Romcoms for Valentine’s Day (New ‘Bridget Jones’, ‘La Dolce Villa’), ‘Elsbeth’s Scottish Admirer, ‘Cobra Kai’s Final Kick

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

It’s been a minute — make that almost a decade — since we checked in with the winsome romantic heroine Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) in Bridget Jones’ Baby. In the interim, much has changed, and in the fourth film in the franchise, Bridget has been a widow for four years — Mark (Colin Firth) perished while on a humanitarian mission — and is now raising two kids with the help of friends, including her most memorable ex, Daniel (Hugh Grant). When she decides to dive back into the dating pool, she finds romance with a younger man (One Day‘s Leo Woodall) and is also disarmed by her son’s science teacher (Chiwetel Ejiofor), though longtime shippers may hope she’ll end up back in Daniel’s arms.

La Dolce Villa

More Valentine’s week magic in a Hallmark-style romcom fantasy starring Scandal‘s Scott Foley in dad mode as Eric, a concerned father who follows his daughter (Maia Reficco) to Italy to try to talk her out of buying (for a Euro) and restoring a rundown villa. But then he meets the local mayor, Francesca (Violante Placido), and his past life as a professional chef begins to rear its savory head. As Francesca notes, “There’s no better place to rediscover your passion” that Italy. Ciao!

Elsbeth

In a change-of-pace episode with a decidedly Valentine’s feel, the guest star du jour isn’t the prime suspect, but an admirer of the quirky consultant (Carrie Preston) who helps her solve a crime from a far distance — all the way from Scotland, courtesy of a video art portal that connects Manhattan visually to a small Scottish village. Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four) adopts a Scottish brogue as Angus, a musician who composes ditties while staring through the portal — and when Elsbeth arrives on the scene of a murder he sort-of witnessed, they’re both charmed. As are we.

Cobra Kai

The Karate Kid sequel ends a remarkable six-season run that began on YouTube and moved in 2021 to the streaming giant, where the adventures of an adult Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), his frenemy rival Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and a new generation of dojo combatants keep Mr. Miyagi’s philosophy alive. The series picks up after Kwon’s (Brandon H. Lee) shocking death during the Sekai Taikai karate tournament, with one last battle facing Miyagi-Do. (The story isn’t over yet. A sequel to this sequel, The Karate Kid: Legends, set three years in the future, opens in theaters May 30.)

Matlock

Mattie (Kathy Bates) can charm the hide off an armadillo with her folksy (though phony) manner, but ambitious young Sarah (Leah Lewis) has soured on her after last week’s antics, and jury consultant/human lie detector Shae (Yael Grobglas) is no fan, either. “I don’t trust her,” Shae tells Sarah, who’s eager to dig up dirt on her colleague. And with Shae assigned to the latest case, to the chagrin of Olympia (Skye P. Marshall), Mattie has to watch her back, front and body language. Christopher Gorham (Covert Affairs) guest-stars as their client, a reformed oil magnate who claims his save-the-world cloud-seeding tech has been compromised by rivals.

The Pitt

The gripping medical drama moves into the afternoon (1-2 p.m.) with Dr. Collins (Tracy Ifeachor) mediating between a pregnant teenage daughter who wants an abortion and her equally adamant mother. Having been chastised several times already about staying in her lane as a newbie intern, Santos (Isa Briones) interjects herself in a tricky situation involving a patient who may be abusing his daughter.

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage (8/7c, CBS): Young Sheldon‘s Zoe Perry returns as Mary Cooper, whose war with Georgie’s (Montana Jordan) mother-in-law Mary (Rachel Bay Jones) comes to a head, with Pastor Jeff (Matt Hobby) stepping in to calm the domestic storm.
• Next Level Chef (8/7c, Fox): The fourth season of the high-concept cooking competition opens with eight social media-savvy chefs hoping to survive the audition round.
• Law & Order (8/7c, NBC): A teenage Jane Doe creates a challenge for the New York detectives. Followed by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (9/8c), where a high-school sexting incident exposes a more widespread scandal.
• Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8/7c, ABC): The first of a two-part season finale sends the crew to Arizona to design and develop a new wellness center with family residences for patients.
• Ghosts (8:30/7:30c, CBS): Jay’s (Utkarsh Ambudkar) dream of opening a restaurant is finally happening — but not if Flower (Sheila Carrasco) disrupts the celebration, acting on a prophecy from her long-ago cult leader.
• Animal Control (9/8c, Fox): The Super Bowl’s over, but Fox still has football fever, with former NFL star (and sports commentator) Rob Gronkowski guest-starring on the raucous comedy as himself, enlisting the animal control crew to help him wrangle real-life versions of NFL mascots.
• Found (10/9c, NBC): How did Sir’s (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) captivity begin? This episode provides answers.

ON THE STREAM:

• Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) (streaming on Hulu): Oscar-winner Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson directs a music documentary profiling the influential R&B band Sly and The Family Stone.
• Sweethearts (streaming on Prime Video): A 10-episode docuseries follows six high-school couples through their senior year and final summer, when they decide whether they’ll stay together past graduation and other milestones.
• Who Shot Otto Mueller? (streaming on Viaplay): The spirit of Agatha Christie infuses this absorbing true-crime series from Estonia. Over eight episodes, the spotlight falls on individual suspects being grilled by two young detectives investigating the murder of a former Soviet wrestler-turned-tycoon in his posh manor on his 65th birthday.