Taraji P. Henson on ‘Abbott,’ Jeremy Renner’s ‘Rennervations,’ Moving Day on ‘Millions,’ ‘Ted Lasso’ and ‘Schmigadoon!’ on Apple

Abbott Elementary

Even swaggering Principal Ava (Janelle James) is intimidated by the force of attitude embodied by Janine’s (Quinta Brunson) flamboyant mom, Vanetta, brought to vivid life by Empire’s Taraji P. Henson. It’s Vanetta’s first time visiting her daughter at Abbott, which would be more of a surprise if she didn’t have an ulterior motive. No wonder Janine flocks to her “work mom” Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph), whose efforts to help might seem like overstepping. Bringing the comedy this week: an awkward Gregory (Tyler James Williams), who’s coming to terms with the fact that he lacks the gift of easy gab that would endear him to the school’s rank and file.

Rennervations

Whether talking to Diane Sawyer or appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jeremy Renner’s incredible recovery from a near-fatal snowplow accident on New Year’s Day is inspiring to behold. If you weren’t rooting for him already, you surely will after checking out his uplifting reality series, which feels like Extreme Makeover: Wheeled Edition. In each of four episodes filmed before the accident, Renner and a team of builders are joined by a celebrity guest (Vanessa Hudgens, Marvel co-star Anthony Mackie, Mission: Impossible co-star Anil Kapoor, singer-songwriter Sebastián Yatra) to retrofit decommissioned vehicles for new purposes to serve communities. In Chicago, Hudgens helps turn a tour bus into a mobile after-school music studio. In Renner’s home base of Reno, he and Mackie make over a shuttle bus into a mobile recreation center for the Big Brothers Big Sisters charity. In India, he and Kapoor rebuild a delivery truck into a water treatment facility, and in Mexico, Yatra helps transform a city bus into a mobile dance studio.

 

A Million Little Things

As the heartwarming drama nears its conclusion, it’s only natural for these Boston-area buds to look back to how it all started. The catalyst in this episode is Delilah (returning original cast member Stephanie Szostak) selling and moving out of the Dixon home where she and her late husband Jon (Ron Livingston, seen in flashbacks) raised their family before the tragedy of his suicide. This occasion brings the friend group back together, with hugs all around, even as Delilah’s daughter Sophie (Lizzy Greene) is trying to hide her relationship with Tyrell (Adam Swain). And just try not to choke up when little Theo (Tristan Byon) comes clean about his ambivalence regarding the return of Delilah, who he still blames for the breakup of his parents’ marriage.

Ted Lasso

A supersized (50 minute) episode finds the AFC Richmond team in a slump and coach Ted (Jason Sudeikis) distracted by more troubling family news back home. Not the best time for them to be facing the mighty Manchester City squad, but a soccer match might be the least of their worries. Can Ted somehow keep hope alive?

Schmigadoon!

The musical parodies just keep piling on delightfully in Cinco Paul’s exhilarating fantasy spoof-ical, which introduces new “Schmicago” characters with Tony winners Alan Cumming as vengeful barber Dooley Blight and Kristin Chenoweth as the proprietor of Miss Coldwell’s Home for Unwanted Orphans. (The Sweeney Todd send-up is delicious.) For variety, the Hair and Godspell vibe is strong when prison escapee Josh (Keegan-Michael Key) hangs with hippie-dippy Topher (Aaron Tveit) and his tribe, while Jane Krakowski as celebrity lawyer Bobby Flanagan brings the razzle-dazzle with a display of courtroom bravado worthy of Chicago.

INSIDE WEDNESDAY TV:

• NBA in Stephen A’s World (7 pm/ET, ESPN2, ESPN+ and the ESPN App): On a set resembling Stephen A. Smith’s own living room, the host welcomes celebrities and commentators for an alternate presentation of the Play-In Tournament game featuring the Chicago Bulls and the Toronto Raptors.
• Nature: The Hummingbird Effect (8/7c, PBS): Learn why these tiny birds are so crucial to Costa Rica’s astonishing biodiversity.
• Riverdale (9/8c, The CW): A sex ed class perplexes the 1950s Archies gang, so Veronica (Camila Mendes) suggests a make-out party at the Pembrooke.
• Nova: Weathering the Future (9/8c, PBS): A special edition of the science program spotlights innovative local solutions to the challenges presented by climate change, with extreme weather more common in more parts of the country.
• Single Drunk Female (10/9c and 10:30/9:30c, Freeform): The edgy comedy returns for a second season, as Sam (Sofia Black D’Elia) celebrates a year and a half of sobriety with a 29^th birthday party amid family, relationship and work complications. The entire 10-episode season will be available to stream on Hulu and On Demand starting Thursday.
• American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing (streaming on Netflix): Marking the 10^th anniversary of the tragedy, a three-part docuseries relives the manhunt and aftermath of the April 2013 bombing, creating a minute-by-minute timeline with closed-circuit video, police radio and cell phone footage, plus interviews with authorities and citizens who were instrumental in tracking down the bombers.