Back to the ’90s on HGTV, ‘The Simpsons’ Meets AI, ‘Trying’ Finale, ‘Shards’ Homecoming Night

Totally 90s House

The home-renovation craze goes retro in a competition pitting two teams of 1990s TV celebrities who find homes stuck in the past to remodel and modernize without losing their nostalgic charm. Family Matters alum Jaleel “Urkel” White hosts the series, welcoming teams featuring Beverly Hills, 90210‘s Brian Austin Green, 7th Heaven‘s Beverley Mitchell, and Full House‘s Jodie Sweetin vs. The Cosby Show‘s Keshia Knight Pulliam, Sabrina the Teenage Witch star Melissa Joan Hart, and Boy Meets World‘s Matthew Lawrence (who gets an extra boost from his brother and Blossom heartthrob Joey). As they take on weekly challenges — delivered by VHS tape, naturally — they’re guided by mentors Carter Oosterhouse (Carter Can) and The High Low Project‘s Sabrina Soto. How rad is that?

The Simpsons

Normal is a relative word in the Simpsons universe, but notwithstanding the annual “Treehouse of Horror” trilogies, this special episode spoofing Netflix‘s Black Mirror, titled “Yellow Mirror,” takes the misfit cartoon family deeper into the twilight zone than usual. In what’s described as “two dark tales of the curious and bizarre,” Homer gets a surreal reality check courtesy of a defective lamp, while little Maggie becomes hypnotized and controlled by an AI tablet. The horror!

Trying

The bittersweet domestic comedy from the U.K. ends its fifth season on a warm yet prickly note, when the family gathers to stage a quirky “WoodScott” festival to jolt the depressed Scott (Darren Boyd) out of his funk. But will anyone besides his nearest and dearest even show up? Still, this could provide the opportunity teenage Princess (Scarlett Rayner) has been looking for to level with her biological mom, Kat (Charlotte Riley), that having her living under the same roof as her adoptive parents (Esther Smith and Rafe Spall) isn’t sustainable.

The Shards

The ghoulishly stylized teen melodrama from Ryan Murphy and Bret Easton Ellis goes over the top yet again as Homecoming approaches and the campaign for this year’s King and Queen takes on a more sinister vibe with the serial-killing “Trawler” still claiming new victims. Bret (Igby Rigney) tries to convince any adult who’ll listen of his suspicions concerning new kid Robert Mallory (Homer Gere), who’s in the running for King. But the biggest crime might be the pretentious senior-class float designed by Debbie’s (Hayes Warner) dad’s androgynous assistant, Steven (Jordan Roth).

Ted Lasso

The great Tracey Ullman joins the fun in Season 4 as tough, sports-minded businesswoman Zelda Southport, whose appearance as keynote speaker at a Women’s Football Business Summit gives Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) and Keeley (Juno Temple) hope for their struggling women’s team. Speaking of which, coach Ted (Jason Sudeikis) is getting a definite feeling of FOBO (Fear of Being Outside the Locker Room) as he tries to break down the cliques among his unruly players.

INSIDE WEDNESDAY TV:

• Jeopardy! Masters (8/7c, ABC): The quarterfinals continue in the high-stakes trivia battle.
• MasterChef (8/7c, Fox): The Top 6 take over an actual restaurant during a crowded dinner service to test their skills. Followed by a new episode of Nation’s Dumbest (9/8c), testing the Bottom 5’s science acumen.
• America’s Got Talent (8/7c, NBC): Results from Tuesday’s vote determine which acts advance to the semifinals.
• ER: Caught on Camera (9/8c, TLC): Crises include a woman who unexpectedly codes during labor.

ON THE STREAM:

• One Hundred Years of Solitude (streaming on Netflix): From the streamer’s prestige aisle: the conclusion of the epic adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez’s literary classic, filmed in Colombia.
• Death of the Pastor’s Wife (streaming on Netflix): A three-part docuseries explores the 2024 death of Mica Miller, officially ruled a suicide, amid allegations of abuse and manipulation involving her estranged husband, a South Carolina pastor.
• The Last Sunrise (streaming on Prime Video): A romantic drama stars Maia Reficco as Ry, a college student with a chronic illness and an overprotective mother (Desperate Housewives‘ Eva Longoria) who takes them to Mallorca for the summer, where Ry falls for a dashing local (Fernando Lindez).