Warrick Page / Max
The Pitt
Time flies when you’re saving lives. Three decades after his star-making turn on ER, Noah Wyle is back as chief attending Dr. “Robby” Robinavitch in an overwhelmed Pittsburgh ER. The series unfolds over a single 15-hour shift, each episode an hour of crisis and trauma, with saving moments of grace and even a little gallows humor. Dr. Robby is healer, counselor, mentor, boss to a crew of residents, interns and first-day med students trying to make it through an unusually eventful day. Launches with two episodes. (Read the full review here.)
Matt Kennedy / Netflix
American Primeval
Wagon Train was never like this, and Wild West barely describes it. From director Peter Berg and writer Mark L. Smith (The Revenant), a grueling six-part Western follows a woman (the ever-fearless Betty Gilpin) and her son (Preston Mota) on a treacherous journey through the forbidding Utah territory of 1857. She enlists the taciturn Isaac (Taylor Kitsch), raised by Shoshone and scarred by tragedy, as her guide and sometimes protector in a lawless land teeming with outlaws, bounty hunters, hostile Natives, ravenous wolves and — worst of all — murderous Mormon militiamen on a messianic crusade to slaughter anyone they feel threatens their sovereignty. Even John Wayne might have second thoughts about moseying into this hellhole, where anyone with a shred of decency is lucky to make it to the next scene.
Euan Cherry / Peacock
The Traitors
Unseating RuPaul’s Drag Race last year from its Emmy throne in the reality-competition category, the cheeky mock murder-mystery game returns for a third season of devious shenanigans in a remote Scottish castle, with impish Alan Cumming hosting (also an Emmy winner, breaking RuPaul’s eight-year streak). Once again, clandestine “traitors” plot against “faithful” game players who hope to expose the schemers before they’re “murrrdered.” This season’s reality-starry cast features two-time Survivor champ Tony Vlachos, Vanderpump Rules’ notorious Tom Sandoval, WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Garcia, various Bachelor/Bachelorette and Real Housewives alums, Big Brother veterans, and at least two Bobs, The Biggest Loser’s Bob Harper and Bob the Drag Queen.
Sonja Flemming / CBS
Hollywood Squares
Leave it to Triumph the Insult Comic Dog to leap on a reference to American Horror Story and describe it as “the show about what it’s like to be Tyra Banks’ assistant,” while she’s sitting several rows below in her own square. Jokes fly fast and furiously on the latest revival of the classic comedy game show, hosted by CBS Mornings co-host and The NFL Today analyst Nate Burleson and executive produced by Drew Barrymore, who occupies the coveted center square. The tic-tac-toe inspired game is almost secondary to the banter among the comedians and celebrities, with Triumph a particular standout in the first episode. (About roastmaster Jeff Ross: “The man looks like Vin Diesel got lead poisoning.”)
Elizabeth Morris / Prime Video
On Call
Noah Wyle isn’t the only ER veteran who’s back on the small screen. Eriq La Salle is an executive producer and recurring player (as a stern sergeant) in a taut and immersive patrol-cop procedural that clocks in at a blissfully unpadded 30 minutes per episode. (All eight episodes of the first season are available for a binge.) Co-created by Tim Walsh and Elliot (son of Dick) Wolf, On Call rides along in Long Beach, California, with embattled veteran officer Traci Harmon (Pretty Little Liars’ Troian Bellisario) and her newbie rookie Alex Diaz (The Good Doctor’s Brandon Larracuente), adding verité tension with the use of body-cam and cellphone footage. Playing against type, Lori Loughlin costars as their astringent lieutenant, casting a critical eye on their every move and response.
INSIDE THURSDAY TV:
- Orange Bowl (7:30 pm/ET, ESPN): The first college football semifinal pits No. 7 Notre Dame against No. 6 Penn State.
- Animal Control (9/8c, Fox): Emily (Vella Lovell) has her hands full trying to keep Frank (Joel McHale) at arm’s length from her deep-pocketed new benefactor. Followed by Going Dutch (9:30/8:30c), where Colonel Quinn (Denis Leary) responds to a visit from his nemesis General Davidson (Joe Morton) by plotting to steal a decommissioned tank, unaware of daughter Maggie’s (Taylor Misiak) similar brainstorm.
- Impractical Jokers (10/9c, TBS): The pranksters are back for a new season of hijinks, with TikTok star Jax in tow.
ON THE STREAM:
- The Upshaws (streaming on Netflix): Mike Epps, Kim Fields, and Wanda Sykes return for a sixth season of raucous domestic comedy.
- Sons of Ecstasy (streaming on Max): A true-crime documentary depicts a drug war in 1990 Arizona between a British businessman and the offspring of a New York mob boss, each trying to control the booming ecstasy trade.
- Vera (streaming on BritBox): In the mystery series’ finale, DCI Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) investigates the murder of a young student found by the local stone formation The Dark Wives, a case that triggers memories from her childhood.