Worth Watching: ‘Stumptown’ Finale, CMT Crossroads, ‘Eating History’

Stumptown - Jake Johnson and Cobie Smulders
ABC/Ali Goldstein
Stumptown

A selective critical checklist of notable Wednesday TV:

Stumptown (10/9c, ABC): One of the season’s most entertaining newcomers wraps its first (let’s hope not only) season with Dex (the fabulous Cobie Smulders) in the sort of jam so many TV private eyes have found themselves: framed for murder, forcing her to save herself. Detective Hoffman (Michael Ealy) wants to help, but to preserve his job must force himself to stay neutral. Expect some daddy issues throughout, as Steven Williams and Matt Craven return as the estranged fathers of Hoffman and Grey (Jake Johnson), respectively. And no doubt a few surprises — but please, no cliffhanger. Should ABC drop the ball on this one, I’d love the show to go out on a satisfying note.

CMT Crossroads (10/9c, CMT): What better distraction during these troubling times than some good music. For the 70th episode of the popular crossover concert series, pairing country-music stars with musicians from other disciplines, Nashville chart-topper Kelsea Ballerini teams with pop star Halsey. They perform in the outdoor setting of downtown Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheatre (filmed before the virus outbreak, naturally), with highlights including Halsey’s 2019 single “Graveyard” and the Fleetwood Mac classic “Dreams.”

Eating History (10/9c, History): Nothing stale about this new series — or is there? We’ll find out as vintage food expert Old Smokey and collector Josh Macuga embark on a quest to find food products thought to be lost in time, sealed in their original packaging and just waiting for foodhardy palates like theirs to give it a taste-test. Among the treats in back-to-back episodes: a 1979 bag of Fritos, hardtack dating back to 1913 and Vietnam-era rations. We could all use some TV comfort food these days, and maybe this is what we didn’t know we needed.

Little Fires Everywhere (streaming on Hulu): The fault lines in suburbia shift dramatically in the fourth episode, in which battle lines are drawn between Elena (Reese Witherspoon) and Mia (Kerry Washington) over the conflict involving Bebe (Huang Lu) and her baby now in the custody of Elena’s good friend, Linda (Rosemarie DeWitt). While the women put to rest any notion of friendship, where does that leave their kids, who have become increasingly attached to each other, and to a degree, the polar-opposite moms they each wish they had?

Inside Wednesday TV: The inspiring Netflix documentary film Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution visits a summer camp near Woodstock, N.Y. that transforms the lives of teens with disabilities. President Barack and Michelle Obama are among the executive producers… Young Adam Goldberg (Sean Giambrone) gets his Pee-wee on in ABC’s The Goldbergs (8/7c) when Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey) buys him a bike just like the one in Pee-wee’s Big Adventure… TBS’s Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (10:30/9:30c) returns from coronavirus-related hiatus, during which she filmed digital shorts titled Beeing at Home with Samantha Bee. New episodes of her topical comedy series will be broadcast from her home in the woods of New York, with her husband and executive producer Jason Jones (The Detour) filming her — from a safe social distance.




Conversation7 Comments

Please read the TV Insider Community Guidelines.

Comments are closed on this story.

  1. R

    RedBowtie

    Guess Matt didn't get his wish 'cos Stumptown DID end with a cliffhanger of sorts...

    Sure hope it's renewed. One of my new faves...

    1

  2. B

    BluePlanet

    Stumptown Season Finale had a HUGE tease at the end! Season 2, please!

  3. R

    RedElephant

    ABC all night.

    1. J

      Jena

      Not sure you saw my comment the other day, about Supergirl, but the main storyline of Supergirl these days seems very similar to the show from a few years ago, Reverie. People put themselves in a sort of "reverie" (but they do it with some gadget for the eyes) and live in a virtual world of their choosing. But--surprise, surprise!--there's a problem with the technology and not everyone can get out.

  4. J

    Jena

    It's the S-Team tonight. SEA Team and SWAT. Oh, and also I'll watch some of Expedition Unknown on Discovery. The topic is the Bermuda Triangle. Not to mention, I love listening to Josh Gates. 😉

    Lastly, I'll recommend checking local TV listings, and if your PBS channel is showing Niall Ferguson's Networld, check it out. It's pretty interesting.

  5. T

    TUF

    Just Stumptown's finale tonight for me.

    Anyone enjoy last night's NCIS?

    1. J

      Jena

      The who-dun-it part of NCIS wasn't bad. But I could care less about all the syrupy melodrama about Jack(ie). Too much time spent on it.