Anne Burrell’s Final Season of ‘Worst Cooks,’ How Paralympians Adapt, Animals on Drugs, ‘LEGO Masters’ Finale

Season Premiere

8/7c

There’s a shadow over the latest season of the entertaining cooking competition for kitchen klutzes, filmed before the tragic passing of celebrity chef Anne Burrell, whose death June 17 at 55 was recently ruled a suicide. Her boisterous personality will be missed, and was never better showcased than on this series, where she and cohost Gabe Bertaccini hope to boost the culinary confidence of contestants who, this season, have made their mark as performers but bomb when it comes to meal preparation. In the opener, the recruits display their signature dishes, then are challenged to recreate the top chefs’ “winner winner chicken dinner.”

Documentary Premiere

An inspirational sports documentary profiles four members of Team USA’s Paralympic squad: Ezra Frech (Para track & field), Jamal Hill (Para swimming), and Courtney Ryan and Josie Aslakson (wheelchair basketball). The film, directed by documentarian Ryan S. Porush, follows the athletes from the 2020 Tokyo games as they train and prepare to compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. “Our sports are amazing and fiercely competitive, our athletes are world-class, and our stories are riveting,” says Frech. Attention must be paid.

Documentary Premiere

8/7c

Gators and hippos and bears, oh my! It seems Cocaine Bear wasn’t that far-fetched after all. Wildlife biologist and adventurer Forrest Galante leads a three-part docuseries (airing in its entirety) that explores the havoc that ensues when animals in the wild are exposed to drugs and alcohol in their natural environments. Galante travels to Colombia to study and try to stop the “cocaine hippos” raised by cartel kingpin Pablo Escobar, aggressive beasts that escaped the abandoned compound. Then he examines the phenomenon of alligators affected by methamphetamines seeping into their waterways, and bears breaking into homes to satisfy their cravings for booze and marijuana edibles. The fault lies not in these beasts but in our own bad habits.

Season Finale

8/7c

The remaining teams leave all their bricks on the table for the Master Build, which decides who takes home $100,000 as the Season 5 winner. In the climactic challenge, they get one final chance to impress brickmaster judges Amy Corbett and Jamie Berard and host Will Arnett with a giant construction that best shows off their personality.

INSIDE MONDAY TV:

• Bachelor in Paradise (8/7c, ABC): Host Jesse Palmer introduces the “Birds of Paradise” chemistry test, but feathers are ruffled when a mysterious woman enters the scene. And there’s tension among the Goldens with only three men to entertain the six women.
• American Ninja Warrior (8/7c, NBC): In the last round of the Las Vegas semifinals, the ninjas tackle 10 iconic obstacles in hopes of advancing to the National Finals.
• The Librarians: The Next Chapter (9/8c, TNT): When graffiti comes dangerously to life, the team works to find a connection to Gregor’s Hammer.
• Survival Mode (10/9c, NBC): Survivors recall the terror of the deadly rail disaster when Amtrak 501 derailed near DuPont, Washington, on its inaugural run in 2017.
• Slumlord Millionaire (10/9c, PBS): Presented by Voices, a timely documentary exposes the tactics by New York City landlords to drive long-term tenants out of buildings they can then turn over for a higher profit.
• Summertide (streaming on Acorn TV): A South African drama finds a newly widowed marine biologist (Frank Rautenbach) uprooting his teen children to his hometown to launch a marine conservation trust.
• Kostas (streaming on Acorn TV): Stefano Fresi is Homicide Chief Kostas Charistos in a Greek crime drama set in Athens, tackling cases including a body discovered after an earthquake and the murder of a young Albanian couple.