‘Poker Face’ and ‘Criminal Minds’ Returns, ‘Elsbeth’ Behind Bars, ‘Ghosts’ Finale, ACM Awards

Poker Face

Charlie (Emmy-nominated Natasha Lyonne), the gravel-voiced human lie detector, is back calling B.S. and solving quirky crimes in a second season of the delightfully clever mystery-comedy, launching with three terrific episodes. The first features Wicked superstar Cynthia Erivo in a bravura multiple role — five, count them, five! — as identical sisters, one of whom is a killer. She’s clearly having a blast, as are all of the guest stars, including Breaking Bad‘s Giancarlo Esposito in the second episode as a funeral-home owner and Katie Holmes as his unhappy wife. The third episode deals with Charlie’s life on the lam from vengeful mobsters, in a tricky plot involving a rat, a mole and a bonanza of guest appearances by Rhea Perlman, Richard Kind, John Mulaney, and Simon Helberg (the latter two as FBI agents with deep knowledge of Sondheim). Just try keeping a straight face watching Poker Face. It’s a blast.

Elsbeth

The similarly themed Good Wife/Good Fight spinoff, starring Carrie Preston as a quirky lawyer-turned-police consultant with an uncanny knack for exposing murderers, ends its second season with a fun change-of-pace episode. Elsbeth has landed herself in prison, thanks to a vindictive judge, and finds herself in the company of many of the celebrity villains she put away during the first two seasons. Cue a guest-star roster including Stephen Moyer, Gina Gershon, Alyssa Milano, Mary-Louise Parker, Retta, Elizabeth Lail, Succession‘s Arian Moayed, and André De Shields, with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend‘s Donna Lynne Champlin as the warden. (Too bad it didn’t work for Champlin to participate in an elaborate Chicago-inspired production number.) When a murder occurs, Elsbeth works her magic yet again, but can be released in time to bid farewell to the newly promoted Kaya (Carra Patterson)?

Criminal Minds: Evolution

The undying procedural, now in its third streaming season (the 18th overall), takes a six-month time jump from last year’s mayhem. BAU team leader David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) is under scrutiny, suspected of having a hand in the savage prison beating of his nemesis, Elias “Sicarius Killer” Voit (Zach Gilford). In the opener, a psychopath is leaving bodies on Maryland beaches, and suspicion mounts that the killer could be connected to Voit’s national network of serial killers.

Ghosts

Huzzah! One of network TV’s very best comedies (already renewed for two more seasons) wraps Season 4 with a celebratory book-launch party for the publication of Sam’s (Rose McIver) collaboration with Isaac (Brandon Scott Jones), Isaac Higgentoot, Colonial Vampire. What could spoil the fun? The unwelcome return of Puritan ghost Patience (the very funny Mary Holland), who announces, “Evil is near … I smell the devil’s presence.” She might be objecting to the book’s supernatural subject matter — or possibly the arrival of the devil’s actual emissary, Elias Woodstone (Matt Walsh), who’s been masquerading as Jay’s (Utkarsh Ambudkar) publicist.

Academy of Country Music Awards

Livestreamed from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, the ACM Awards’ milestone 60th shindig kicks off with a 12-minute medley of Songs of the Year from the decades, featuring host Reba McEntire, with Wynonna Judd, Clint Black, Dan + Shay, LeAnn Rimes, and Sugarland. Receiving the rare honor of the AMC Triple Crown Award (having previously won New Artist of the Year, Artist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year), Keith Urban is treated to performances of his hits by Chris Stapleton, Mega Moroney, and Brothers Osborne. Highlights include duets of Backstreet Boys and Rascal Flatts, Jelly Roll and Shaboozey, and Brooks & Dunn with Cody Johnson, with many more performances including New Artist of the Year winners Ella Langley and Zach Top.

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• 9-1-1 (8/7c, ABC): With Bobby’s funeral behind them, the 118 gets back to work putting out fires following an earthquake. Followed by Doctor Odyssey (9/8c), where another earthquake triggers a tsunami warning, with Max (Joshua Jackson) racing to get to the ship before its emergency departure.
• Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage (8/7c, CBS): Georgie (Montana Jordan) faces a Mother’s Day crisis trying to do right by his mom Mary (Zoe Perry), his mother-in-law Audrey (Rachel Bay Jones) and his wife Mandy (Emily Osment).
• Law & Order (8/7c, NBC): When a sports agent is stabbed to death, any number of disgruntled suspects could be the culprit. Followed by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (9/8c), where the squad searches for the victim of an assault at gunpoint that was witnessed through a neighbor’s window.
• Bill O’Reilly’s 100 Days of Trump: Are You Better Off? (9/8c, The CW): You decide. (My 401(k) has its own opinion.)
• Grey’s Anatomy (10/9c, ABC): Wedding bells ring for Jo (Camilla Luddington) and Link (Chris Carmack), with Levi Schmitt (Jake Borelli) among the visiting guests.
• Found (10/9c, NBC): While Margaret (Kelli Williams) loops in her family with what’s been going on in her turbulent life, the M&A team hunts for a family missing from a Jewish Modern Orthodox congregation.

ON THE STREAM:

• Hacks (9 pm/ET, streaming on Max): The love-hate relationship between Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and her long-suffering head writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) takes another significant turn when Ava’s action-star ex, Ruby (Lorenza Izzo), is booked on Deb’s late-night show.
• Conan O’Brien Must Go (streaming on Max): The recent recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor packs his bags for a second season of the comedic travelogue, with stops including Spain, New Zealand, and Austria.
• Forever (streaming on Netflix): Judy Blume’s 1975 YA classic of teenage first love is reimagined in a contemporary series update from Mara Brock Akil (Girlfriends, The Game), starring Lovie Simone as Keisha and Michael Cooper Jr. as Justin.
• Karol G: Tomorrow Was Beautiful (streaming on Netflix): A documentary charts the rise of the Columbian singer-songwriter as she embarks on a record-breaking stadium tour.
• Usher: Rendezvous in Paris (streaming on BET+): A concert film captures the Grammy-winning performer’s stylish act during Paris Fashion Week.
• Octopus (streaming on Prime Video): Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) is executive producer and narrator of an immersive two-part nature documentary that celebrates the fascinating aquatic creature, following the Giant Pacific Octopus from birth to death.
• Vanderpump Villa (streaming on Hulu): Lisa Vanderpump gathers the cast for a Season 2 reunion.