Worth Watching: ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Returns, ‘Nature’ Gets in the Saddle, Syfy’s ‘Deadly Class’
A selective critical checklist of notable Wednesday TV:
Schitt’s Creek (10/9c, Pop TV): The cult comedy is back for a fifth season of small-town/big-attitude shenanigans, with back-to-back episodes featuring Moira (the sublime Catherine O’Hara), who’s in Bosnia filming a movie she hopes will put her back on the A-list. (What are the odds?) And then she’s losing sleep over love letters she finds addressed to Johnny (Eugene Levy). What’s a diva to do?
Nature (8/7c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): Not to be confused with the disturbing stage play, Equus: Story of the Horse is a two-part study of the mighty animal by anthropologist Niobe Thompson. The first episode, “Origins,” explores the evolution of the horse from a tiny forest dweller to the majestic steeds we now celebrate.
In Pursuit with John Walsh (10/9c, Investigation Discovery): Former America’s Most Wanted frontman John Walsh is back on TV, tracking fugitives and seeking missing children. His son Callahan Walsh co-stars, leading ground operations and working with local communities and authorities to root out persons of interest. Each hour will also feature two missing children, in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, with hopes of unearthing new leads.
Deadly Class (10/9c, Syfy): Based on a graphic novel, this deeply unpleasant and tremendously uninteresting melodrama is like The Magicians gone punk — and, notably, lacking in magic. It’s the story of street urchin Marcus (Benjamin Wadsworth), who joins a clandestine student body of liars and murderers when recruited — thanks to a possibly unearned badass reputation — into the elite and secretive Kings Dominion. Not to be confused with the Virginia theme park, this academy is where all of the world’s top crime families send their young ’uns to be schooled in the Deadly Arts. It’s all very noisy and chaotic, and maybe you just have to be in the mood for yet another dark, twisted hour of TV murk. I wasn’t. Calling John Walsh…
Inside Wednesday TV: Who better to pull ABC’s The Goldbergs (8/7c) out of their we-miss-Lainie funk than papa Murray (Jeff Garlin), with Geoff (Sam Lerner) in tow… Lainie (AJ Michalka), of course, can be found on the ’90s-set high-school spinoff Schooled (8:30/7:30c,) where the new teacher attempts to give a misfit student a makeover… It’s a mini-Saturday Night Live reunion when Vanessa Bayer guests on ABC’s Single Parents (9:30/8:30c) as Will’s (Taran Killam) ex-wife, Mia, showing up unexpectedly for little Sophie’s (Marlow Barkley) birthday… No big surprise on FXX’s You’re the Worst (10/9c) when Jimmy (Chris Geere) and Gretchen (Aya Cash) announce they’re bypassing a traditional wedding. But a courthouse elopement? Really? There’s a whole final season to get through before the Big Day, so manage your expectations.
