Mike Hughes on TV

1) “In the Dark” season-opener, 9 p.m., CW. The first season started strong, meandered, then ended fiercely. Murphy (Perry Mattfeld), who is blind, realized Dean is a crooked cop who killed her friend. She kicked him into a car crash, barely surviving. Now “Dark” is in strong shape, thanks to two supporting characters – Brooke Markham (shown here withg Mattfeld) as Murph’s only friend and Morgan Krantz as the oft-hapless owner of a guide-dog business. Desperate to keep the business going, they stole drug money. Consequences follow. Read more…

1) “Chicago P.D.” season-finale, 10 p.m., NBC. The seventh season ends (earlier than planned) with a quietly powerful episode. It starts with trying to catch thugs selling mini-Uzis. There are complications – there usually are – and then the real plot takes over. We won’t spoil any twists, except to say it’s a deep dilemma for Atwater, superbly played by LaRoyce Hawkins (shown here). The advice he gets – from his boss and from an ex-alderman (Wendell Pierce) now in prison – is complex and layered. So is the story. Read more…

1) “New Amsterdam” season-finale, 9 p.m., NBC. This is an extraordinary episode. That’s partly because of the prologue, which we aren’t supposed to tell about. But it’s mostly because of the rare subtlety: Medical shows tend to crank up the emotion; they assume it’s more dramatic to have kin weeping and wailing. In truth, we suspect, it’s more common to have muted resolve. That’s what you get in tough moments here, played with subtle perfection by the actors (including Janet Montgomery, shown here) and new director Dinh Thai. Read more…

1) “Baker and the Beauty” debut, 10 p.m., ABC. The Garcias are warm, hard-working folks who have a Miami bakery. They expect life to be kind of normal. Then Daniel (Victor Rasuk) and Noa (Nathalie Kelley, who was Cristal in the first year of the “Dynasty” reboot), a Kardashian-type pop-culture star, accidentally meet. You could call this a modern Cinderella, with the genders flipped … or a Latino “Notting Hill.” Either way, it’s subtly written, well-played and beautifully filmed. Read more…

1) “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,” 7-9:30 p.m., NBC. This 2018 production was called a concert, but don’t worry: It has costumes, sets and some impressive staging – all in support of great voices and soaring music. John Legend plays Jesus, with Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdaleine, Alice Cooper (shown here) as Herrod and lots of Broadway stars. Read more…