Wrexham’s Heartfelt Return, ‘Law & Order’ Finales, Tracey Ullman Spars Again With ‘Elsbeth,’ Letterman on Colbert

Welcome to Wrexham

The rare sports docuseries that can leave you in tears, Welcome to Wrexham returns for its fifth season (already renewed through Season 8) with the scrappy Welsh soccer team and its celebrity owners, Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds, facing their greatest challenge to date. On a roll with three consecutive promotions, Wrexham A.F.C. is now playing in the Championship league, where the stakes are even higher, the competition tougher, and the commensurate payroll for a squad of new players expanding to the tune of some $25 million. With so many new faces on the pitch, even Rob’s dad has to wonder, “Who is it that you’re actually rooting for?” The answer, as always, is for the people, the loyal community that the team represents. A poignant subplot in the opener features the story of a rabid Wrexham fan who died too young but whose legacy lives on through an organ donation. A second episode follows, in which the town pays tribute to one of the team’s legends, Joey Jones.

Law & Order

The 25th season of the iconic crime drama ends with DA Baxter (Tony Goldwyn) facing political pressure in his re-election campaign and confronting a judge (ER alum Anthony Edwards) whose courtroom rulings against his prosecution team smack of corruption. The case involves the murder of a military hero during Fleet Week, which brings the FBI into Lt. Brady’s (Maura Tierney) investigation. Followed by the Season 27 finale of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (9/8c), where an evil kidnapper is set free after an illegal search ruling, and Benson’s (Mariska Hargitay) feud with Chief of Detectives Tynan (Noma Dumezweni) comes to a head when Detective Griffin’s (Corey Cott) investigation into the big boss puts him in danger.

Elsbeth

One of the many joys of this comedic procedural is watching a rogue’s gallery of great character actors spar with the quirky snoop played by Carrie Preston. It always looks like they’re having as much fun as we do while watching them. Which must be true, because for the first time, a guest villain is coming back for more — as an entirely different character. The versatile Tracey Ullman, a woman of a thousand funny faces, appeared in Season 2 as a murderous psychic, and with an entirely different look, is back as a notorious gossip columnist with the perfect name of Betty Heymouth. Betty, it seems, has secrets of her own that she’s willing to kill to keep from being exposed. Also returning in a recurring role: Tony winner Laura Benanti as supermodel Nadine Clay.

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

This has been quite the penultimate week for the late-night host, whose final show is scheduled one week from tonight. It started with a visit from his “Strike Force Five” rival hosts: John Oliver, Seth Meyers, and the Jimmys (Kimmel and Fallon), continued with high-profile guests including Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tom Hanks, and culminates with an appearance by Stephen Colbert’s legendary predecessor, David Letterman. The former host, who reigned at the historic Ed Sullivan Theater from 1993 to 2015, has not been shy about expressing his displeasure about how his one-time network has treated this franchise, so expect some verbal fireworks amid the gracious mutual praise.

Fear Factor: House of Fears

This season’s revival of the gross-out reality competition was successful enough that the network has ordered a two-part “special event” titled 48 Hours of Fear (concluding next Thursday), in which six contestants endure two sleepless nights in a 48-hour marathon of abuse. Johnny Knoxville returns as host, with the initial challenges including a spelling bee featuring swarms of actual bees and an all-new “Pain Auction.” To ensure no one gets a moment of rest, they’re shackled with shock collars in case anyone falls asleep. Fat chance.

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• Celebrity Jeopardy! All Stars (8/7c, ABC): Patton Oswalt faces his “nemesis,” Season 1 champ Ike Barinholtz, with Mira Sorvino also playing for a spot in Friday’s finals.
• Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage (8/7c, CBS): Young Sheldon‘s Zoe Perry returns to question son Georgie’s (Montana Jordan) impulse purchase of a jet ski.
• Next Level Chef (8/7c, Fox): In the semifinals, the final four chefs prepare their signature dish, but there’s always a catch.
• After the First 48 (8/7c, A&E): It’s a true-crime bonanza, with the Season 12 premiere of the series that follows up on past cases from The First 48, followed by the Season 5 premiere of Interrogation Raw (9/8c) and the return of Killer Investigations (10/9c).
• Heartland (8/7c, UPtv): Lou (Michelle Morgan) and Jack (Shaun Johnston) go after rustlers while Amy (Amber Marshall) tends to Gracie’s (Krista Bridges) new horse. Followed by a new episode of Sugarcreek Amish Mysteries (9/8c).
• Ghosts (8:30/7:30c, CBS): Now that Woodstone’s fate is no longer in jeopardy, Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) open their doors to a Hollywood producer scouting the historic property as a filming location.
• Half Man (9/8c, HBO): A blistering episode of the British psychodrama finds Niall (Jamie Bell) rattled when he learns that Ruben (Richard Gadd) has been released from prison, continuing to throw a fateful shadow over his own self-destructive spiral.
• M.I.A. (10/9c, NBC): The first episode of Peacock‘s revenge thriller introduces Shannon Gisela as Etta, who sets out to take down the 12 men responsible for wiping out her entire family of drug-runners. To see the rest, you’ll have to go to Peacock.

ON THE STREAM:

• Hacks (9 pm/ET, streaming on HBO Max): When Deborah’s (Jean Smart) publicity stunt to call attention to her Madison Square Garden comeback goes awry, she has to admit, “This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done—and I want on a date with Saddam Hussein!”
• The Old Stories: Moses (streaming on Wonder Project on Prime Video): Ben Kingsley stars as Moses, with The Handmaid’s Tale‘s O-T Fagbenle as Pharaoh, in a three-part Biblical drama from the producers of House of David.
• On the Roam (streaming on HBO Max): Jason Momoa boards his motorcycle for a second season of his inspirational road trip.
• Nemesis (streaming on Netflix): From Power creator Courtney A. Kemp, an eight-episode crime drama depicts the pursuit of jewel thief Coltrane Wilder (Y’lan Noel) by police detective Isaiah Stiles (Matthew Law).
• James (streaming on Netflix): Joining a wave of soccer documentaries anticipating the 2026 World Cup, a profile of Colombian soccer star James Rodríguez.
• The Terror: Devil in Silver (streaming on AMC+ and Shudder): As the horror escalates in the mental hospital, Pepper (Dan Stevens) searches desperately for the keys that might secure his freedom. But as a fellow inmate warns him, “This place is trying to break you.”
• Black Sands (streaming on Viaplay): The second and final season of the acclaimed Icelandic noir stars co-writer Aldís Amah Hamilton as a police officer returning to her hometown to investigate a serial killer who stages their crimes to look like accidents.