Worth Watching: ‘Superstore’ Finale, Inside Reality TV, More on Harry & Meghan, Teddy’s ‘Grey’s’ Breakdown
A selective critical checklist of notable Thursday TV:
Superstore (8/7c, NBC): “Everything Must Go” is a sign we’ve seen a lot, often with regret, displayed at a store’s closing — but the sentiment also applies eventually to all TV comedies, and the two-part series finale of this sweetly quirky workplace sitcom is especially poignant, warmhearted and memorable. The big news: America Ferrera is back as Amy, returning to her Cloud 9 home base in St. Louis after news leaks that corporate is shutting down most of the company’s Cloud 9 big-box stores. Is there any way for Amy to rally her former troops to convince the Powers That Be that theirs is a “perfect,” or even perfectly imperfect, store? And while she and Jonah (Ben Feldman) try to ignore the elephant in the break room that is their busted relationship, everyone knows better. Laughs mingle with tears in a super enjoyable sendoff.
For Real: The Story of Reality TV (9/8c, E!): Whether you think reality TV saved the medium or was the beginning of the end times, you can’t dispute that the genre is here to stay. One of reality TV’s proudest champions, Bravo’s Andy Cohen, hosts and executive produces a seven-part docuseries covering the gamut, from celebreality (a Cohen specialty) to dating and makeover series, whatever kept the pop-culture fires burning.
People Presents: Harry & Meghan’s American Dream (8/7c, The CW): Speaking of celebreality…. You say Oprah’s prime-time interview, and Prince Harry’s bus ride with James Corden, wasn’t enough to sate your fascination with the ex-royal couple? Here’s another hour, courtesy of the celebrity magazine, devoted to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, whose split from the royals continues to generate headlines. (A second royal-themed hour, celebrating Harry’s brother Prince William’s 10-year wedding anniversary with Kate Middleton, is scheduled for April.)
Grey’s Anatomy (9/8c, ABC): No one appears to have taken the death of fellow doctor Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) harder than Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), whose emotional trauma was already well underway after alienating the staff with her pre-nuptial betrayal of Owen (Kevin McKidd). Her collapse, which may also have triggered PTSD from her time as a combat medic, may be just what the doctor ordered for Owen to be able to come to terms with and forgive his longtime friend and former lover.
No Demo Reno (9/8c, HGTV, also streaming on Discovery+): While it can make for good TV, you don’t always have to tear something down to make a home improvement. That’s the message of renovation expert and social-media star Jenn Todryk, whose new series offers budget-conscious tips and design solutions to keep homeowners from becoming home wreckers in their desire to upgrade their digs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. First up is a family who began their renovation six years ago.
On the Stream: Peacock’s first true-crime series, John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise, is a six-part study of one of the nation’s most notorious serial killers. It includes excerpts from an hours-long prison interview from which only minutes have ever been seen. … More true crime on Discovery+ with Miracle Fishing: Kidnapped Abroad, which plays like a real-time thriller. Director Miles Hargrove borrows from a Video8 diary he kept in 1994 when his father was kidnapped by the Columbian FARC and the family attempted to meet his captors’ ransom demands. … On a lighter note, HBO Max presents the 10-part baking competition Baketopia, hosted by Rosanna Pansino (YouTube’s “Nerdy Nummies”), where top bakers are given unique ingredients to create amazing confections in what is described as a “larger-than-life baking wonderland.”… Also on HBO Max, for the kids in the room: an enchanting animated special based on the classic children’s book The Runaway Bunny, with voices including Tracee Ellis Ross performing an original song based on the book, and performances by Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Rosanne Cash, Ziggy Marley, Rufus Wainwright and more.
Inside Thursday TV: In the season finale of Fox’s feel-good sitcom Call Me Kat (9/8c), Kat (Mayim Bialik) uses the one-year anniversary of her Cat Café to honor the passing of the establishment’s oldest feline… In honor of Women’s History Month, Popsugar hosts Girl Talk (9 ET/8c, TLC and Discovery+, encore at 10/9c on OWN), a special promoting adolescent girls’ education, featuring a keynote conversation with Michelle Obama moderated by Lilly Singh. Kelly Clarkson performs, with special appearances including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Alicia Keys, Oscar nominee Andra Day, Demi Lovato, Marsai Martin, Naomi Osaka, Natalie Portman, Shonda Rhimes and more. … A&E’s non-fiction Nightwatch (10/9c) returns for a new season, following first responders on the streets of New Orleans.
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