Picard boldly goes off the air for the season

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Thursday, March 26. All times are Eastern.

Top pick

Star Trek: Picard (CBS All Access, 3:01 a.m., first season finale): The first season of Picard has had its ups and downs, but we’re optimistic about this finale all the same. That’s even more true after seeing the clip below, which features a short, but very dynamic, sneak peek from “Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2”:

Sure, the first half of this two-parter wasn’t a high-water mark for the season. Here’s Zack Handlen on “Part 1”:

Star Trek: Picard had one major mystery left to uncover going into “Et In Arcadia Ego, Pt 1:” the true nature of Soji’s home planet. The promise of a world full of synthetic life-forms, living in secret with their own developed culture and interests, had a lot of potential, and while very little on this show has managed to actually deliver on its promises, there was at least a chance “Et In Arcadia” could break the curve…

Well, Picard and the others arrive at Synth Central, and for a few minutes, it’s weird and kind of cool. Soji takes them on a trip through a chronoton field to get there, thus bypassing 25 light years in less than 15 minutes. Narek managed to tag along in his own ship, despite Agnes destroying the tracking device; but that’s okay, because the Borg Cube arrives a few minutes later, because why the hell not. And then giant orchids rise up from the planet’s surface, seize all three ships, turn off their power systems, and drag them down to the ground. In retrospect, this is more silly than anything else, but in the moment, it suggests a level of weirdness I’d want from a show that’s otherwise disregarded most sensible storytelling approaches. If things are going to break, why not go absolutely nuts with it. A world of giant robot gardeners. Maybe this is where Audrey II came from.

Still, we’re crossing our fingers and looking forward to season two (whenever the hell that happens) regardless. Look for Zack’s recap soon.
Can you binge it?: Yes. In the U.S., all episodes to date are available through CBS All Access, which is also the home of Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Short Treks.

Regular coverage

Devs (FX on Hulu, 3:01 a.m.)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC, 8:30 p.m.)
The Sinner (USA, 9 p.m.): season-three finale
Better Things (FX, 10 p.m.)

Wild card

The Daily Social Distancing Show With Trevor Noah (Comedy Central, 11 p.m.): Have you checked in on how Trevor Noah and company are handling the new normal? Because it’s worth a look: