Worth Watching: Hospital Drama on ‘Resident’ Winter Finale and ‘New Amsterdam,’ HBO’s ‘COVID Diaries,’ OWN’s ‘Delilah’
A selective critical checklist of notable Tuesday TV:
The Resident (8/7c, Fox): Another Fox series goes into temporary “winter finale” hiatus after a pivotal episode that welcomes Nic (Emily VanCamp) back to Chastain just in time to confront the man who stabbed her, whose arrival in the ER triggers all sorts of trauma. Things aren’t much happier for Dr. Cain (Morris Chestnut), who’s now in recovery and struggling against a diagnosis that could determine his professional future.
New Amsterdam (10/9c, NBC): Look who’s back at New York’s oldest public hospital: Dr. Floyd Reynolds (Jocko Sims), who’s returned to perform medical miracles on the ailing Dr. Kapoor (Anupam Kher), even as the COVID-stricken neurosurgeon’s friend Ella (Dierdre Friel) goes into labor with his grandson. It’s an emotionally charged episode, when Iggy (Tyler Labine) reveals his own deep-rooted psychological trauma to Dr. Bloom (Janet Montgomery) and Max (Ryan Eggold) has second thoughts about his restrictive opioid policies when he learns about its impact on the hospital’s most suffering clients.
COVID Diaries NYC (9/8c, HBO): Five young filmmakers (ages 17 to 21) relate their own stories on camera in documentary shorts about urban life during the height of the pandemic, with a focus on their family members, many of them essential workers who have no choice but to stay on the job despite the risks. The diaries include Aracelle Colón’s “My COVID Breakdown,” as she struggles with mental health while her father goes to his day job at the post office, and Camille Dianand’s “When We Dad Got COVID,” about her fathers ordeal as an MTA subway mechanic when he contracts the virus after a coworker’s death.
Delilah (9/8c, OWN): Maahra Hill stars in the title role of a soapy legal drama from the creator of the much juicier Greenleaf. Delilah Connolly is a lawyer who sets up her own shingle in Charlotte, N.C., taking on underdog cases while raising three kids (her own and a nephew) as a single mom. Her new case, involving a cover-up of malfunctioning military equipment, puts her in direct conflict with her BFF, Tamara (Girlfriends‘ Jill Marie Jones), who works at a posh firm. “This is like a Marvel movie,” gushes Delilah’s sole employee and secretary, Harper (Ozioma Akagha), about the impending court battle. “I hope it’s not that long,” Delilah sighs.
On the Stream: Binge alert: Hulu drops all four seasons of one of my all-time favorites, The WB’s romantic drama Felicity (1998-2002) from J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves, starring the luminous Keri Russell in a college triangle involving Scott Speedman (Ben) and Scott Foley (Noel)… New to Britbox: 63 Up from 2019, the continuation of director Michael Apted’s documentary series that began chronicling the lives of British citizens at age 7 and revisiting them at seven-year increments. This serves as an homage to Apted, who died earlier this year at 79… For true-crime fans: Discovery+ presents Unraveled: The Real Story of the Long Island Serial Killer, a two-hour documentary companion to the seven-part podcast.
Inside Tuesday TV: The ability to think fast on your feet takes on new meaning on The CW’s The Flash (8/7c) when Barry (Grant Gustin) gains a new power: speed thinking… Capping an all-new night of crime drama on CBS, FBI: Most Wanted (10/9c) welcomes a new team member, Special Agent Ivan Ortiz (Miguel Gomez), as they search for a child kidnapper and his latest victim… black-ish star Marsai Martin guest-hosts the second installement of ABC’s Soul of a Nation (10/9c), featuring segments on TikTok influencers, the philosophy of Afrofuturism and a performance from H.E.R.