Worth Watching: ‘Will & Grace’ Returns, Gina Leaves the ‘Nine-Nine,’ Major Surgery on ‘Grey’s
A selective critical checklist of notable Thursday TV:
Will & Grace (9:30/8:30c, NBC): Back from holiday hiatus, the best of all the recent sitcom revivals goes all out with a wacky storyline that’s a literal trip — at least for Will (Eric McCormack), Jack (Sean Hayes) and Karen (Megan Mullally), who all accidentally ingest a hallucinogen. For the gays — er, guys —they begin to wonder if they might actually be soulmates. (Spoiler alert: Don’t count on it.) For newly divorced Karen, it’s a chance to take the stage one last time as Mrs. Stanley Walker. (And if you weren’t aware of Mullally’s chops as a Broadway musical performer before this, you will be now.) Meanwhile, Grace (Debra Messing) contends with the return of her gruff sister, Janet (The Kids Are Alright’s Mary McCormack — no relation to Eric), who takes an unexpected shine to Grace’s equally snappish new client (Chelsea Handler in a funny guest spot). This show is firing on all cylinders.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (9/8c, NBC): “I don’t want stability and a paycheck. I want to take a risk,” is how Gina (Chelsea Peretti) explains her decision to quit her job at the precinct, following Jake’s (Andy Samberg) prompting a week ago. As final bows go, Gina’s is a doozy, as she plots a classic “Gina moment” of perverse surprise for each of her co-workers — perhaps most memorably a chess and trash-talk standoff with stoic Capt. Holt (Andre Braugher). Godspeed, Gina — and Chelsea.
Grey’s Anatomy (8/7c, ABC): Surgeries are rarely routine at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, but even by Grey’s standards, this week’s will be a nail-biter, as Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) and Koracick (Greg Germann) embark on a risky procedure to try to save the ailing Dr. Catherine Fox (Debbie Allen) — who just happens to be Jackson’s (Jesse Williams) mother and Richard’s (James Pickens Jr.) wife. While this vigil ensues, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) is prompted to visit her own father, Thatcher (Scandal’s Jeff Perry), before it’s too late. Oh, the angst!
Deion’s Double Play (9/8c, ESPN): This 30 for 30 documentary celebrates the dual career of sports titan “Neon” Deion Sanders — in particular the epic 24-hour period in October of 1992 when he was playing baseball for the Braves, participating in the National League Championship Series in Pittsburgh, and in between two of those games, he managed a side trip to Miami, where he was playing football for the Falcons. That’s versatility!
Inside Thursday TV: The chefs go on the road from Kentucky to Nashville on Bravo’s Top Chef (8/7c), where they prepare food on the Grand Ole Opry stage for country-music star Hunter Hayes. In the elimination challenge, they’re tasked to create a dish inspired by a musical memory. (Mine would be Sweeney Todd, so just as well that I’m not involved in this.) … Husband and wife square off on Paramount Network’s Lip Sync Battle (9/8c) when tennis great Andy Roddick competes against model/actress Brooklyn Decker — the latter getting an assist from Serena Williams on Beyoncé’s “Sorry.” Roddick fights back with an impassioned “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” … There’s a new arrival in the family of NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (10/9c) when Rollins (Kelli Giddish) goes into labor.
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R
I'll be watching two shows that rarely get mentioned here: Supernatural and SWAT.
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G
Did you read CBS is ordering an FBI spinoff already!! It's titled FBI: Most Wanted. I wonder which character (if any) from the mother ship will be joining the cast. My guess Sela Ward. And some of the others will likely guest star in the beginning to pump up the ratings.
Quite shocked that this is happening already! Must be a record breaker.
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B
Actually it happened with Chicago Fire in their first season, introducing Chicago PD.
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G
Didn't know that. Well hope it works for CBS too.
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C
Did you watch Passage and Manifest yet?
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When I go into my DVR and find either of them there...I watch them IMMEDIATELY...
Manifest...this new guy throws a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT twist into the story!!!
The Passage...After watching the first episode I just assumed that this would be your routine..."guy/
girl elude the Bad Guys" from week to week"...(kinda' like The Fugitive)…
But WOW!...by Ep. #3...they've ALREADY caught the young girl...and INJECTED HER WITH THE VIRUS!!??!!
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C
That's what I was saying last week. I thought at least the first season would be mostly about the agent and the girl being chased all over the country by the bad guys. However, I can't help but think they're going to get away again (at some point in the future), and the chase will be back on.
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G
Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed both shows. And I hope both are renewed for a second season.
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C
I think Manifest is a certainty. Wasn't it the top rated (or second highest) new drama this season?
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G
Yes Manifest started off very strong, but lost lots of viewers. Hope it kept enough to warrant another season.
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R
Yeah, first season of FBI is just over half over.
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R
I saw that, and meant to mention it, to be sure you heard. I knew you'd be happy. Honestly, I don't follow ratings, so I had no idea if it was a big hit or just a "decent" one.
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G
It's a solid performer, CBS's highest rated new drama and among the top new shows this season. Magnum was renewed with lower ratings. Seems like live ratings are becoming a far less determining factor regarding renewals.
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O
Will and Grace I loved the original series as a kid but fell off the revival after six episodes. It was cute for a while but the problem with these revivals\reboots is they gets old fast. Haven't seen the Passage yet though I love Mark Paul since Saved By The Bell so I'm thinking of giving it a glance soon
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I can't believe how TERIFFIC Gotham has become in its Final Season...
My GF...who watched NONE of the first 4 seasons with me...happened to see this season's Ep. #1...and has been GLUED to every episode since then...
Each episode is so "self-contained"...and she needs NO information from the previous seasons to be TOTALLY intrigued...
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C
I'm loving it too, but I've loved every season of it. I'm kind of surprised a woman would like it so much. It just seems more like a show mostly guys would get into.
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G
I'm finding lots of females are enjoying shows like Gotham, The Gifted, Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the CW/DC shows. My nieces watch pretty much all of these shows, not to mention their moms and my mom. I guess this sci-fi genre appeals to more than just fan boys .
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C
I know a lot more are into it now. When I was a kid, we'd go to a sci-fi movie and it was pretty much all boys in the audience.
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G
Very true.
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G
Yep, I also recall that, very few gals if any. Star Wars, Star Treks, Aliens, Terminators , Mad Max were packed with guys.
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R
I can see where you're coming from...
That's why I was SO surprised when she got SO into Gotham...
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C
Tonight it's Big Bang, Sheldon, Gotham, Orville, and A Million Little Things! I'll watch Million Dollar Listing and Will & Grace later!
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