Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Thursday, March 2. All times are Eastern.
Top picks
When We Rise (ABC, 8 p.m.): It’s the third night of ABC’s four-part miniseries about the fight for LGBT rights, which charts the movement from the Stonewall riots through the Supreme Court battle for marriage equality. Tonight’s entry centers on the ’90s and covers everything from the fallout of the AIDS crisis to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the Defense Of Marriage Act. Though Danette Chavez found the first few episodes of this miniseries stronger than the latter ones, she calls When We Rise “admirable and ambitious” in its attempt to make LGBT history accessible to a mass audience. And you can do a lot worse than having Mary-Louise Parker, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Guy Pearce give you a crash course on some unsung American heroes.
Top Chef (Bravo, 9 p.m.): It’s time for Top Chef to crown another winner, and Randall Colburn is more excited than Tom Colicchio chowing down on a perfectly cooked steak. Brooke and Shirley battle it out over a four-course progressive meal. And while Randall is still kind of bummed about Sheldon’s departure last week, he’ll nevertheless be celebrating the finale in style: By reviewing the episode in his best Padma Lakshmi-inspired flowy top.
Riverdale (The CW, 9 p.m.): This week’s episode of Riverdale looks to be particularly Josie And The Pussycats centric, which is a-okay with LaToya Ferguson. Josie isn’t thrilled to discover that Valerie is helping Archie prepare for the school’s variety show. Plus Josie also has to deal with her own overbearing dad. Elsewhere, Veronica butts heads with her mom, Hermione starts her new job, and Betty and Jughead team up for some more investigating. For her part, LaToya is hoping the episode features as many Josie And The Pussycats-scored montages as possible. Hey, it worked the last time the ladies were onscreen.
Premieres and finales
The Voice (NBC, 8 p.m.): The Voice’s multi-night “premiere” continues with what is objectively the best part of the series: The blind auditions. Gwen Stefani is back as a judge this season and determined to show off that sizzling chemistry she so desperately wants you to know she has with Blake Shelton.
Revenge Body With Khloé Kardashian (E!, 9 p.m.): Khloé Kardashian’s fitness-themed series comes to a close tonight, but it almost certainly won’t be long before the Kardashian clan is back with yet another E! spin-off series. After all, you know what they say: When the Kardashians close a name-branded door, they open a name-branded window.
My Kitchen Rules (Fox, 9 p.m.): Top Chef isn’t the only cooking series reaching a conclusion tonight. The first season of Fox’s celebrity-filled cooking competition My Kitchen Rules also draws to a close. Lance Bass and his mom face off against Andrew Dice Clay and his wife in a dinner party duel to the death. Metaphorically speaking, of course. No C-list celebrities were harmed during the making of this series
Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ’N Out (MTV, 9 p.m.): That show that’s somehow always on when you flip by MTV is back with the second half of its eighth season. It’s perfect for those who love sketch comedy, improv, and things that feel unnecessarily chaotic.
Africa’s Greatest Civilizations (PBS, 9 p.m.): Having most recently worked with PBS on the phenomenal docuseries The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, historian Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s latest series puts it focus on African history. Tonight PBS airs the final two installments of the six-part series. In the first hour, Gates examines the ways in which Atlantic trade, including the transatlantic slave trade, impacted African politics. Then the second hour focuses on the 18th-century “Scramble For Africa,” which redrew the continent’s borders along lines convenient to the Western world. As has been the case throughout the series, Gates puts a particular focus on highlighting Africa’s contributions to art, literature, and civilization as a whole.
Regular Coverage
Baskets (FX, 10 p.m.)
Portlandia (IFC, 10 p.m.)
Colony (USA, 10 p.m.)
Streaming pick
Gilmore Girls, “Teach Me Tonight” (Netflix): After writing for this feature on and off for the past four years (way back when Under The Dome was still a thing), this is your What’s On Tonight correspondent’s final What’s On Tonight. As such, she’d like to go out on a Streaming Pick high note by recommending one of her all-time favorite episodes of television. It was a tight race between The West Wing, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Doctor Who, and The Office, but in the end, it was always going to come back to Stars Hollow. Not only does “Teach Me Tonight” feature your WOT correspondent’s biggest weakness (bad boys doing close-up magic, duh), you also get “a film by kirk,” some classic Lauren Graham frantic monologuing, and a few sweet Luke/Jess scenes. Oh and did we mention the close-up magic? In all seriousness, it’s been an honor and a pleasure to offer your weekly TV recommendations and a little dose of comedy for the past four years. And just remember, if you’re out on the road feeling lonely and so cold, all you have to do is call my name and I’ll be there on the next train.