Remembering Robin Williams, ‘Chicago Fire’ Hits 200, ‘Four Hours’ Relives the Capitol Siege, Bees Buzz in ‘Nature’
A special edition of the ABC News Superstar series profiles the late, great Robin Williams. The milestone 200th episode of NBC’s Chicago Fire is a must-see for Casey fans. An HBO documentary examines the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. PBS’ Nature opens its 40th anniversary with a study of bees within an English garden.
Superstar
Few comedians had the range and combustible creative energy as Robin Williams, the subject of a documentary profile that illustrates the “spark of madness” that fueled his stand-up comedy while hinting at a darker side of substance abuse and depression. Interviews include Good Morning, Vietnam director Barry Levinson, fellow comics including Margaret Cho and Lewis Black, and excerpts from Williams’ interviews in the ABC News archives.
Chicago Fire
The first of NBC’s Chicago procedurals reaches a milestone-episode #200—but instead of celebrating, fans are fretting that this could be the swan song for Capt. Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer), who was last seen contemplating a move across the country to Oregon to care for Griffin and Ben Darden, sons of his late firefighter friend. It could also be a life-changing episode for Cruz (Joe Minoso), whose wife Chloe goes into labor, bringing him this much closer to fatherhood.
Four Hours at the Capitol
An immersive documentary replays the disturbing events and indelible images of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, where a surge of rioters stormed the building with the goal of disrupting the certification of the 2020 presidential election. Using new footage from phone videos, surveillance and body cameras, and first-hand accounts from lawmakers, police officers and protestors, the 90-minute film is a comprehensive account of an incident that shook American democracy at its core, leaving five dead and more than 140 police officers injured.
Nature
Thankfully, Nature will always be with us—the long-running PBS program, anyway, now in its landmark 40th season. The new season begins with a captivating artifact from the COVID-19 lockdown. What’s a wildlife cameraman like Martin Dohm to do when stuck at home? He trains his camera on his garden in Bristol, England, where he discovers more than 60 species of bees right outside his door, prompting a celebration of diversity within this insect family.
Dopesick
In another enraging chapter of the gripping docudrama about the scourge of OxyContin and the opioid epidemic, Betsy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Doc Fennix (Michael Keaton) hit rock bottom in their addictions while investigators seek the source of that infamous claim that the drug was only addictive to 1% of users. And how does the Sackler pharma family react to the reality of OxyContin’s addictive nature? They seek an “aggressive expert” who can testify to a new theory of “pseudo-addiction,” blaming the addict instead of the drug and suggesting that addiction is just a symptom of untreated pain, so why not just increase the dosage?
Inside Wednesday TV:
- Found (streaming on Netflix): When three adopted American teenagers discover online that they’re blood-related cousins from China, they decide to travel together to their birthplace to discover more about their shared genetic history. The documentary is directed by Amanda Lipitz, an aunt of one of the girls.
- Night Teeth (streaming on Netflix): For those seeking a nightly pre-Halloween fix, this thriller follows a moonlighting chauffeur on a perilous drive through L.A. when he realizes the young ladies in his back seat are bloodthirsty vampires.
- Survivor (8/7c, CBS): Can the hard-luck Ua tribe, reduced to only three members, survive the next immunity challenge and avoid becoming a team of two?
- The Wonder Years (8:30/7:30c, ABC): Dean (Elisha “EJ” Williams) sees the annual church lock-in as a chance to get closer to his crush, Keisa (Milan Ray). But providence interferes when he’s paired up with the pastor’s daughter instead.
- Winter House (9/8c, Bravo): Crossover alert! Cast members of Summer House and Southern Charm share a ski chalet in Stowe, Vermont for two weeks of Bravo-branded histrionics.
- CSI: Vegas (10/9c, CBS): The case against former lab partner David Hodges (Wallace Langham) gets more complicated for Gil (William Petersen) and Sara (Jorja Fox) when Internal Affairs puts his trial date on the fast track and threatens to move the investigation out of their jurisdiction.
- Secrets of the Dead (10/9c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): The history series launches its 19th season with “Magellan’s Crossing,” tracing the voyage of Portuguese captain Ferdinand Magellan on the first circumnavigation of the globe.