Pat Sajak’s Final Spin on ‘Wheel,’ Glen Powell’s Pretend ‘Hit Man,’ ‘Doctor Who’ Does ‘Bridgerton,’ Daytime Emmy Awards

Wheel of Fortune

For more than 40 seasons, the clown prince of the game-show empire has put contestants at ease as they spin the wheel, with his nightly banter alongside Vanna White a constant in millions of viewers’ lives. Ending a run that began in 1981, Pat Sajak steps down as Wheel of Fortune’s genial and self-effacing host. He’ll remain behind the scenes for a while once the ubiquitous Ryan Seacrest assumes the role in the fall. Fans will miss Sajak, but as long as the wheel keeps turning, we’ll keep guessing those letters.

Hit Man

Starring and co-writing with director Richard Linklater, Glen Powell confirms his easygoing leading-man status with this diverting blend of comedy, romance and suspense. In a story loosely based on fact, Powell plays nerdy professor Gary Johnson, who moonlights for the New Orleans police and inadvertently discovers an untapped skill as an undercover agent and master of disguise, posing as a hit man to help nab bad guys before a crime can be committed. Gary’s doing great until he meets and falls for an abused wife (the appealing Adria Arjona), blurring the lines between fantasy and real life as he becomes her protector and eventually more. Think of this as a romcom with a body count. The supporting cast includes Parks and Recreation’s Retta as Gary’s police buddy and Fear the Walking Dead’s Austin Amelio as his ethically challenged nemesis.

Doctor Who

Each week during this transitional season for the delightful fantasy series, I keep thinking this is my favorite episode yet. This time I really mean it, when the Doctor (the charismatic Ncuti Gatwa) and his spunky companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) enter the Regency world popularized by Bridgerton, joining a ball in 1813 and having a ball on the dance floor. Until mischievous and murderous shapeshifters join the party, followed by a bounty hunter named Rogue (Jonathan Groff, currently a Tony nominee for Merrily We Roll Along) who initially suspects the Doctor as the culprit. The chemistry between Gatwa and Groff is a wonder to behold as they contrive a public scandal to expose the interlopers, and the episode builds to an unforgettably romantic and emotional climax.

Daytime Emmys

Entertainment Tonight’s Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner (themselves nominees as Outstanding Daytime Personality-Daily) return to host the ceremony honoring daytime talk shows, soaps, lifestyle and culinary programming and courtroom shows. Among the highlights: Australia’s long-running Neighbours, currently streaming on Amazon Freevee, is among the contenders for Daytime Drama Series, and in the guest actor category, Dick Van Dyke at 98 (playing an amnesiac on Peacock’s Days of Our Lives) becomes the oldest actor with a Daytime Actor nomination. Go, Dick!

Power Book II: Ghost

The crime drama spinoff’s fourth and final season, timed to mark the Power franchise’s 10^th anniversary, is being split into two parts (the remainder to premiere in September). The action opens with Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr.) and Brayden (Gianni Paolo) on the run after starting a war with Noma (Caroline Chikezie) and the Tejadas. Monet (Mary J. Blige) has been left for dead, but only a fool would count this mean mother out.

INSIDE FRIDAY TV:

• Stanley Pup (8 pm/ET, NHL Network, streaming on ESPN+): In advance of the Stanley Cup finals beginning this weekend, the NHL partners with Petco Love for a friendly competition featuring adoptable rescue dogs, 32 in all to represent each NHL team. Celebrity pooch lovers Kristin Chenoweth, Mickey Guyton and Miranda Lambert are on hand, with commentary from Akbar Gbajabiamila and Mark Shunock, and Alexa Landestoy reporting from ringside.
• Tipline Mysteries: Dial 1 for Murder (9/8c, Hallmark Mystery): Teen Wolf’s Holland Roden stars in a light mystery as Maddie Moore, whose moonlighting gig at a newspaper’s tip line leads to intrigue when she intercepts a warning of a jewel heist. When Calls the Heart’s Chris McNally is the skeptical detective who joins her in snooping for the truth.
• True Crime Watch: On ABC’s 20/20 (9/8c), an updated report on Leo Schofield, who was released from prison and exonerated after serving more than 30 years for the murder of his wife Michelle. On Dateline NBC (9/8c), Andrea Canning reports on the investigation into the murder of two women in the same Arlington, Texas apartment complex.
• Guy’s All-American Road Trip (9/8c, Food Network): Guy Fieri and his family pack up their RV for a mouthwatering road trip through the American West from South Dakota to Wyoming, with chef Antonia Lofaso joining the caravan. The opener includes an indigenous feast, a stop at Mount Rushmore, a barbecue lunch for local troops and a camp cook with grass-fed buffalo on the menu.
• 100 Days to Indy (9/8c, The CW): The docuseries’ season finale takes place at the annual Indy 500 race, where storm clouds part for an exciting finish.
• Fantasmas (11/10c, HBO): Julio Torres (Los Espookys) scores again with a surreal comedy in which he traverses a fantasy dream version of New York (populated by guest stars including Bowen Yang, Paul Dano, Steve Buscemi, Aidy Bryant and Ziwe) while searching for a lost golden earring.

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