CBS Thursday Lineup Returns, More of ‘Mo’ and ‘Recruit’ on Netflix, Invitation to a Wedding, FireAid on Multiple Streamers, Gene Hackman at 95

One of the season’s few breakout hits returns with SAG Award nominee Kathy Bates killing it as the elderly lawyer with a secret agenda, whose mission to take down the lawyers she blames for her daughter’s opioid death becomes more complicated by the week. Matty “Matlock’s” husband Edwin (Sam Anderson) keeps reminding her that her colleagues, including her boss and almost-friend Olympia (Skye Marshall), are still suspects. But their latest case, arguing the wrongful termination of the niece of Olympia’s colleague and possible love interest Elijah (Eme Ikwuakor), puts Matty in the middle of the troubled relationship of Olympia and estranged husband Julian (Jason Ritter). As secrets spill out, can Matty keep hers?

The cases in this mystery-comedy may be paper thin, but watching police consultant Elsbeth (Carrie Preston) work her quirky magic more than compensates. Her target this week: a wellness guru (Will & Grace’s Eric McCormack), whose holistic Zen methods act as a catalyst for the Chicago lawyer to open up about her regrets and insecurities: “I made a lot of money working for some bad people,” she confesses to a fellow spa attendee. When the guru challenges Elsbeth, “Why are you carrying all of this heaviness?” he’s not just talking about her oversized tote bags. And yet there’s a murder to solve, but not before her prime suspect gives her the advice, “You have to forgive yourself to receive forgiveness from others.”

Winner of a prestigious Peabody Award for its first season, the timelier-than-ever comedy about a longtime Palestinian refugee (series creator Mo Amer) and his family in Texas returns for a powerful second and final season. Mo’s ordeal begins in Mexico City, where he is accidentally stranded without a passport, with a deadline looming for the asylum hearing he and his mother and brother have been waiting more than 20 years to attend. His journey home is fraught with pitfalls, but when he gets back to Houston, he doesn’t get quite the homecoming reception he’d hoped.

Also back for a second season, the spy action dramedy relocates to South Korea with new misadventures for learning-on-the-job CIA lawyer Owen Hendricks (Noah Centineo). While trying to clear his name for his multiple missteps last season, Owen begins to suspect the biggest threat in the spy game may be coming from within the agency.

Forget bridezillas. In this raucous wedding comedy from director Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), it’s the father of the bride, Jim (Will Ferrell), and Margot (Reese Witherspoon), the sister of another bride, who go to war when two destination ceremonies on an exotic island are booked for the same day. Will Jim’s daughter Jenni (Miracle Workers’ Geraldine Viswanathan) and Margot’s sister Neve (Bad Monkey’s Meredith Hagner) get to walk down the aisle — and will there even be an aisle? — when the dust settles?

Music stars rally to raise money for L.A.-area wildlife relief in a benefit concert from two L.A. venues, the Kia Forum and the Intuit Dome. The impressive roster of artists participating includes Billie Eilish, Jelly Roll, Lady Gaga, Olivia Rodrigo, Katy Perry, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Earth, Wind & Fire, Alanis Morissette, Green Day, John Fogerty, Joni Mitchell, No Doubt, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stevie Nicks, The Black Crowes, Dave Matthews and many more. The concert can also be heard on iHeartRadio, Apple Music, SiriusXM, Spotify, SoundCloud, Veeps and shown at select AMC Theatres.

To honor Gene Hackman on his 95th birthday, Turner Classic Movies showcases one of the great stars of the 20th century (and early 21st) with a night of his films, starting with his Oscar-winning performance as NYC detective Popeye Doyle in William Friedkin’s 1971 Best Picture winner The French Connection. The lineup includes 1975’s neo-noir Night Moves (10/9c) and one of his favorite roles, as an ex-con on a road trip with Al Pacino in 1973’s Scarecrow (midnight/11c).

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• Ghosts (8:30/7:30c, CBS): Time for some improv when Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) cover for their silent partner Isaac (Brandon Scott Jones) after their contractor Mark (Tristan D. Lalla) demands to meet the investor who’s holding up work on Jay’s restaurant. Preceded by Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage (8/7c), where Georgie (Montana Jordan) interferes with Mandy’s (Emily Osment) sales gig.
• Law & Order (8/7c, NBC): ADA Price (Hugh Dancy) is distracted by his father’s poor health while trying a case involving a rich man’s execution murder. Followed by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (9/8c), where the squad suspects a third party was involved in a woman’s assault.
• Scamanda (9/8c, ABC): A popular 2023 podcast inspired this true-crime docuseries from ABC News Studios, which lays out an elaborate scam perpetrated by Amanda Riley, a young wife and mother who convinced a San Jose, California community and her megachurch that she was heroically battling cancer. Her blog detailing the donations and fundraisers supporting her cause captured the interest, and outrage, of a former friend. What happened next … well, that’s the series. Followed by the premiere of another true-crime series, Perfect Wife: The Disappearance of Sherri Papini (10/9c), shown previously on Hulu.
• Animal Control (9/8c, Fox): Things get out of control on trivia night, while on Going Dutch (9:30/8:30c), it’s all about war games.
• Found (10/9c, NBC): Team Gabi is on the hunt for a missing Black neurodivergent boy they fear could suffer a breakdown if not found.

ON THE STREAM:

• The Pitt (streaming on Max): In the fifth hour of a long day’s shift on the gripping medical drama, a seizure among patients waiting in chairs is just the beginning of the chaos. “We’re never going to catch up,” sighs resident Dr. McKay (the terrific Fiona Dourif).
• School Spirits (streaming on Paramount+): The supernatural high-school drama returns for a second season, with dead-but-not-forgotten Maddie (Peyton List) facing new spectral challenges to solving her possible murder and finding her missing body.
• Bullsh*t (streaming on Viaplay): Like a Danish Sons of Anarchy, this award-winning six-part limited series from Denmark follows a group of disaffected youths who find community in a biker gang but also violent conflict with a rival gang.