Homecoming on ‘Wonder Years,’ Hostage Situation on ‘Fire,’ Touring National Parks, ‘Nature’ Goes Arctic, So Does ‘Ice Age: Scrat Tales’

The Wonder Years

The nostalgic family comedy tugs at the heartstrings when eldest Williams son Bruce (Spence Moore III) returns home for good from Vietnam. The family’s joyful relief is tempered with surprise when Bruce introduces them to his girlfriend, Tammy (Yvonne Orji from Insecure), who they never knew existed. That she’s in her 30s, divorced with an 8-year-old son, also comes as a bit of a shock.

Chicago Fire

Anchoring an all-new night of Chicago procedurals, Fire rallies the Firehouse 51 crew to come to the rescue of deputy district chief Boden (Eamonn Walker) when he’s taken hostage in a grocery store. Not only must he battle the violent assailant, but he’s tending to the injured while trying to prevent more victims. Calling all first responders!

Our Great National Parks

During his administration, President Barack Obama expanded protections for more than 550 million acres of America’s public lands and waters, making him a logical choice to narrate a five-part travelogue celebrating conservation and preservation of some of the world’s most majestic national parks. The visually stunning series, from the executive producer of Blue Planet II, journeys to five continents, visiting sites including Kenya’s Tsavo National Park, Indonesia’s Gunung Leuser National Park, Chilean Patagonia and the waters of Monterey Bay in California.

Nature

Nature visits the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska, one of our last untouched wilderness areas where wildlife including a migrating Porcupine caribou herd flourish. But climate change is threatening this once-frozen fortress and the polar bears, Arctic foxes and musk oxen who depend on it.

Ice Age: Scrat Tales

Get your Scrat on in six animated shorts spun off from the hit Ice Age franchise. Everyone’s favorite frantic squirrel is now a dad, and these toons show father and son Baby Scrat bonding while fretting over their most prized possession: the Acorn.

Inside Wednesday TV:

• Survivor (8/7c, CBS): In a two-hour episode, the time has come for the tribes to drop their buffs and rearrange the playing field. In a twist familiar from last season, one of the castaways is sent to another island with the power to change the game.
• CMT Storytellers: Brooks & Dunn (8/7c, CMT): Reviving the VH1 franchise with a country-music spin, Storytellers welcomes the popular duo to perform hits including “Neon Moon” and “Boot Scootin Boogie” while telling stories about their creative and songwriting process. More CMT Storytellers episodes will air later this year.
• Home Economics (9:30/8:30c, ABC): Tom (Topher Grace) hopes to finish his book before his 40th birthday, but his dad Marshall (Phil Reeves) is no help when he hijacks Tom’s writing seminar. Elsewhere, Tom’s wife Marina (Karla Souza) is planning a special sexy surprise for his big day.
• PBS NewsHour: Searching for Justice: Life After Lockup (10/9c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): A NewsHour special follows four former inmates as they adjust to life after incarceration, reconnecting with loved ones as they try to find work and housing while avoiding a return to imprisonment.