Muppet Show Raises the Curtain, Shifting Gears Finale, an Abbott Valentine, Animal Parents and Talking Dogs on PBS

It’s time to light the footlights once more as Kermit and the Muppet gang reignite the classic Muppet Show, celebrating its 50th anniversary since taking the world by storm in syndication in 1976. The backstage chaos is as frenetic as ever as Kermit frets over what acts to cut while leading the colorful troupe through a one-night-only (for now) comeback. Sabrina Carpenter is the special guest, with cameos by The Studio‘s Seth Rogen (an executive producer) and Saturday Night Live legend Maya Rudolph. Highlights include Carpenter’s dueling-diva shtick with Miss Piggy, who threatens a copyright infringement suit over her trademark look. Is there any doubt that the silly slapstick and musical merriment will leave us wanting more?

A busy night on ABC includes the Season 2 finale of Tim Allen’s latest family sitcom, which finds the widowed Matt reluctantly reentering the dating game after his breakup with Eve (Jenna Elfman), who may be out of sight but is not out of mind. His daughter Riley (Kat Dennings) is trapped in her own romantic triangle, sorting out her feelings for single-dad dreamboat Andy (Grey’s Anatomy‘s Jesse Williams), whom she describes as “Bridgerton meets Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid,” and her closest friend Gabe (Seann William Scott). Guest stars include The Office alum Angela Kinsey and baseball star Mookie Betts as himself.

With Valentine’s Day approaching, and Candygrams flying among the student body, teachers Janine (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams) consider taking a major step in their relationship, though as usual they’re not exactly on the same page about how to proceed. Their thunder is stolen this week by a subplot involving Ava (Janelle James) and her IT beau O’Shon (Matthew Law), who’s unsettled by the lavish gifts her many admirers and exes bestow upon the flamboyant and unprincipled principal.

There’s no one we’d rather lead us into the wilderness from our living rooms than the legendary Sir David Attenborough, now 99. He provides the narration for Parenthood, a five-part docuseries that travels over six continents and five years to capture the behaviors of animals caring for and protecting their offspring on land, sea, and sky. The opener focuses on the planet’s “Grasslands,” including wild dogs in Zambezi trying to rein in a pack of restless teens and a pregnant langur monkey learning the ropes by babysitting.

Are our conversations with man’s (and woman’s) best friend one-sided, or are dogs actually capable of talking back? In a fascinating installment titled “Can Dogs Talk?”, Nova explores the science of canine cognition in the largest animal communication study ever conducted. The catalyst: so-called “button dogs” who press buttons emitting sounds that approximate human speech. Are they actually expressing what they’re thinking, or are they just following their training? Scientists draw conclusions from millions of button presses involving thousands of dogs. If only Lassie had known about this every time little Timmy fell in the well!

INSIDE WEDNESDAY TV:

• Chicago Fire (9/8c, NBC): Joe Cruz (Joe Miñoso) becomes House 51’s acting lieutenant, just in time for a massive fire in a commercial building resulting in an injury among the crew that puts Chief Pascal (Dermot Mulroney) on the hot seat. An hour earlier, Chicago Med (8/7c) finds Dr. Charles (Oliver Platt) shadowed by three medical students. And on Chicago P.D. (10/9c), Intelligence sheds more light on Officer Imani’s (Arienne Mandi) past during the investigation into a missing-child cold case.
• The Price Is Right at Night (8/7c, CBS): Jeff Probst guests on the game show to hype Survivor‘s upcoming 50th season with contestants playing for once-in-a-lifetime trips to Survivor-inspired locations, including French Polynesia, Australia, Samoa, the Cook Islands, and Thailand.
• The Masked Singer (8/7c, Fox): The season’s final wildcard arrives as the singing competition celebrates America’s 250^th birthday on a “Red, White and Clue”-themed night.
• The Beauty (9/8c, FX and Hulu): The guest-star roster is off the charts as the twisted thriller reveals how a group of billionaires (played by Vincent D’Onofrio, Peter Gallagher, Billy Eichner, and Sex and the City‘s Julie Halston) are introduced to the miracle Beauty drug. And yes, that’s FBI agent Jordan at the door with a shocking new look (now played by Jessica Alexander).
• The Coach Vick Experience (10/9c, BET): A docuseries follows the NFL veteran Michael Vick as he takes on coaching responsibilities at Norfolk State.
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (11:35/10:35c, NBC): Grammy-nominated KATSEYE makes their first late-night TV appearance.

ON THE STREAM:

• Shrinking (streaming on Apple TV): The poignant comedy, recently renewed for a fourth season, explores the process of characters overcoming grief to move on with life. While widower Jimmy (Jason Segel) hesitates about taking the next step with Sofi (Cobie Smulders), he and daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell) embark on a “happiness mission” with Louis (Brett Goldstein).
• Beast Games (streaming on Prime Video): The players are reunited with family members to remind them of the stakes in the $5 million competition. Then it’s on to the “graveyard” of the eliminated, where they’re buried alive.
• Is It Cake? Valentine’s (streaming on Netflix): The comedic baking competition, hosted by Saturday Night Live‘s Mikey Day, is back for a Valentine’s-themed special, with loving couples hoping to fool the judges with their eye-popping creations.
• Hulu goes for laughs in the stand-up comedy specials Chris Spencer: GOAT Adjacent and Jackie Fabulous: You Can Leave.