A New Cause for ‘Will Trent,’ Abigail Breslin Goes Vigilante in ‘Accused,’ Kane Brown a Musical Storyteller, John Corbett Is ‘Father’s ‘Older Man’
As if being daddy to an adopted chihuahua wasn’t enough, ABC’s Will Trent takes a young boy under his wing after a massacre. Former child star and Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin takes on deadly white supremacists in Fox’s Accused. Kane Brown, co-host on this Sunday’s CMT Awards, is the latest CMT Storyteller. Sex and the City alum John Corbett is a love interest again—this time as the “older man” on Hulu’s How I Met Your Father.
Will Trent
Raised in a foster system that treated him badly, eccentric GBI agent Will Trent (a disarming Ramón Rodríguez) has a thing for strays. First, he took in the abandoned and needy chihuahua he christened Betty—who recently went viral as “Bad Bitch Betty”—and now he refuses to leave behind a boy who’s left without his family in the wake of a trailer-park massacre. Elsewhere, Will’s fellow foster-care survivor Angie (Erika Christensen) continues to spiral when she can’t put her past behind her, and Will’s partner Faith (Iantha Richardson) has family issues of her own when her mother pays a visit.
Accused
The legal-nightmare anthology, recently renewed for a second season, gets topical in an episode starring former child star Abigail Breslin, nominated for an Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine when she was 10. She’s Esme, who ran away from a world of parochial racism to a life and love (an interracial lesbian relationship) in the big city. She decides she can run no longer when a white nationalist drives his car into a non-violent protest. Frustrated by the lack of police follow-through, she goes dangerously undercover as a vigilante. If you think that can’t possibly end well, you’d be right.
CMT Storytellers
Country-music star Kane Brown is having a moment. The two-time CMT Music Awards winner (and current three-time nominee) will co-host the CMT Music Awards with Kelsea Ballerini this Sunday on CBS. He’s also guest-starring on the freshman CBS hit Fire Country a week from Friday. But first, he takes center stage at the Grand Ole Opry’s intimate Studio A for a concert showcase of his hit songs, pausing to tell the stories of how they came to be. Among the playlist: “For My Daughter,” “Cold Spot,” “Like I Love Country Music” and “What Ifs.”
How I Met Your Father
Sex and the City fans remember John Corbett as Aidan Shaw, one of Carrie’s significant others that got away. As a reminder of how time flies, he’s now the “older man” dating Sophie (Hilary Duff) in the romantic sitcom’s two-episode midseason finale, both available today. In the first, she nervously introduces Robert to her group of friends. Original How I Met Your Mother star Neil Patrick Harris reprises his “legendary” role as Barney in the finale, during which Sophie heads to Robert’s country house for the weekend. The series returns with new episodes May 23.
INSIDE TUESDAY TV:
- Listen (7/6c, ESPN+): An investigative documentary from ESPN journalists T.J. Quinn and Nicole Noren explores the 2018 murder of University of Utah student athlete Lauren McCluskey, revealing institutional failure by police and the university when they failed to protect her from an ex-boyfriend who was stalking and extorting her. ABC’s 20/20 will also report on the case in Friday’s installment.
- The Rookie (8/7c, ABC): The precinct investigates a series of kidnappings that show a pattern, while the heavy workload puts a strain on Lucy (Melissa O’Neil) and Tim’s (Eric Winter) relationship. The episode was directed by first-timer TK Shom as part of the Disney Entertainment Directing Program.
- American Auto (8:30/7:30c, NBC): In the throes of divorce, Payne Motors CEO Katherine Hastings (Ana Gasteyer) orders big changes in the workplace, which gives chief product designer Cyrus (Michael Benjamin Washington) an opening to introduce his dream car. Alas, Katherine has designs of her own.
- 9-1-1: Lone Star (9/8c, Fox): 126 chief Owen (Rob Lowe) may have a new love interest when he meets a woman at a fundraiser, while Tommy’s (Gina Torres) EMS crew keeps crossing paths with her former private-contractor employers as they respond to emergencies.
- Renovation 911 (9/8c, HGTV): Not to be confused with a first-responder series, a new fix-it show features sister restoration experts Lindsey Uselding and Kirsten Meehan who come to the rescue of Minneapolis-area homes ruined by disaster: a kitchen, living room and garage ravaged by fire, another home with a huge hole from a car crash, and a flooded living room and basement from a leaking washing-machine hose.
- Gotham Knights (9/8c, The CW): When the Mutant Gang takes hostages at the city’s annual Founder’s Gala, Wayne heir Turner (Oscar Morgan) comes out of hiding with Joker’s daughter Duela (Olivia Rose Keegan) and Harper (Fallon Smythe) to save the day, while Harper’s brother Cullen (Tyler DiChiara) infiltrates the Gotham City P.D.
- The Movement and the “Madman” (9/8c, PBS): American Experience reveals a little-known chapter of political history from 1969, when pressure from Vietnam anti-war protestors steered newly elected President Nixon from a secret “madman” strategy to threaten the North Vietnamese with nuclear weapons.
- Staged (streaming on BritBox): David Tennant and Michael Sheen, playing over-the-top versions of their actor selves, return for a third season of the pandemic-era comedy. Now post-lockdown, they try again to stage Six Characters in Search of an Author with director Simon Evans (also playing himself).
- Mae Martin: SAP (streaming on Netflix): The comedian and star of the streamer’s acclaimed comedy Feel Good gets a debut stand-up showcase in a revealing set filmed in December at Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre. Broad City and A League of Their Own’s Abbi Jacobson serves as director.