yet Amy (Amber Marshall) still finds time to help Nathan (Spencer Lord) with a sheepdog competition.
• Ransom Canyon (streaming on Netflix): An unapologetically clichéd modern Western soap opera set in Texas hill country stars the effortlessly appealing Josh Duhamel as a sad widowed rancher who can’t get enough of local dance-hall proprietor Quinn (Friday Night Lights‘s Minka Kelly). James Brolin co-stars as a curmudgeonly neighbor rancher who takes in the mysterious, and very hunky, cowboy drifter Yancy Grey (Jack Schumacher).
• Boarders (streaming on Tubi): The British coming-of-age comedy returns for a second season, depicting five Black inner-city students at an elite boarding school whose status is challenged by a new headmistress who wants them gone.