‘Matlock’ Game Changer, Richard Gadd’s ‘Half Man,’ Animated ‘Stranger Things,’ NFL Draft

Matlock

The hit reinvention of the classic legal drama has hinged from the very beginning on the deception of Matty Matlock (the fabulous Kathy Bates), real name Madeline Kingston. She infiltrated the Jacobson Moore law firm in disguise as part of a long game to expose their complicity in covering up the Wellbrexa pharmaceutical study that might have prevented the death of opioid victims like her daughter. For two seasons, viewers have been wondering what will happen if and when Matty, and a select few allies, achieve their mission, and how the show could possibly continue. These thorny issues are addressed, raising new possibilities about Matlock‘s, and Matlock’s, future in an eventful two-part finale featuring Jane the Virgin‘s Gina Rodriguez as a key player. We’ll have to wait a while for the follow-through, as the series will take a breather and won’t return until next midseason.

Half Man

If Richard Gadd’s Emmy-winning Baby Reindeer made you cringe, his harrowing exploration of toxic masculinity and sexual insecurity will make you squirm. The six-part limited series, airing weekly, opens with the Lucifer-like Ruben (Gadd) crashing the Scottish wedding of his childhood buddy and mismatched soul brother, the sensitive and self-loathing Niall (Jamie Bell) — whose name, fittingly enough, rhymes with denial. Their turbulent relationship unfolds over three decades through episode-long flashbacks, starting with their youth, when the volatile Ruben and the timid Niall are played by Stuart Campbell and Mitchell Robertson, both excellent. Their long path of mutual self-destruction makes for riveting if fatalistic drama. We know, and so do they, that these lads should quit each other, but in Gadd’s scenario, that’s about as likely as a happy ending. (See the full review.)

Stranger Things: Tales From ’85

Surely you didn’t think Netflix would let its hit horror franchise go away so easily. A colorfully animated juvenile spinoff rewinds the clock a bit to the winter of 1985. The characters are mostly the same (though featuring a new voice cast), with the gate to the Upside Down temporarily closed and the Starcourt Mall yet to open. But there’s no such thing as downtime for Eleven and her friends, when the Indiana town of Hawkins is besieged by a fresh set of monsters lurking under the snow and in the trees, erupting like a mutant version of a fairy-tale beanstalk. “Well, this is a horror movie waiting to happen,” says their new acquaintance, punk rebel Nikki (Marty Supreme‘s Odessa A’Zion), and of course she’s right.

NFL Draft

When NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announces this year’s No. 1 draft pick during the first round, staged at Pittsburgh’s North Shore and Point State Park, odds favor the Las Vegas Raiders going with everyone’s first choice: Indiana Hoosiers’ triumphant quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, coming off an undefeated season. The event, simulcast on ESPN and NFL Network, promises to be faster-paced this year, with teams getting eight minutes between picks, down from 10 minutes. (The pace picks up even more quickly for successive rounds, airing Friday and Saturday.)

Animal Control

Who will be named Animal Control Officer of the Year: Frank (Joel McHale) or his arch-rival, Templeton (Gerry Dee)? While they await the outcome in the Season 4 finale, another drama erupts when Emily (Vella Lovell) and Shred (Michael Rowland) are discovered kissing, exposing their heretofore secret romance. Whatever happens, the series has been renewed for a fifth season. The jury’s still out, however, on its companion sitcom Going Dutch (9:30/8:30c), which ends its second season with Captain Maggie (Taylor Misiak) aiming to avert a takeover of the base by General Martin (Kristen Stewart) and restore power to her father, the Colonel (Denis Leary).

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage (8/7c, CBS): Georgie (Montana Jordan) dresses up for the country club to win over new clients, while Mandy (Emily Osment) tries to get back her mojo on the work front.
• Law & Order (8/7c, NBC): The trial of a news reporter’s murderer pits Maroun (Odelya Halevi) against the mentor who made her the lawyer she is today. Followed by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (9/8c), where the team enters the world of professional fighting after a death in a hotel.
• The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (8/7c, Bravo): The ladies, if that’s the right term, rehash events of Season 15 with host Andy Cohen in the first leg of a three-part reunion.
• Ghosts (8:30/7:30c, CBS): While Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) and Sam (Rose McIver) face new hurdles in saving Woodstone, Flower (Sheila Carrasco) and Isaac (Brandon Scott Jones) face off in the election for Ghost Representative.
• Sugarcreek Amish Mysteries (9/8c, UPtv): The 2025 TV-movie becomes a weekly cozy mystery series, starring Galadriel Stineman as Cheryl Cooper, who recovers from a failed engagement by moving into an Ohio Amish community, where she manages a gift shop when not helping unravel local crimes.
• The Hunting Party (10/9c, NBC): Glee‘s Kevin McHale is this week’s psychopath on the loose: Dylan Miles, a failed ventriloquist who communicates through his dummies and has a more successful entertainer (Jeff Dunham) in his crosshairs.

 ON THE STREAM:

• Hacks (9 pm/ET, streaming on HBO Max): Christopher Briney (The Summer I Turned Pretty) guests as the Palmetto’s new artist in residence, a glamorous rock star who takes a shine to Deborah (Jean Smart), who could use the good publicity.
• Running Point (streaming on Netflix): The sports comedy returns for a second season, with Isla (Kate Hudson) facing new challenges as president of the family-owned Los Angeles Waves NBA team. Her brother Cam (Justin Theroux) is back, scheming to take control while she deals with an unpredictable new coach (Ray Romano) and a wedding on the horizon.
• The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets (streaming on Peacock): The Emmy-nominated true-crime docuseries returns for a fourth and final episode, catching up with events following prime suspect Rex Heuermann’s recent confession.
• After the Flood (streaming on BritBox): The moody British mystery returns for Season 2, with newly promoted detective Jo Marshall (Peaky Blinders‘ Sophie Rundle) investigating a new murder amid fears of moorland fires and more flooding in Waterside.