Baseball and the Pete Rose Scandal, ‘Presumed Innocent’ Finale, Wayne Brady and Family, ‘Time Bandits’

Documentary Premiere

9/8c

Was there ever a baseball superstar as scrappy — and as flawed — as Pete Rose, the hometown hero of the Cincinnati Reds? (Disclosure: I grew up in the shadow of the Big Red Machine during the team’s 1970s heyday.) “He should be one of the most exalted athletes in history,” laments sports broadcaster Al Michaels during a colorful four-part documentary airing over two nights (concluding Thursday) that depicts Rose’s triumphant and combative rise and devastating fall when Major League Baseball banned him for life from the sport after it was revealed that he bet on games while managing the Reds. “He was an entertainer … and a consummate liar,” says Sports Illustrated’s Larry Keith. Rose sits for new and candid interviews, having finally confessed his sins, though still arguing for reinstatement in his 80s.

Season Finale

The legal melodrama based on Scott Turow’s career-making bestseller closes its case in the Season 1 finale, titled “The Verdict.” The streamer didn’t make the episode available for preview, so it’s unknown if the book and movie’s infamous twist remains intact. (David E. Kelley also chose to keep the disappointing finale of his HBO series The Undoing under wraps. Let’s hope this is more satisfying.) The last time we saw prosecutor-turned-defendant Rusty Sabich (Jake Gyllenhaal), it wasn’t looking good after he became his own lawyer in court — ignoring that old “fool as a client” truism — and then took the stand, much to his chagrin. “Dare I ask what now?” his wife Barbara (Ruth Negga) wonders. We’re about to find out. Regardless of the outcome, the show will return for a second season. Also ending its first season on Apple TV+: Eva Longoria’s Land of Women.

Series Premiere

10/9c

While not quite The Brady Bunch, game-show host and recent Broadway star (in The Wiz) Wayne Brady’s blended family has the makings of a real-life sitcom. Brady welcomes reality-TV cameras to capture the interpersonal and business dynamics of his relationship with his ex-wife, best friend and business partner Mandie Taketa, also co-parents of their 21-year-old daughter Maile. Their production company is also a family affair, with Mandie’s life partner Jason Fordham in charge of post-production and cinematography on their projects, while he and Mandie raise their young son Sundance-Isamu. Here’s the story…

Series Premiere

Inspired by Terry Gilliam’s 1981 cult fantasy, the whimsical new Time Bandits (from What We Do in the Shadows’ Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi with The Inbetweeners’ Iain Morris) stars Friends’ Lisa Kudrow as wacky Penelope, leader of a band of time-tripping outlaws. We make their acquaintance when they stumble into the bedroom of 11-year-old history nerd Kevin (Kal-El Tuck) through a “time egress” portal that allows Kevin to see history first-hand. Their misadventures take them to Stonehenge, the Trojan Horse, the Harlem Renaissance, the Ice Age and other marvels of the past — always with tongue firmly in cheek.

The Opening Ceremonies aren’t until Friday, but Paris Olympics action begins early with soccer and rugby matches. The U.S. men’s soccer team returns to the Olympics for the first time since 2008, facing host nation France. Live coverage includes Copa America winner Argentina vs. Morocco at 9 a.m. ET and European Cup winner Spain taking on Uzbekistan at 5 p.m. ET. Coverage of the U.S. men’s rugby team battling defending Olympics champ Fiji begins at 2:30 p.m. ET (all games also streaming on Peacock).

INSIDE WEDNESDAY TV:

• Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars (8/7c, Fox): The two-hour season finale winnows the field from five to three finalists, who each pitch their innovative business to a room of industry pros. The winner takes the $250,000 grand prize.
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (9/8c, ABC): It’s a Full House reunion when John Stamos and Dave Coulier share the hot seat playing for charity. But first, it’s comedians Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata rocking the house.
• Sea Change: The Gulf of Maine (10/9c, PBS): National Geographic underwater photographer Brian Skerry’s work inspired this three-part docuseries about the impact of climate change on the warming waters of the Gulf of Maine, a life-sustaining body of water that stretches from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia.
• The Real CSI: Miami (10/9c, CBS): The true-crime series delves into the bizarre 2018 death of 71-year-old Alan Jay Abrahamson, found shot in an otherwise peaceful Palm Beach Gardens golf and country-club community. Where the murder investigation ends up is a surprise to all. (The solution harks back to a 2003 episode of original CSI.)

ON THE STREAM:

• Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam (streaming on Netflix): A three-part docuseries depicts the rise and fall of controversial boy-band starmaker and fraudster Lou Pearlman (Backstreet Boys, NSYNC)
• Resurrected Rides (streaming on Netflix): Saturday Night Live alum and host Chris Redd brings comic energy to an extreme auto-makeover show from the original producers of Pimp My Ride.
• Silent Witness (streaming on BritBox): The long-running British crime drama returns for a 27th season of two-part mysteries starring Emilia Fox as pathologist Dr. Nikki Alexander and David Caves as forensic scientist Jack Hodgson. Their new cases include a mummified woman and deep fakes obscuring the truth.
• Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical (streaming on BroadwayHD): The hit off-Broadway musical spoofing Stranger Things makes its streaming debut, captured live during its New York run at Playhouse 46. Subscribers can join a live watch party at 7 p.m. ET.