Ted Danson Back ‘On the Inside,’ Elsbeth’s Sister Act, History of the Black Cowboy, Keeley Hawes Is ‘The Assassin’

A Man on the Inside

The joy of watching an old pro learn new tricks made the first season of this gentle comedy something special. Ted Danson is at the top of his game as Charles Nieuwendyk, an unhappily widowed former professor who finds new purpose and pep as an amateur private eye. His first assignment sent him undercover at a retirement home, and his task in Season 2 isn’t nearly as memorable or poignant when he returns to teaching at a struggling San Francisco college to unravel a blackmail scheme that threatens to tank a donation from a toxic billionaire (hammy Gary Cole). On the plus side, Charles finds unexpected romance with Mona (Danson’s wife of 30 years, Mary Steenburgen), a wacky music teacher who might be a suspect but is absolutely guilty of bringing much-needed spontaneity to his routine. The mystery may be mostly predictable, but watching him light up in her presence creates a warm inner glow. Standing out in the supporting cast: David Strathairn as a stuffy English prof who resists Charles’ charms.

Elsbeth

Holy investigation! Elsbeth (Carrie Preston) tangles with an order of nuns, led by the formidably stern Mother Constance (Oscar winner Dianne Wiest), when a pop star (Anora‘s Lindsey Normington) falls to her death from the convent’s bell tower — and yes, there’s a killer Vertigo joke before it’s over. Turns out this “Jezebel” was planning to buy the struggling building housing Our Lady of Grace and Mercy, qualities lacking in the Mother Superior. In a clever callback to Season 2, the sisters are addicted to the fictional TV procedural Father Crime (featuring Dominic Fumusa as a crime-solving priest). Elsewhere, Elsbeth’s son Teddy (Ben Levi Ross) is pursuing a feature story that might reveal a chink in the armour of mayoral candidate Alec Bloom (Ivan Hernandez), who’s taken quite a liking to Elsbeth.

High Horse: The Black Cowboy

“The actual Lone Ranger was a Black man,” says one of the experts in executive producer Jordan Peele’s provocative three-part historical docuseries, whose goal is to tell the largely untold story of the Black cowboy and reclaim a neglected part of American and Wild West history. The series explores legendary figures, including U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves and the turn-of-the-last-century mail carrier known as Stagecoach Mary, laments the appropriation of lands once owned by Black farmers, and celebrates the Black culture that influenced country music and Western fashion. Turns out Cowboy Carter was on to something.

The Assassin

One of our favorite and ubiquitous British TV stars, Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard, MI-5, Line of Duty, Orphan Black: Echoes), scores again, this time as Julie, a skilled assassin-for-hire who has retired — or so she thinks — to Greece when danger erupts at the worst possible time. Her estranged journalist son Edward (The Good Doctor‘s Freddie Highmore), who has no clue about his mother’s profession, has come to visit with some pertinent personal news. When Julie’s refusal of a new assignment backfires publicly and bloodily, mother and son go on the run in a darkly comic six-part escapade penned by thriller experts Jack and Harry Williams (The Missing).

The American Revolution

In the penultimate chapter of Ken Burns‘ epic history of the war for American independence, George Washington and his troops endure a grueling winter at Valley Forge in 1778, then prepare for the pivotal battle of Monmouth. This would be the last major conflict fought in the North, as England turns its attention to the more profitable colonies in the South.

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• Law & Order (8/7c, NBC): Detectives Riley (Reid Scott) and Walker (David Ajala) look for evidence in the victim’s will after a CEO is murdered on the eve of his wedding. Followed by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (9/8), where Benson (Mariska Hargitay) clashes with Chief of Detectives Tynan (Noma Dumezweni) while Bruno (Kevin Kane) pokes holes in the story of a man who claims his girlfriend was kidnapped.
• Ghosts (8:30/7:30c, CBS): When Sam (Rose McIver) goes on a book tour with pesky Pete (Richie Moriarty) as a traveling companion, the ghosts back home enlist Kyle (Superstore‘s Ben Feldman), another living who can see them, to return and be their babysitter after Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) refuses to pamper them.
• Alex vs. Arod (9/8c, HBO): The docuseries’ finale covers the scandal when Alex Rodriguez was suspended for the entire 2014 MLB season, the league’s longest-ever suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, and his eventual return to the Yankees.
• Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test (9/8c, Fox): In the Season 4 finale, the remaining celebrity recruits undergo grueling interrogation and confinement, during which they have to come up with a believable lie about their involvement in special forces.
• Elkhorn (9/8c, INSP): Theodore Roosevelt (Mason Beals) teams with his rival, the Marquis de Morés (Jeff DuJardin), to save the town of Medora from a Chicago cattle baron and his gunslingers.

 ON THE STREAM:

• The Great British Baking Show: Holidays (streaming on Netflix): Judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood are back for an eighth season of the holiday edition, welcoming special guests and familiar faces to show their prowess at baking yuletide treats.
• The Celebrity Traitors UK (streaming on Peacock): While waiting for the new season of The Traitors to begin in January, binge on all nine episodes of the British celebrity version, hosted by Claudia Winkleman with contestants including actors Celia Imrie (The Diplomat) and Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso), the inimitable wit Stephen Fry, and Olympian Tom Daley.
• Christmas By Design (streaming on BET+): A holiday romcom stars Danielle LaRoach as Tuesday Comfort, a renowned handbag designer who calls in an IT expert (Lamon Archey) when her new designs are stolen in a data breach. Turns out they already met — at last year’s Christmas party.
• The Roses (streaming on Hulu): The raucous 2025 reimagining of The War of the Roses, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman as the battling couple, makes its streaming debut.