Worth Watching: ‘Schooled’ Does ‘Rent,’ a ‘Chicago Fire’ Road Trip, the Final Six on ‘Masked Singer’
A selective critical checklist of notable Wednesday TV:
Schooled (8:30/7:30c, ABC): The middling spinoff of The Goldbergs goes musical, when Lainey (AJ Michalka) decides to prove to Coach Mellor (Bryan Callen) that the arts are every bit as important as sports at William Penn. Somewhat ambitiously, she chooses a production of the hit Broadway musical Rent as to demonstrate her point. Let’s hope it turns out better than Fox’s recent botched version.
Chicago Fire (9/8c, NBC): A first responder’s work is never done. The truth of which Brett (Kara Killmer), Foster (Anie Ilonzeh) and Kidd (Miranda Rae Maho) are reminded as their road-trip getaway to Indiana is disrupted by a bus accident involving a boys’ hockey team. The team on Chicago PD (10/9c) also goes out of state, with Burgess (Marina Squerciati) and Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) going undercover at a Wisconsin gun show to take down a machine gun supplier whose weapons fire ammo powerful enough to penetrate cops’ bulletproof vests. Burgess makes another discovery along the way: that Upton is dating Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger).
The Masked Singer (9/8c, Fox): The winter’s surprise reality hit — especially considering the underwhelming nature of the reveals of who’s wearing those costumes — is now down to the final six Masked Singers: the Alien, Bee, Lion, Monster, Peacock and Rabbit. All six form one big group for the first time, each performing again for the panel, which this week includes J.B. Smoove. Someone will be unmasked, and if it follows the show’s history, the identity will be greeted with a resounding shrug.
Inside Wednesday TV: For nature lovers: Smithsonian Channel presents an eye-opening salute to Amazing Pigs (8/7c), traveling the world to marvel at the underrated animals’ ability to adapt to environments as diverse as Siberia and the Bahamas… PBS’s Nature goes back in history to reveal the Wild Way of the Vikings (8/7c, check local listings at pbs.org), spotlighting the wildlife of the North Atlantic as we travel the trajectory from Norway to Newfoundland, much as the ancient invaders did… If my mailbag is any indication, many loyal CBS viewers will be relieved to hear that Celebrity Big Brother (9/8c) is signing off with a two-hour finale, and the schedule can return relatively to normal without this ridiculous multi-night disruption… Harvey (Gabriel Macht) is caught in the middle on USA’s Suits (10/9c) when forced to choose a side in a dispute between Samantha (Katherine Heigl) and Scottie (Abigail Spencer).
Chicago Fire where to stream
