Worth Watching: Verdicts on ‘Good Place’ and 350th ‘Grey’s,’ Finale of ‘Doc Martin,’ Another ‘Evil’ Exorcism
A selective critical checklist of notable Thursday TV:
The Good Place (9/8c, NBC): It’s judgment day on TV’s most inventive comedy, and here comes the Judge (Maya Rudolph) to decide the fate of that great and messy experiment we call humanity. (You really don’t want to know what Shawn from the Bad Place calls us. He’s so nasty.) While waiting for the Powers That Be to tally the results from this season’s test subjects, Team Cockroach decides to spend the time throwing “the funeral to end all funerals” — also the episode’s title — and celebrate each other with appropriately whimsical memorials. Will this be a eulogy as well for the species? You’ll have to tune in to find out.
Grey’s Anatomy (8/7c, ABC): Another reckoning occurs on the long-running medical drama in its milestone 350th episode, when Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) finally has her meeting with the medical board to determine her future as a doctor. This forces the world-renowned doctor to face her past, which probably won’t be pretty. But seriously, anything to put this ridiculous storyline to bed. Back at Grey Sloan, the interns rev up their competitive juices while some of the attendings are away. Are there any future Merediths among them?
Doc Martin (streaming on Acorn TV): The ninth-season finale of the fan-favorite British dramedy, which aired Wednesday in the UK, finds aunt Ruth (Eileen Atkins) plotting an intervention to help Doc Martin (Martin Clunes) get over his blood phobia before his final medical refresher course. Elsewhere in the village of Portwenn, a wedding is in peril when the officiant cancels and a medical emergency erupts.
Evil (10/9c, CBS): Tony winner Annaleigh Ashford (Masters of Sex) guests on the season’s most original and twisty new thriller as a woman who confesses to murder during her exorcism. Did the devil make her do it? Was there even a murder? Such questions confront Kristen (Katja Herbers), David (Mike Colter) and Ben (Aasif Mandvi) when the Monsignor (Boris McGiver) assigns the team to determine if she’s really possessed and if there are any open cases that match her alleged MO.
Inside Thursday TV: This Is Us Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown is Turner Classic Movies’ guest programmer for the night, and his eclectic lineup includes some of my own 1960s favorites: To Kill a Mockingbird (8/7c) and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (10:30/9:30c), followed overnight by Cool Hand Luke and The Pink Panther… Charity starts at work on NBC’s Superstore (8/7c) when Amy (America Ferrera) and Jonah (Ben Feldman) help Mateo (Nico Santos) launch a toy drive to help bolster his chances at his immigration hearing — but they soon clash with a rival charity rep, played by guest star Fred Armisen (Portlandia)… Ricky Martin hosts the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards (8/7c, Univision) with actresses Roselyn Sanchez and Paz Vega from Las Vegas… Streaming on AMC Networks’ Urban Movie Channel (UMC): a second season of Craig Ross Jr.’s Monogamy, a provocative drama about four married couples whose therapy involves swapping spouses. What could possibly go wrong? The cast includes Ambitions‘ Brian White and Girlfriends alum Jill Marie Jones.