Revisiting ‘Salem’s Lot,’ ‘Heartstopper’ Returns, Lost in ‘Found,’ New ‘Law & Order’ Boss, ‘Rings of Power’ Finale

Salem’s Lot

Third time isn’t exactly a charm for the latest adaptation of Stephen King’s peerless 1975 vampire classic (previously filmed as a two-part miniseries in 1979 and 2004). Lewis Pullman, so good in Lessons in Chemistry, is a surprisingly bland lead as author Ben Mears, returning to his small Maine hometown in 1975, just as it’s being overrun by a vampiric menace. By compressing the story to just under two hours, director-writer Gary Dauberman (screenwriter of the It movies) sacrifices much of our interest in “the Lot’s” doomed denizens. And yet the cumulative power of King’s story never fails to chill as the dying burg becomes a ghost town of the undead. Memorable moments include young hero-nerd Mark Petrie (Jordan Preston Carter) trapping in a treehouse swarmed by his ghoulish classmates, and a nifty climax at a drive-in theater where the race is on to expose the vamps before the sun sets. Happy pre-Halloween!

Heartstopper

The sweet-souled romcom about teens experiencing the thrill of first love in all of its forms returns for a third season, with Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor, currently starring in Romeo & Juliet on Broadway) on the verge of exchanging those three very big words. But reality sets in when Charlie confronts his mental-health issues, introducing Ray Donovan’s Eddie Marsan as his therapist. The rest of their friendship group is also growing up, experiencing coming-of-age pains while considering their university and romantic options.

Found

Moving to a new night for its second season, the missing-persons drama finds the crisis management team led by Gabi Mosely (Shanola Hampton) in a state of crisis. They’re all still processing the news that Gabi was keeping her former abductor known as “Sir” (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) prisoner in her basement, consulting with him on their cases. Now the escaped Sir is on the loose, taking one of the team prisoner. As the search gets underway, Gabi faces another dilemma: whether or not to loop in her detective partner and would-be love interest Mark Trent (Brett Dalton).

Law & Order

The legendary revolving door on Dick Wolf’s flagship legal drama welcomes ER alum Maura Tierney for Season 24 to replace Camryn Manheim as the squad’s new lieutenant, Jessica Brady. Her arrival doesn’t sit well with Detective Riley (Reid Scott), but duty calls when they investigate the murder of a Brooklyn prosecutor, which triggers memories for ADA Maroun (Odelya Halevi) of her own sister’s violent death. Followed by the Season 26 premiere of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (9/8c), with Capt. Benson (Mariska Hargitay) hoping a hidden camera will reveal the perpetrators behind a home-invasion attack on a group of law students.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

The eventful Season 2 finale of the epic fantasy series covers a lot of ground, as befits its sprawling nature, with a fateful confrontation in the dwarf kingdom of Khazad-dûm while the battle rages on among elves and orcs in Eregion. Elsewhere, The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) discovers his destiny and (hardly a spoiler) his name. “Now let the song begin,” says Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear). But not until Season 3.

9-1-1

The “bee-nado” wreaks havoc in the sky, when a small plane is swarmed and collides with a passenger jet whose passengers include Athena (Angela Bassett), busy transporting Dennis Jenkins (Glenn Plummer), the man convicted of killing her ex-fiancé. Poor Athena: Whether by sea or air, she never travels safely. Followed by the deeply silly Doctor Odyssey (9/8c), where it’s Singles Week, and Grey’s Anatomy (10/9c), which introduces Michael Thomas Grant (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) as James, a gay hospital chaplain.

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• Scrabble (8/7c, The CW): Raven-Symoné hosts a word-building game show based on the classic board game, followed by the premiere of Trivial Pursuit (9/8c), hosted by LeVar Burton, with contestants answering questions in six categories over three rounds.
• Dateline: The Smoking Gun (8/7c, Oxygen): Andrea Canning hosts a spinoff of the true-crime series, focusing on detectives’ search for the key piece of evidence that could crack a case.
• Mountain Men (9/8c, Discovery Channel): Season 11 of the rugged reality series opens with Josh Kirk trying to move a 150-year-old log cabin to his Wyoming bison ranch without destroying it.
• The Old Man (10/9c, FX): In a dark chapter of the espionage drama, Harper (John Lithgow) opens his home to Dan (Jeff Bridges) and Zoe (Amy Brenneman) as they take stock of the dire situation back in Afghanistan.

ON THE STREAM:

• Velma: This Halloween Needs to Be More Special (streaming on Max): Mindy Kaling reprises her role as the intrepid sleuth in the adult animated Scooby-Doo Also on Max: a new season of the animated prequel Gremlins: The Wild Batch, with Simu Liu joining the main voice cast.
• House of Spoils (streaming on Prime Video): Oscar winner Ariana DeBose stars in a psychological thriller as a chef opening a restaurant on a remote, and seemingly haunted, estate. Boo, chef!
• Hold Your Breath (streaming on Hulu): Emmy and Tony winner Sarah Paulson stars in a period thriller as a grieving mother in Oklahoma’s 1930s Dust Bowl who senses a sinister presence threatening her family. Or is it a manifestation of madness?
• Reggaeton: The Sound that Conquered the World (streaming on Peacock): Bad Bunny and J Balvin are among the music stars interviewed in a four-part docuseries charting the propulsive genre’s rise from the barrios of Puerto Rico.
• Tyler Perry’s Zatima (streaming on BET+): The Sistas spinoff, following the turbulent relationship of Zac (Devale Ellis) and Fatima (Crystal Renee Hayslett) returns for a third season.