Gibbs Meets Pride in ‘Origins,’ the Unforgettable Bella, Will Trent to Puerto Rico, St. Patrick’s Day on TCM

NCIS: Origins

When Pride goeth before a Gibbs — that would be Dwayne Pride, future hero of NCIS: New Orleans, and the iconic Leroy Jethro Gibbs — the macho vibe is not pretty once the not-yet-special agents are forced together on their first joint case. As a precursor to New Orleans star Scott Bakula, Olympian-turned-actor Shea Buckner brings swagger as the younger Pride, whose bad blood with fellow probie Gibbs (Austin Stowell) dates back 11 years to an encounter in New Orleans involving Gibbs’ dad (Robert Taylor). When Pride is brought in from the Panama NIS office to help infiltrate a smuggling ring that led to a lieutenant’s death, Gibbs’s nose is out of joint even before they trade blows. “Lot of weird energy here,” observes Vera (Diany Rodriguez), who’s responsible for bringing the NIS units together. This episode also represents the formation of the so-called “Fed Five,” which includes Gibbs, Pride, Gibbs’ boss Franks (Kyle Schmid), Pride’s boss Dan McLane (Mark Deklin), and L.A.-based auditor Felix Betts (Adam Kulbersh).

American Masters

I’ve seen her played memorably by Margo Martindale (Emmy-nominated for FX’s Mrs. America) and off Broadway by Harvey Fierstein, but there’s nothing like watching the genuine article in action. A lively American Masters documentary profile recalls the 1970s heyday of New York’s political tornado in a hat, congresswoman Bella Abzug, who described herself as “a very serious woman with a decent sense of outrage.” An outspoken advocate for women’s and gay rights, social justice, and equality, Abzug’s brash style disrupted the men’s club of Congress while inspiring a wave of women to enter the political arena. “She went with the hat and took off the gloves,” says Shirley MacLaine, one of many admirers (including Barbra Streisand, Marlo Thomas, and Gloria Steien) interviewed for the film, a joint winner of 2022’s Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film.

Will Trent

Series star Ramón Rodríguez directs an episode that sends the titular GBI agent to Puerto Rico after the discovery of a murder victim that shares his uncle Antonio’s name. On the island, he teams up with an FBI agent to scour the rainforest for clues that might help him find and protect one of his few remaining family members.

The Last Hurrah

The movie channel is seeing green all day in honor of the St. Patrick’s Day holiday. The “Catch a Classic!” lineup of Irish-themed movies starts with 1940’s Little Nellie Kelly starring Judy Garland, with highlights including John Ford‘s political drama The Last Hurrah (11:15 am/10:15c) starring Spencer Tracy as an Irish-American mayor, 1965’s biographical drama Young Cassidy (3:30/2:30c) and Francis Ford Coppola‘s 1968 foray into musical comedy with Finian’s Rainbow (5:30/4:30c). At 8 pm/7c, TCM launches its weekly tribute to March’s “Star of the Month,” longtime Hollywood leading man George Brent, with 1932’s So Big, a vehicle for Barbara Stanwyck.

Good Sports: The U.S. team plays the winner of Monday’s Venezuela-Italy semifinal at the World Baseball Classic championship game in Miami (8 pm/ET, Fox). And March Madness officially gets underway with the tipoff of the First Four play-in games from Dayton, Ohio, on truTV (6:40 pm/ET), where No. 16-seeds UMBC and Howard play, followed by No. 11 seeds Texas vs. NC State. (Four more teams play Wednesday, with first-round games beginning Thursday and Friday, airing on CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV.)

INSIDE TUESDAY TV:

• NCIS (8/7c, CBS): McGee’s (Sean Murray) past relationship with a missing woman returns to haunt him during the investigation into the murder of a drone pilot.
• High Potential (9/8c, ABC): Morgan (Kaitlin Olson) and the team get to work after a retired astronaut is murdered in plain sight, while Lt. Soto (Judy Reyes) heads to New York to follow a lead in Roman’s disappearance.
• 7 Little Johnstons (9/8c, TLC): The reality series’ 17th season opens with the family rallying around Liz and Brice as they begin planning for their wedding.
• Secrets Declassified with David Duchovny (10/9c, History Channel): The truth is out there, with the X-Files star returning for a second season as host of the series revealing dark government secrets, opening with a look at how close the world has come to Armageddon during moments of global brinkmanship.
• NCIS: Sydney (10/9c, CBS): Could the death of a U.S. Naval officer have anything to do with him learning he was about to become a father?
• RJ Decker (10/9c, ABC): Emi (Jaina Lee Ortiz) recruits RJ (Scott Speedman) to look into the disappearance of a rehab tycoon’s son.
• Mark Normand: None too Pleased (streaming on Netflix): The comedian riffs on married life and fatherhood in a stand-up comedy special.