A ‘Not Dead’ Romcom, ‘Abbott’ Teachers Conference, Final Season of ‘Snowfall,’ Netflix Tackles the Murdaugh Murders

Not Dead Yet

This spirited but uneven comedy, starring Gina Rodriguez as Nell, an obituary writer whose subjects come to life before her, begins to show its true potential—as a romcom. Nell’s friends push her into the dating pool, though she’s barely recovered from the bad breakup of a five-year relationship. “Do you think love is an unsolvable equation?” the frustrated Nell asks her widowed bartender friend, Cricket (Angela E. Gibbs), who responds, “Love is not to be solved. Honey, it’s to be felt. … A connection can come when you don’t expect it.” As the formula dictates, that’s what’s about to happen for Nell in a most unexpected way.

Abbott Elementary

Speaking of romcoms, that vibe is very much alive on this hit comedy when the teachers leave Philly for a yearly education conference in Allentown, where what happens there may or may not stay there. Among the highlights: another clash between siblings, as Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) trades hilarious barbs with her equally blunt sister Kristen Marie (Lauren Weedman), who’s got news to share from Addington Charter School; and more awkward bonding between Janine (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams), who learns to his dismay just how much his girlfriend Amber was not amused by his Valentine’s LEGO gift.

Snowfall

The acclaimed drama about the rise of the crack cocaine trade in the 1980s begins its sixth and final season with two episodes, finding South Central kingpin Franklin (Damson Idris) in his most dire straits to date. Out of cash after falling victim to former CIA officer Teddy (Carter Hudson), he’s now being challenged by his Aunt Louie (Angela Lewis), who’s setting up her own empire. If that weren’t enough, he’s got the DEA, CIA, the LAPD and even the KGB to contend with.

Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal

With the Alex Murdaugh murder trial currently making daily headlines, a three-part docuseries puts the scandalous affair in perspective, unraveling a century’s worth of skullduggery involving the once-prominent South Carolina family. The series also explores the 2019 death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach in a boating accident with Alex’s son Paul allegedly behind the wheel. When Paul and his mother Maggie were murdered in 2021, Alex became the prime suspect.

INSIDE WEDNESDAY TV:

• Can’t Turn Us Around: Alabama’s Foot Soldiers (7/6c, History Channel): Hosted by Theo E.J. Wilson, grandson of a Tuskegee Airman, a documentary profiles Black Americans who risked their safety in the 1950s and ’60s to fight against segregation with demonstrations throughout Alabama.
• Dogs in the Wild (8/7c, PBS): The finale of the Nature miniseries focuses on untamed canines in Africa, Japan and the Sahara Desert who might be considered endangered.
• Chicago Med (8/7c, NBC): Things could get messy at the hospital during negotiations with the custodial workers’ union. Followed by an arson investigation on Chicago Fire (9/8c) and an urban nightmare on Chicago P.D. (10/9c), when Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) and Burgess (Marina Squerciati) are trapped on the L subway after a shooting.
• The Masked Singer (8/7c, Fox): Thank you for the music: ABBA songs provide the backdrop as Medusa returns to compete against Night Owl and Rock Lobster.
• Tough as Nails (9/8c, CBS): In the two-hour season finale, Savage Crew and Dirty Hands face off one last time, then in the individual final, the remaining players start demolishing, lugging and stacking in an effort to climb over shipping containers. The winner gets $200,000 and a Ford Super Duty.
• Nova: New Eye on the Universe (9/8c, PBS): The science series examines stunning new images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, expanding astronomers’ knowledge and curiosity about the universe.
• Viaplay: The Nordic streamer launches in the U.S. with initial offerings including the Danish crime drama Trom, about a journalist investigating the disappearance of an animal-rights activist; Norway’s thriller Furia, embedding the viewer in the underworld of right-wing terrorism; and the Swedish YA drama Threesome, in which a couple invites a French art student into their lives.