‘Pitt’ Goes Old School, ‘Bridgerton’ Part 2, ‘Traitors’ Finale, Gonzo Grammer

The Pitt

“This is the dark ages,” moans one of the newbie interns as Pittsburgh’s Trauma Medical Center goes offline to avoid a cyberattack, sending the ER’s doctors and nurses back to an old-school system of keeping track of charts and patients without computers. “Today will be an adventure,” says prodigal resident Dr. Langdon (Patrick Ball). “Think of it as Back to the Future.” To which Dr. Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) quips, “Or possibly Titanic.” As the clock strikes 2 pm, the ebb and flow of patients continue, immune to the technical hurdles the staff faces to get through a hectic 4^th of July shift.

Bridgerton

Change is in the Regency air as the Cinderella season of the frothy period romance returns to close out its fourth chapter, with Benedict (Luke Thompson) still in the dark that Sophie (Yerin Ha), the maid who’s caught his fancy, is also the Lady in Silver he’s been seeking since the night of the masked ball. While we wait for the proverbial shoe to drop, there are plenty of other intrigues to consider, my favorite being the so-far-secret dalliance of Bridgerton matriarch Violet (Ruth Gemmell) and Lord Anderson (Daniel Francis).

The Traitors

As one obsession ends, another begins. The Emmy-winning reality series stages its final murder (odds favor Dancing with the Stars‘ Mark Ballas as the next victim) before crowning a winner among the “faithful” and “traitors,” with Love Island alum Rob Rausch an odds-on favorite to walk away from the Scottish estate in triumph. And here’s to Olympians Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir (a constant during the recent Winter Olympics coverage) for making it to the end as part of the Final Six.

Peacock wastes no time in passing the baton to another fan-favorite reality franchise. With Traitors signing off, a third season of House of Villains (9/8c) immediately gets underway with three episodes, introducing a cast of 11 reality-TV veterans (including Villains regular Tiffany “New York” Pollard and Traitors alums Tom Sandoval and Kate Chastain) to scheme their way to a $200,000 grand prize.

Guest Villains: And then there are TV’s fictional villains, giving actors a chance to flex the darker regions of their souls. On NBC‘s The Hunting Party (10/9c), Frasier star Kelsey Grammer is the over-the-top psycho of the week, Noah Cyrus, a murderously narcissistic religious cult leader. He emerges from The Pit (no relation to The Pitt) to rally his long-dormant doomsday followers to exact explosive vengeance on the authorities who raided his compound a decade ago. “I am the Truth in its most miraculous human form,” Cyrus declares, with Grammer making the most of this theatrical moment.

On CBS‘s Elsbeth (10/9c), Hamish Linklater (a recent villain on Prime Video‘s Gen V) has fun sparring with the quirky police consultant Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston) as an obsessive health nut and biohacker whose aspirations for immortality turn deadly when he covets a younger person’s life force.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

Tear-jerker alert: If you’re like me and find yourself weeping each time you encounter Thornton Wilder’s timeless Our Town, this poignant episode of the space opera is no exception. Taking Wilder’s theme of “the life of the village against the life of the stars” to heart, the show uses the play as a metaphor to help the cadets get over their lingering trauma from the Miyazaki incident. Theater, says visiting officer Sylvia Tilly (Star Trek: Discovery‘s Mary Wiseman), is “one of the most powerful tools for social and political change.” She’s not wrong, and this exercise has a profound effect on Tarima (Zoé Steiner), SAM (Kerrice Brooks), and even the curmudgeonly ancient hologram Doctor (Robert Picardo).

Inside Thursday TV:

• Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage (8/7c, CBS): The CBS lineup returns with their first new episodes since December, with Jim (Will Sasso) not handling retirement well. Followed by Ghosts (8:30/7:30c), which introduces a new group of spirits known as “The Others,” and Matlock (9/8c), which finds Matty (Kathy Bates) and Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) scrambling to regain Julian’s (Jason Ritter) trust.
• 9-1-1 (8/7c, ABC): Buck (Oliver Stark) has some concerns when the 118 hosts an LAFD charity bachelor auction. Followed by 9-1-1: Nashville (9/8c), with flashbacks revealing how Don (Chris O’Donnell) met Dixie (LeAnn Rimes) and Blythe (Jessica Capshaw).
• Law & Order (8/7c, NBC): Detective Walker (David Ajala) resumes his previous undercover identity while investigating a gang-related murder. Followed by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (9/8c), where an anonymous video on SVU’s tip line is connected to an attack on a judge.
• Uncensored (8/7c, TV One): Blair Underwood reflects on a career battling Black stereotypes in a candid interview.
• Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette (9/8c, FX and Hulu): Carolyn (Sarah Pidgeon) pays her first visit to the Kennedy’s Hyannis Port compound, meeting the matriarch Ethel (Jessica Harper), leading to a public argument with John (Paul Anthony Kelly) that makes tabloid headlines around the world.
• Animal Control (9/8c, Fox): Frank (Joel McHale) hopes to upstage his rival Templeton (Gerry Dee) by rescuing 24 animals in 24 hours. Followed by Going Dutch (9:30/8:30c), with Papadakis (Hal Cumpston) filling in for Major Shah (Danny Pudi) as the Colonel’s (Denis Leary) right-hand man. What could go wrong?
• Grey’s Anatomy (10/9c, ABC): Among the new cases: a urologist who gave himself a vasectomy. Bad idea.

On the Stream:

• It’s Not Like That (streaming on Wonder Project on Prime Video): A school fundraising gala causes some awkwardness for widower Malcolm (Scott Foley) and divorced bestie Lori (Erinn Hayes) when both bring dates. But it’s a great opportunity for Malcolm’s daughter Flora (Leven Miranda) to perform in public.
• The Gray House (streaming on Prime Video): Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) leads the cast of an eight-part historical drama about a group of Virginia women during the Civil War who use the Underground Railroad as a spy network.
• David: King of Israel (streaming on Fox Nation): Zachary Levi narrates a four-part Biblical docudrama depicting the life of the shepherd boy turned king.