Worth Watching: ‘Unicorn’ Finale, ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ on HBO Max, ‘Superstore’ Visitor, Bye-Bye Kardashians, ‘Grey’s’ New Trauma
A selective critical checklist of notable Thursday TV:
The Unicorn (9/8c, CBS): Network TV’s most heartfelt sitcom wraps its second season with back-to-back episodes. In the first, delayed from last week because of President Biden’s prime-time speech, it’s a rite of adult life when the guys all schedule colonoscopy appointments for the same time when Wade (Walton Goggins) and Forrest (Rob Corddry) realize their buddy Ben (Omar Miller) is too scared to go. The hilarious Nicole Byer returns as Michelle’s (Maya Lynne Robinson) drama-queen sister, Meg. In the season finale (9:30/8:30c), widower Wade decides to live in the moment now that his long-distance relationship with Shannon (Natalie Zea) has gone kaput. Could this mean another fling with wildcat Caroline (Betsy Brandt) from the widows’ group?
Zack Snyder’s Justice League (streaming on HBO Max): Restored and expanded to epic length, just as a legion of superhero fans demanded, the director’s cut of the maligned 2017 film now clocks in at four hours, the better to fit in a galaxy of action heroes including Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Superman (Henry Cavill), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and The Flash (Ezra Miller). Can they put aside their own demons long enough to save the planet from Darkseid, Steppenwolf and DeSaad?
Superstore (8/7c, NBC): This underrated sitcom continues to bring the big laughs one week before its series finale. In what amounts to a mini-Kids in the Hall reunion, Dave Foley reunites with Mark McKinney (the overeager-to-please Glenn) when he shows up at the St. Louis store as Lowell Anderson, the son of Cloud 9’s founder, trumpeting his reputation as “the Elon Musk of big-box stores.” Unfortunately, his literally out-of-the-box ideas are too out there for floor supervisor Cheyenne (Nichole Sakura), forcing a showdown between the big cheese and Glenn, the store’s mousy co-manager.
Keeping Up with the Kardashians (8/7c, E!): After 14 years and 20 seasons of self-regarding overexposure, including 12 spinoffs, the first family of reality TV embarks on their final batch of episodes. Whether you regard this news as a promise or a threat, don’t fool yourself to believe that this is the last you’ve seen of the clan that brought new meaning to being famous for being famous. (And what does that say about any of us for falling for it?)
Grey’s Anatomy (9/8c, ABC): The hospital is rocked by its latest tragic loss in an episode appropriately titled “It’s All Too Much.” Even Richard (James Pickens Jr.), who has already suffered so much over the years, is questioning his faith. It’s not all bad news, though. Maggie (Kelly McCreary) manages to get Winston (Anthony Hill) hospital privileges, and the lovebird docs work together on a case.
Followed by A Million Little Things (10/9c, ABC), where Maggie’s (Allison Miller) surprise news puts loyal Gary (James Roday Rodriguez) in a bind, when he has to choose between supporting his ex and being there for his new girlfriend, Darcy (Floriana Lima). Life is no easier for Regina (Christina Moses), who brings her dejected spouse Rome (Romany Malco) to work as the restaurant spirals in the wake of COVID, or for Eddie (David Giuntoli), who turns to his music protégée Dakota (Anna Akana) when he needs his supply of pain pills secretly replenished. Have they considered renaming this show A Million Little Woes?
On the Stream: Discovery+ presents the documentary Groomed, about the personal journey of filmmaker Gwen van de Pas, who goes back to her Holland hometown to come to terms with the sexual abuse she experienced as a child from her former swim coach. She investigates the practice of “grooming” by interviewing survivors, psychologists and a sex offender… Netflix shifts into Lifetime woman-in-peril mode for Deadly Illusions, starring Sex and the City’s Kristin Davis as a novelist married to Dermot Mulroney, whose life is disrupted after hiring a seemingly perfect nanny/au pair (Awkward’s Greer Grammer). You can take it from there… Also new to Netflix: Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American, a stand-up set of observational comedy filmed outdoors in L.A. last October… Topic’s latest import is the Belgian political comedy Parlement, about a young assistant working his way through an impenetrable bureaucracy. … Shudder offers an unusual horror film, Slaxx, about a possessed pair of jeans that proves to be a deadly fit for a trendy clothing empire… For wrestling fans, Peacock sets up a WWE hub with a library of content including all past WrestleManias.
Inside Thursday TV: The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament gets underway with the First Four (starting at 5 pm ET/4c on truTV and 6:20 ET/5:20c on TBS), with eight at-large teams competing to qualify for the last four slots in the final field of 64… More college shenanigans, as Freeform’s black-ish spinoff grown-ish (8/7c) closes out its junior year (i.e., its third season) with Zoey (Yara Shahidi) rethinking her relationship with Aaron (Trevor Jackson), whose campus activism is turning CalU’s graduation ceremony into a public protest against university investments in private prisons… It must still be St. Patrick’s Day for The CW’s Legacies (9/8c), when a leprechaun arrives at the school… E!’s Overserved with Lisa Vanderpump (9/8c) finds the Real Housewives veteran playing hostess to celebrity friends at Villa Rosa, with dinner parties and party games.
