Worth Watching: ‘Survivor’ Finale, Celebrity ‘MasterChef,’ ‘Wahlburgers’ Final Act
A selective critical checklist of notable Wednesday TV:
Survivor (8/7c, CBS): Prediction: If the cunning Rick Devens, a master at finding immunity idols just when he needs them most, can make it to the end, he’ll almost certainly take home the $1 million prize. But the season finale could be trickier to predict than most, because in this last round, someone from the “Edge of Extinction” will be able to fight his or her way back into the game right before the end. And if Devens gets booted, all bets are off. The reunion following the final vote could be more interesting than most, because so many of the players have stayed on viewers’ radar all season long through the “Edge of Extinction” twist.
MasterChef Celebrity Family Showdown (8/7c, Fox): A very different sort of faceoff can be found in a celebrity version of Gordon Ramsay‘s popular cooking competition. In the first of two episodes (continuing next Wednesday), flamboyant Olympic skating commentators Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski go head-to-head to see who makes the best fish dish. He’s paired with his brother, Boz, and she works alongside husband Todd. The next battle involves reality “personalities,” as Lisa Vanderpump and daughter Pandora compete in a blind taste test against Jersey Shore exhibitionists Snooki and JWoww, trying to copy one of Joe Bastianich‘s dishes from taste alone. (As if those two know anything about taste.)
Wahlburgers (9/8c, A&E): Exposure on TV may have had something to do with the Wahlberg brothers — Mark, Donnie and Paul — successfully expanding their burger chain from the original location in Hingham, Mass., to more than 30 franchises. In the reality show’s 10th and final season, the Wahlbergs extend their reach across the pond — to Germany, where they work with the military to open Wahlbergers on overseas U.S. bases. The American dream in action, with a side of fries!
Inside Wednesday TV: In a poignant episode of IFC’s Brockmire (10/9c), the newly sober sportscaster (Hank Azaria) is taken out of his comfort zone when asked to provide comfort to a dying frenemy (J.K. Simmons). He’s further challenged by an unexpected spell of impotence, and when his sponsor (Martha Plimpton) urges him to find a higher power, Jim finds one in baseball, in “a God who keeps us humbled by making us play a game that’s steeped in failure.”… What will those vampires get up to next in FX’s hilarious What We Do in the Shadows (10/9c)? Nandor (Kayvan Novak) makes the bold move of applying for American citizenship. Does that mean he’ll have to provide a birth (or death) certificate?… In one of his final episodes as a series regular on NBC’s Chicago P.D. (10/9c), Antonio (Jon Seda) wrestles with a guilty conscience while trying to take down a drug dealer.
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