‘Line of Duty,’ ‘Prodigal Son’ and Other Finales, ‘Superman & Lois’ Flies Back

Season Premiere

The sixth season of Jed Mercurio’s (Bodyguard) riveting police-corruption thriller shattered ratings records in the U.K. and begins an exclusive run for the next seven weeks on the Brit-oriented streamer. It opens on a surprise: Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) has left the AC-12 anti-corruption unit (“I got fed up of nicking coppers”) for a murder investigation team led by Detective Chief Inspector Jo Davidson (Boardwalk Empire’s brilliant Kelly Macdonald). Kate’s loyalties are tested when Jo makes a controversial decision while following a lead on a high-profile case involving the murder of a TV journalist. Could Jo be bent? And who to trust in a police hierarchy where even the top brass are suspected of being in collusion with organized crime? Familiarity with past seasons will be helpful in following the intricate twists, but I can’t think of a better binge.

Series Finale

9/8c

I’m in shock that this enjoyably lurid suspense procedural has been canceled after its second season—but at least we get to enjoy one last walk on the dark side with NYPD profiler Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne) and his serial-killer dad, Martin “The Surgeon” Whitly (Michael Sheen, chewing the scenery to the end). They’re both on the run in the series finale, with Martin enjoying his taste of freedom, exulting over nougat and pancakes while Malcolm is horrified to be seen as his escaped father’s accomplice. When they cross paths in Vermont with another serial killer known as “The Woodsman,” Martin sees an opportunity for redemption. But this over-the-top series has other plans. And back home, gird yourself for a major catfight when Malcolm’s mom, Jessica (Bellamy Young), welcomes deranged Dr. Vivian Capshaw (Catherine Zeta-Jones) into her posh lair. I’m really going to miss this wacky show.

8/7c

Following a two-month disruption, the new (and already renewed) domesticated Superman family drama finds the Man of Steel (Tyler Hoechlin) second-guessing his decision to let son Jordan (Alex Garfin)—who’s inherited his dad’s otherworldly abilities—play football.

More finales:

• The Resident (8/7c, Fox): There’s turmoil as usual at Chastain in the fourth-season finale, but it promises to be a happy day for Conrad (Matt Czuchry) and Nic (Emily VanCamp) as they welcome their new baby daughter.
• black-ish (9/8c, ABC): Boyz II Men appears in the Season 7 finale to help with an ad campaign just as Dre (Anthony Anderson) decides he needs a career chance when he starts feeling pigeonholed. (We now know he has one last season to figure things out.) Followed by what we now know to be the series finale of spinoff mixed-ish (9:30/8:30c), which looks back at the summer when Bow (Arica Himmel) and her sibs all got their own bikes.
• Big Sky (10/9c, ABC): The Western Gothic crime drama turns its back on the decimated Kleinsasser family’s saga, leaving behind a Hamlet-worthy body count, with the season finale focusing on psycho trucker Ronald Pergman (Brian Geraghty) finally behind bars. But for how long?

Inside Tuesday TV:

• NCIS (8/7c, CBS): Katrina Law (Hawaii Five-0) begins a recurring role that could develop into something more permanent next season. She’s Special Agent Jessica Knight, the sole survivor of an explosion that takes out a REACT team.
• Frontline: The Healthcare Divide (10/9c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): In a joint investigation with NPR and American University’s Investigative Reporting Workshop, Frontline explores the pandemic’s impact on “safety net” hospitals in lower-income communities, which were already struggling amid the inequities in a health-care system that favors for-profit chains.
• Chad (10:30/9:30c, TBS): Will poor, needy Chad (Nasim Pedrad) never learn? “You just try so hard and it never works,” says his long-suffering best friend Peter (Jake Ryan) of the high-school freshman who seeks popularity no matter the cost to his dignity. The cringe factor hits new levels in the first season’s penultimate episode when Chad’s idol, Reid (Thomas Barbusca), invites him to join his buds for a weekend getaway at his family’s lake house. What are the odds this won’t go swimmingly?