Worth Watching: ‘Modern Family,’ ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Finale, Interactive ‘You vs. Wild’ on Netflix, Hulu’s ‘The Act’
A selective critical checklist of notable Wednesday TV:
Modern Family (9/8c, ABC): The long-running family holds a very special wedding — or does it? When Haley (Sarah Hyland) goes into false labor, she and Dylan (Reid Ewing) impulsively decide to elope — until Claire (Julie Bowen) and Phil (Ty Burrell) catch wind of it, and what the expectant couple expected and hoped would be a simple ceremony becomes more and more farcically complicated. Among the hiccups: the desperation of uncles Mitch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cam (Eric Stonestreet) to get to a Sophie’s Choice musical, and grandpa Jay’s (Ed O’Neill) desire to woo an Instagram celebrity to endorse his new life of whimsical dog beds. What could possibly go wrong? Hold the rice, because you might be wiping away a sentimental tear or two before it’s over.
Schitt’s Creek (10/9c, Pop): Though having aired only half as long (five seasons), the irreverent cult comedy is also bringing its penultimate season to a close — with a very special episode built around opening night of the community theater’s musical production of Cabaret, directed by Moira (Catherine O’Hara) and starring motel owner Stevie (Emily Hampshire) as Sally Bowles. But when the leading lady goes missing, can the show go on?
You vs. Wild (streaming on Netflix): In a departure from the usual armchair nature series, a new series starring survivalist Bear Grylls calls upon the viewer to make decisions at each exotic fork in the road — or forest, or desert, or mountain. Whatever the viewer decides in this interactive format, that’s where Bear will go, determining the success of his journey. And the only gear you’ll need is a remote.
The Act (streaming on Hulu): In a pivotal episode of the gripping true-crime docudrama, daughter Gypsy (the terrific Joey King) has finally had enough after two years of her online-only relationship with the mysterious Nick (Calum Worthy), whose real life is possibly just as sad as hers. They contrive to meet in person, with Nick heading south from Wisconsin to meet his girlfriend and her overprotective and suspicious mother, Dee Dee (Patricia Arquette), at an otherwise empty matinee of a Cinderella movie. (Gypsy, naturally, is dressed as a princess for the occasion.) To say this faked “random” encounter doesn’t go well is an understatement. Where it’s leading is nowhere good.
Inside Wednesday TV: Haven’t we (not) heard this one before? Netflix premieres a horror movie, The Silence, set in a world under attack by monsters who hunt by sound and starring Sabrina‘s Kiernan Shipka as a girl who lost her hearing as a teenager and who seeks refuge with her family. Any resemblance to John Krasinski‘s A Quiet Place must be merely coincidental, right?… After last week’s blindside, CBS’s Survivor (8/7c) is promising an even wilder tribal council, with castaways strategizing up to the moment of the vote… Viceland’s six-part docu-series Dark Side of the Ring (9/8c) exposes some of the more sordid stories, several of them fatal, from the raucous history of professional wrestling… Will (Scott Foley) has a new girlfriend on ABC’s Whiskey Cavalier (10/9c), an MI6 agent named Emma (Ophelia Lovibond of Elementary), and will three be a crowd when she accompanies him and Frankie (Lauren Cohan) on a mission to Spain?
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