Mass Casualties in ‘The Pitt,’ Whimsical Mysteries in ‘The Residence’ and ‘Ludwig,’ Annaleigh Ashford in ‘Happy Face,’ ‘9-1-1’ Boards ‘Doctor Odyssey’

The Pitt

Hour 12 of a grueling shift is the most harrowing yet in this riveting hospital drama, when the ER is flooded with casualties from a mass shooting at a music festival. “We’re a M*A*S*H unit now: no frills, combat zone medicine,” announces a doctor who’s arrived to help the overwhelmed staff, scrambling to make do with limited resources and a dwindling blood supply. The show’s widely acclaimed realism has never felt more relentlessly intense.

The Residence

Like a game of Clue played in America’s most famous D.C. domicile, this whimsical eight-part comedy-mystery from Shondaland is a slapstick Scandal that’s intentionally funny. In the classic Knives Out tradition, everyone above and downstairs is a suspect when the White House chief butler (Giancarlo Esposito) is found dead during a ritzy state dinner. The biggest puzzle, however, may be the famed detective brought in to solve the case. Orange Is the New Black Emmy winner Uzo Aduba is a quirky conundrum as Cordelia Cupp, who confounds everyone from the FBI director to a congressional panel with her peculiar methods. Grilling the mighty as well as the minions with disarming tactics while displaying Sherlock-level observational skills, Cupp would really rather be birdwatching. The expert supporting cast includes such comedy pros as Jane Curtin, Bronson Pinchot, and Al Franken, who are all guilty of scene-stealing.

Ludwig

From jolly England comes an even more brilliant twist on the mystery-comedy genre, perfect for fans of Monk, starring Peep Show alum David Mitchell as socially awkward puzzle master John “Ludwig” Taylor, whose distant twin brother James enjoys success as DCI of a Cambridge police department. When James goes missing, his concerned wife (Anna Maxwell Martin) enlists a reluctant John to fill his shoes in a risky impersonation. Turns out that “Ludwig” has a knack for solving murders, viewing each case as a cryptic puzzle. But how long can he keep the charade going, while investigating what happened to his sibling? The supporting cast includes The Pitt‘s Gerran Howell (med student Whitaker) as an eager constable on Taylor’s team. Launches with two episodes.

Happy Face

Tony winner Annaleigh Ashford, better known for comedy (though she earned an Emmy nomination for Welcome to Chippendales), gets an emotional workout in an eight-part drama based on the true story of Melissa Moore, who has spent her adult life trying to hide the fact that her father Keith (Dennis Quaid) is a notorious murderer known as the “Happy Face” Killer. When he reaches out from prison, disrupting her family life and career as a makeup artist on a daytime TV talk show, Melissa goes public, hoping to keep an innocent man from being executed for one of her dad’s crimes. Launches with two episodes.

Doctor Odyssey

Crossover alert! You’d think a cruise ship would be the last place the LAPD’s Athena Grant (9-1-1 star Angela Bassett) would want to be after her and Bobby’s (Peter Krause) watery misadventures last season. But duty calls, and she comes aboard the Odyssey during “Casino Week” to enlist Dr. Max’s (Joshua Jackson) help to expose two passengers she suspects are seeking a way into the ship’s vault. Earlier, on 9-1-1 (8/7c), Bobby encounters his estranged mom while responding to a call at a megachurch, while Buck (Oliver Stark) looks for new friends now that Eddie (Ryan Guzman) has left town.

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• NCAA Basketball: First round men’s action begins early at 12:15 pm/ET on CBS, with Louisville vs. Creighton, followed by games through the afternoon and evening also on truTV, TNT, and TBS. (Go to ncaa.com for a full schedule.) The women’s First Four games conclude on ESPN2, with Washington vs. Columbia at 7 pm/ET, followed by William & Mary vs. High Point.
• Law & Order (8/7c, NBC): The detectives and prosecutors have their work cut out for them when a murder suspect is celebrated as an underground hero. Followed by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (9/8c), where the team gets involved in the case of a comatose woman when it’s revealed she’s pregnant.
• Farmer Wants a Wife (9/8c, Fox): Kimberly Williams-Paisley is the new host of the dating series, introducing four new hunky farmers — avocado/fruit farmer Matt, cattle rancher Jay, wheat farmer John, and rancher/horse trainer Colton — seeking a soulmate among 32 city-slicker singles.
• Accused: Guilty or Innocent? (9/8c, A&E): The true-crime docuseries, following a defendant from the time they’re charged through their trial, opens its seventh season with a two-part episode.
• Grey’s Anatomy (10/9c, ABC): Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and the Grey Sloan staff deal with the ethical implications of Dr. Evan Moore’s (Lena Waithe) deception involving her wife’s liver transplant. On a lighter note, a college scavenger hunt causes havoc in the hallways.
• Found (10/9c, NBC): M&A goes into emergency mode when an EMT is abducted in broad daylight.

ON THE STREAM:

• Reacher (streaming on Prime Video): In Season 3’s penultimate episode, Reacher (Alan Ritchson), Duffy (Sonya Cassidy), and Neagley (Maria Sten) prepare to take down Quinn (Brian Tee) during the illegal weapons sale coinciding with Beck’s (Anthony Michael Hall) 50th-birthday bash. But Reacher isn’t thrilled when Duffy insists on looping in the ATF, whose agents will soon learn it’s a fool’s errand telling Reacher to stay put.
• Tyler Perry’s Duplicity (streaming on Prime Video): Perry writes and directs a thriller starring The Vampire Diaries‘ Kat Graham as a lawyer who enlists her P.I. boyfriend (Tyler Lepley) to investigate the shooting of her best friend’s husband.
• Darwin (streaming on ALLBLK): It’s survival of the fittest and cagiest in a crime caper about sexy grifters who run afoul of a murderous predator.