1) “Abbott Elementary,” 9:30 p.m., ABC. In an annual tradition, ABC has Halloween episodes for each of its comedies. That continues this year – but the network only has one comedy. At the school’s party (shown here), Janine and Gregory have a couple’s costume that doesn’t click. Also, parents question the hygiene of Barbara’s bobbing-for-apples event. Read more…
1) “Only Murders in the Building” season-finale, Hulu. After lots of twists, this gem reached a breakthrough last week: The young writer, we learned, apparently stole Sazz’s script, put his name on it and killed her. But now Mabel (Selena Gomez, shown here) is alone with him; she and her colleagues (Steve Martin and Martin Short) will be in mortal danger. Read more…
1) World Series, 8:08 p.m. ET, Fox; pre-game at 7. After two games in Dodger Stadium, the games move to Yankee Stadium, a familiar spot. The Yankees (shown here) are in their league-leading 41st Series, with 27 championships; the Dodgers are in their 22nd, , with seven. This continues Tuesday and, if needed, Wednesday and (in Los Angeles) Friday and Saturday. Read more…
The latest “Lincoln Lawyer” mini-series (shown here) is sleek, smart and kind of fun.
It also puts Netflix back in its sweet spot – light mini-series that thrust a hero into weirdly complicated cases.
Other streamers also do that, of course. The best is Hulu’s annual “Only Murders in the Building,” which wraps its fourth season Tuesday (Oct. 29).
But Netflix does it most often. It’s had Vince Vaughn in the 10-part “Bad Monkey,” Arnold Schwarzenegger in the eight-part “FUBAR,” Edgar Ramirez in the seven-part “Florida Man.” And its most consistent success is “The Lincoln Lawyer,” with Manuel Garcia-Ruffo; it recently released its third 10-part season. Read more…
1) “Tracker,” 8:30 p.m., CBS, Sofia Pernas is back as Billie – the former lover and current nemesis of Colter (played by her husband, Jason Hartley; they’re shown here). They link to search for a baseball star. Pernas moved to the U.S. from Morocco at 5. She met Hartley on “The Young and the Restless” and starred for two summers in CBS’ “Blood & Treasure.” Read more…
1) “Elsbeth,” 10 p.m. Thursday, CBS. Mac (Brittany O’Grady, center, who’s terrific) is a former child star, gorgeous and clueless. She wakes up on Halloween-with a haircut, a hangover, a tattoo, an arrest and a nightmare (or maybe a memory) involving shooting someone. Elsbeth (in cocktail-hour costume) investigates, in an hour that’s bright, funny and well-plotted. Read more…
1) “I Am Alfred Hitchcock” (2021), 8-10 p.m., CW. Deftly fanning his fame, Hitchcock (shown here) did interviews, hosted a TV series, did cameos in his films … and directed great movies. Ranging from the haunting “Psycho” to the lively “North by Northwest,” they drew 46 Oscar nominations and six wins. Here’s a profile of a man who also had a controlling attitude. Read more…
1) World Series, 8:08 p.m. ET, Fox, with pre-game at 7. It’s the Dodgers (shown here with Shohei Ohtani) and Yankees, in what used to be a Series tradition. When they were neighbors (in Brooklyn and the Bronx), they did seven Series from 1941-56; the Yankees won six. Then the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. They’ve only met in four more Series (each winning two), and none since 1981. Read more…
1) “Doctor Odyssey,” 9 p.m., ABC. Ever since the “Roseanne” days, ABC has savored its Halloween episodes. That starts at 8 p.m., with the “9-1-1” crew busy on the holiday; also, Buck’s decorations are scarier than intended. Then it’s the Halloween Week cruise (shown here) on “Odyssey”; the episode will rerun a week later, on the actual holiday. Read more…
Maybe we should start worrying about ABC.
At first, its apparent austerity program seemed logical. Faced with giant jolts – the pandemic and two strikes – ABC scrambled. It added unscripted shows; it also borrowed shows from cable and streaming networks.
But now that’s gone overboard. After the season had already started, ABC decided to pillage all of “Monday Night Football,” pushing two game shows and “Scamanda” until 2025.
They won’t be missed; the world certainly has no shortage of games or true-crime stories. ABC does have some good shows — including “High Potential,” shown here, at 10 p.m. Tuesdays — but it continues its austerity trend; consider: Read more…
