‘Home Improvement’ Reunion on ‘Shifting Gears,’ NBC’s Chicago Trio, ‘Platonic’ Finale, 90 Years of Julie Andrews

Shifting Gears

Tim Allen’s comeback sitcom shifts into nostalgia mode when widower Matt (Allen) reluctantly joins fellow widow Charlotte (his former Last Man Standing costar Nancy Travis) to a meeting of a grief support group. Who should he encounter but familiar faces from his breakthrough hit, Home Improvement, with cameos by Patricia Richardson, Richard Karn, and Debbe Dunning. But the bulk of the Season 2 premiere coasts along in romcom style when Matt reunites with Eve (Jenna Elfman) after three months, and his daughter Riley (Kat Dennings) confronts her feelings for Gabriel (Seann William Scott). Followed by the Season 5 premiere of Abbott Elementary (8:30/7:30c), where a collapsing roof in the teachers’ lounge does nothing to dampen Janine’s (Quinta Brunson) enthusiasm for the annual Development Day.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This original limited series on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ stars Grace Van Patten as Amanda Knox — an American exchange student in Italy wrongfully convicted of the murder of roommate Meredith Kercher. The miniseries finale airs tonight, but Knox’s real-life tale will surely continue to fascinate the public, as it has since 2007. The Twisted Tale is based on co-producer Knox’s own account of authorities’ flawed interrogation, her coerced confession, and her stunning conviction, followed by her nearly four-year incarceration and fight to prove her innocence. After weathering an unyielding assault by sensationalist media, Knox was finally freed in 2011 and exonerated in 2015.

Chicago Med

Dick Wolf‘s Chicago triumvirate of Wednesday night procedurals is back, starting with the Season 11 premiere of the medical drama, where cases involve a family caught in a house fire and two sisters who barely survived a chaotic rave. Gaffney administrator Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson) clashes with Abrams (Brennan Brown) over staff changes. Followed by the Season 14 opener of Chicago Fire (9/8c), which welcomes a new firefighter, Sal Vasquez (The Good Doctor‘s Brandon Larracuente); and Chicago P.D. (10/9c), which pairs Voight (Jason Beghe) with a new partner, Eve Imani (The Night Agent‘s Arienne Mandi), as he works to rebuild the scattered Intelligence unit.

Platonic

Can this friendship be saved? That’s the question as Season 2 of the terrific buddy comedy ends with Sylvia’s (Rose Byrne) career as a corporate party planner on the rise — at the expense of valuable family time — while Will’s (Seth Rogen) plans to open his new bar hit a snag. “It’s impossible to get rid of him,” Sylvia laments to her friend Katie (Carla Gallo), who empathizes because Will’s been crashing with her lately. But we all know deep down that they’ll never be able to fully quit each other.

The Sound of Music

The hills are alive … with fans around the world wishing the legendary Julie Andrews a happy 90th birthday with all of her favorite things. To celebrate, TCM is showcasing her biggest and most enduring hit, the 1965 musical The Sound of Music, with her indelible performance as Maria von Trapp, the nun-turned-governess-turned-stepmother (at 8/7c). Followed by her Oscar-nominated gender-bending turn in husband Blake Edwards‘ uproarious 1982 farce Victor/Victoria (11/10c), and overnight, Hitchcock’s 1966 Torn Curtain (1:30 am/12:30c) opposite Paul Newman, and the 1966 epic Hawaii (3:45 am/2:45c).

Play Dirty

Mark Wahlberg lives up to his new movie’s title as the shoot-first, think-later master thief Parker in an action thriller based on Donald E. Westlake’s hard-boiled Parker novels (written as Richard Stark). With an expert supporting cast including LaKeith Stanfield, Keegan-Michael Key, Tony Shalhoub, and Rosa Salazar, Play Dirty finds Parker taking on the Mafia, a billionaire, and an entire army as he embarks on the biggest score of his life: robbing an entire country.

INSIDE WEDNESDAY TV:

• Survivor (8/7c, CBS): Forget the Hunger Games. The castaways are feeling real hunger pangs as the reality of the survival game sets in, along with a generational divide. As if things weren’t already tough, a new disadvantage arrives during the immunity challenge. Followed by The Amazing Race (9:30/8:30c), which moves to Prague and a Roadblock with teams traversing a narrow plank hundreds of feet above ground.
• Air India Crash: Declassified (8/7c, Discovery): A documentary special investigates the horrific tragedy from June when a plane crashed just seconds after takeoff from India’s Ahmedabad Airport, killing 241 people on board and 19 on the ground, with the cause determined to be the engines’ fuel supply being cut off. But why and how?
• Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent (8/7c, The CW): When four people are found shot in a condo, the detectives must figure out which of the victims was the actual target.
• The Real Murders on Elm Street (9/8c, Investigation Discovery): Life and death imitate pulp art in the second season of the true-crime series that features cases that occurred on actual Elm Streets across the country. Followed by the series premiere of The Friday 13th Murders (10/9), which relives dark deeds connected to the infamous calendar date.
• The Golden Bachelor (9/8c, ABC): Kathy and Susan from the show’s first season crash the house to host a slumber party for the ladies, sharing crucial advice.
• Ice Road Truckers (9:30/8:30c, History Channel): On hiatus since 2017, the docuseries about fearless truckers navigating treacherously icy roads in northern Canada returns for a long-anticipated 12th season.
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (11:35/10:35, NBC): Late night’s other Jimmy makes news, welcoming Doja Cat as his co-host, with Blood Orange as a musical guest.

ON THE STREAM: