‘Dancing’ to the Finale, ‘Murder in a Small Town’ Finale, Cobie Smulders Is ‘Accused,’ Lidia Gives Thanks

Gauging the strength and popularity of their Top 5 couples this season, ABC’s long-running dancing competition chose not to eliminate anyone during last week’s semifinals, which means there will be plenty of dancing in the three-hour Season 33 finale before one team takes home the glittery Len Goodman Mirrorball. Among the highlights: special pro routines to Madonna’s “Holiday” and Troye Sivan’s “Rush,” plus a dance pairing Derek Hough and Mark Ballas and a return appearance from Season 32 champs Xochitl Gómez and Val Chmerkovskiy. The competing couples perform a “redemption dance” chosen by the judges and the ever-popular freestyle routine where anything goes. Will Joey Graziadei be the first male Bachelor to win, or will bragging rights go to an Olympian (Ilona Maher or Stephen Nedoroscik), a Super Bowl champ (Danny Amendola) or a talented TV/Disney star (Chandler Kinney)?

The rural town of Gibsons on Canada’s Sunshine Coast has attracted more than its share of unwelcome visitors, and as the first season of this low-key procedural ends, police chief Karl Alberg (a soulful Rossif Sutherland) suspects a serial killer in their midst. Schitt’s Creek’s Noah Reid guest-stars as a popular art teacher, and Lucas Bryant returns as on-the-skids TV actor Roger Galbraith, which is pretty much the suspect pool. The crime-solving is rather perfunctory, but what most viewers will probably care about most is whether Karl can rekindle his romantic connection with local librarian Cassandra (Kristin Kreuk).

Even when the plots of this legal anthology take it a twist too far at times, the casting is reason enough to check in. Case in point: Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) is wonderfully empathetic as Val, a struggling divorced mom whose humiliation at the hands of her (secretly) abusive ex (Eric Johnson) makes her the most natural suspect when he’s found dead in his garage. Val’s reckless actions, including some poorly timed and clumsy lies to the new wife (Dina Shihabi) and the police, seem to seal her fate. But that’s only half the story.

There are few weeks better suited for a food special than the run-up to Thanksgiving, and popular TV chef and author Lidia Bastianich returns for a new installment of her ongoing series of culinary travelogues. Bastianich celebrates progressive entrepreneurs in her latest special, including the 3 Cricketeers company in Minneapolis that specializes in turning insects into cuisine (cricket pesto, anyone?) and an Indigenous Food Lab Market also in Minneapolis. She moves on to explore Appalachian cuisine in Virginia and spotlights organizations in California that provide fresh produce to those in need. Dig in, everyone.

The medical mockumentary teaches Alex (Allison Tolman) another hard lesson in hospital management when “mixing things up” with the nurses’ work assignments provokes the “mean girls” (including Superstore’s Nico Santos) to push back. And no one is surprised when cocky surgeon Bruce (Josh Lawson) overreacts to being named “featured employee” at St. Denis. Wait till he learns the honor changes each quarter. Followed by Night Court (8:30/7:30c), where judge Abby (Melissa Rauch) pursues the mystery of whether Dan (John Larroquette) is the biological father of her boyfriend Jake (Ryan Hansen), only to feel like the odd person out when the guys begin to bond.

INSIDE TUESDAY TV:

• Black Comedy in America (9/8c, Vice TV): “Eddie Murphy in the ’80s” follows the comedian as he breaks out from Saturday Night Live into movie and stand-up stardom. Followed by an episode exploring the historical roots of Black comedy, grounded in post-slavery racial stereotypes and cultural segregation.
• China, The U.S. & the Rise of Xi Jinping (10/9c, PBS): A two-hour Frontline documentary from correspondent Martin Smith’s team explores the background of China’s president and the nation’s contentious economic and policy conflicts with the United States.
• It’s in the Game: Madden NFL (streaming on Prime Video): A four-part docuseries reveals the chaotic origins of the iconic Madden NFL video game and celebrates its cultural impact.
• Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae (streaming on Hulu): A four-part true-crime documentary revisits the history of Native American activist Annie Mae Aquash, who fought for Indigenous rights in the 1970s until her murder in 1975, which went unsolved for nearly three decades.
• Anthony Jeselnik: Bones and All (streaming on Netflix): The comedian marks his 20th year of shockingly funny stand-up in a special filmed during his world tour.