The Presidential Debate, ‘Bear’ Is Back, Jiminy Glick in Late Night, Tudor Fantasy in ‘My Lady Jane’

Presidential Debate

Simulcast on most broadcast and cable news platforms, the critical first meeting during this campaign season between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump is a throwback to the earliest presidential debate, the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon showdown. In an attempt to reign in the chaos of recent times, CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash act as moderators from the network’s Atlanta studio with no live partisan audience to cheer or jeer. Microphones will be muted when the opponent is speaking. Following the debate, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show (11/10c) goes live with Jon Stewart hosting.

The Bear

In case you missed the early drop on Wednesday night, all 10 episodes of the Emmy-winning dramedy’s third season are now available to devour, although it might be best to savor a few episodes at a time. The intensity rarely lets up as combative master chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) drills down on his vision for his titular fine-dining restaurant, with an ever-changing menu taxing the staff as well as the new establishment’s finances. As always, the series generously spreads the wealth to its supporting players, especially Emmy winners Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Sydney and Richie, but also Abby Elliot as Carmy’s very pregnant sister Natalie and (in the standout sixth episode) Liza Colón-Zayas as ferocious line cook Tina.

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Hard to know who was laughing harder Monday night: the viewer or Bill Hader, the subject of insipidly inspired grilling by the deliriously funny Jiminy Glick in a segment of the late-night show that Glick’s doppelgänger Martin Short is guest-hosting this week. Get ready for an encore. For one night, Short takes a back seat to Glick for the entire show, welcoming good sports Melissa McCarthy and Nick Kroll as guests. No donut, or ego, is safe when Jiminy is around. Can’t wait.

My Lady Jane

The streamer has coined a phrase new to me — “romantasy” — to try to describe this irreverent, wacky and lusty twist on a Tudor-era costume drama. Ignoring actual history from the first profane utterances of its insistent narrator, My Lady Jane imagines an alternate reality in which the rebelliously independent Lady Jane Grey (the terrific Emily Bader) is not headed toward a beheading during the bloody post-Henry VIII transition. Though she resists being forced into a marriage (to Edward Bluemel’s swaggering Guildford Dudley), Lady Jane continues bucking the system while fending off rivals to the British throne. Adding to the complications: the kingdom’s prejudice against shapeshifters known as “Ethians,” who can turn into animals when you least expect it. Clearly, this is not your grandparents’ Masterpiece Theatre. Launching with all eight episodes.

Evil

“Are we now hunting witches?” wonders Ben (Aasif Mandvi), who you’d think would be used to such supernatural curveballs in his line of work. His latest investigation with Kristen (Katja Herbers) and David (Mike Colter) begins with the harrowing exorcism of a dancer who murdered her children, leading to a dance troupe with some very creepy moves. (Kirsten, naturally, is tempted to dance along.) Elsewhere in this wildly inventive series, David’s latest assignment from the Vatican involves training his psychic powers on kidnapped clerics in Ethiopia. And wait until Cheryl (Christine Lahti) learns what Leland (Michael Emerson) tried to do to one of her beloved (if noisy) granddaughters!

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• NHL Awards (7 pm/ET, ESPN): Outstanding players from the recently concluded hockey season reap honors at a ceremony from Fontainebleau Las Vegas, with comedian Matt Friend hosting and performances from singer-songwriter Bishop Briggs and dance music duo Loud Luxury as house DJ.
• Summer Olympic Trials (8/7c, NBC): Before the debate, coverage continues of track and field competition.
• AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Nicole Kidman (8/7c, Turner Classic Movies): Previously shown on TNT, the all-star salute to Nicole Kidman will be followed by a screening of her Oscar-winning performance as Virginia Woolf in 2002’s The Hours (9:30/8:30c).

 ON THE STREAM:

• Breaking New Ground (streaming on Max): Broadway performer and educator Robert Hartwell takes on the role of home renovator when he buys an 1820 plantation-style house in Massachusetts, reviving it with his own colorful personality. Episodes drop weekly.
• Domino Day: Lone Witch (streaming on Sundance Now and AMC+): Siena Kelly stars in the title role of a six-part British supernatural thriller as a sexy witch who feeds on the energy of humans.
• That ’90s Show (streaming on Netflix): The spinoff of That ’70s Show is back with Part 2 as Leia (Callie Haverda) returns to spend the summer of 1996 with grandparents Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) and Red (Kurtwood Smith), rekindling the messy relationships with her long-distance friends. Laura Prepon and Don Stark return from the original series, with guest stars including Tommy Chong, Will Forte, Seth Green, Wayne Knight, Carmen Electra and many more.
• Young. Wild. Free. (streaming on BET+): A high-school senior (Algee Smith) with family responsibilities is led astray by the femme fatale (Sierra Capri) he meets while she’s robbing a store at gunpoint. Mike Epps and Sanaa Lathan co-star.
• Criminal Minds: Evolution (streaming on Paramount+): The BAU takes serial killer Elias Voit (Zach Gilford) on a road trip (via private plane) to Iowa in an attempt to draw out the Gold Star killers. What could go wrong?
• Suicide Squad Isekai (streaming on Hulu): A Japanese anime based on the DC Comics characters sends the squad of criminals (Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Peacemaker, Clayface, and King Shark) into a fantasy world of monsters and magic with a 72-hour deadline before the bombs on their neck explode.