Will Ferrell Is ‘The Hawk,’ More ‘Descendants,’ Revisiting the Scott Peterson Case, Tension Mounts in ‘Trigger Point’ & ‘Criminal Minds’

Good news for his many fans: Will Ferrell shows no signs of growing up even as he approaches 60. In a wacky eight-part sports comedy dropping on his 59th birthday, Ferrell adds another character to his gallery of vulgar but open-hearted oafs as former golf legend Lonnie “the Hawk” Hawkins, who’s determined to make a run at the majors and complete a long-delayed career Grand Slam. Not exactly rooting him on: his estranged wife Stacy (fellow Saturday Night Live alum Molly Shannon) and equally distant son Lance (Jimmy Tatro), a rising golf star himself. Fortune Feimster co-stars as Lonnie’s bawdy new caddie, who has zero knowledge about links but is happy to enable her pickle-loving boss on his quixotic quest.

The fifth film in the popular fantasy franchise featuring the offspring of iconic fairy-tale characters once again pairs the Queen of Hearts’ daughter Red (Kylie Cantrall) and Cinderella’s kid Chloe (Malia Baker) on a new adventure after they discover their recent journey to the past has spawned a new villain in Maddox Hatter (Leonardo Nam). When Hatter captures the Queen (Rita Ora), Red and Chloe assemble a new team, including Red’s sister, Pink (Liamani Segura), Captain Hook’s daughter, Hazel (Kiara Romero), and Hatter scion Max (Brendon Tremblay), to save Wonderland. Awkwafina joins the fun as the voice of Chessy the Cat. The soundtrack will be available Friday, when the movie makes its streaming premiere on Disney+.

While Scott Peterson serves a life sentence without possibility of parole after being convicted of the 2002 murder of his pregnant wife Laci and unborn son Conner, his defense team continues to appeal to have new evidence entered into the record. With the help of ABC News legal expert and veteran defense lawyer Chris Pixley, a two-part true-crime documentary (concluding Friday) explores some of these findings, including never-heard witness testimony, advanced forensic analysis, and other data. Expect this case to stay in the headlines.

You could wear out the edge of your seat watching this taut British thriller about a bomb disposal team, now near the end of its third season. The latest cliffhanger found team leader Lana (Vicky McClure) sweating it out in a booby-trapped room. As she likes to say, “That’s my job. I take risks.” The trail leads to a corporation that covered up an asbestos scandal, with the mad but cunning bomber (Jason Flemyng) plotting the most explosive sort of revenge in their towering headquarters.

The long-running crime drama is also one week away from its season finale, and the BAU is closer than ever to figuring out the identity of The Fan (Justin Kirk), the psychotic acolyte of jailed serial killer Elias Voit (Zach Gilford). They’re too late, though, to stop the fiend from drawing pain-in-the-neck podcaster Brian Gerrity (Paul F. Tompkins) into his diabolical web, using his ex-wife, Sheila (Yvette Nicole Brown), as bait. Fearing for his own family’s lives, Voit tries to figure out a way to take matters into his own hands. Is a climactic showdown imminent?

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• The Carpenter Zone (8/7c, Turner Classic Movies): Famed horror director John Carpenter joins host Alicia Malone for two nights (continuing next Thursday) of screenings of movies that shaped his creepy sensibility. The first lineup leans into sci-fi and scary creatures, starting with 1955’s The Quatermass Xperiment, continuing with 1958’s It! The Terror from Beyond Space (9:30/8:30c), and everyone’s favorite giant-ant thriller, Them! (11/10c). The theme continues overnight with The Black Scorpion (12:45 am/11:45c), The Killer Shrews (2:30 am/1:30c), The Wasp Woman (3:45 am/2:45c), and The Cyclops (5 am/4c).
• Celebrity Family Feud (8/7c, ABC): The game show welcomes teams led by female musical greats, including Sheila E., En Vogue, Lisa Lisa, and Taylor Dayne. Followed by a new episode of Press Your Luck (9/8c).
• Surviving Earth (8/7c, NBC): The natural-history series goes under the surface 436 million years ago to explore bizarre prehistoric marine species and what emerged after an ice sheet covered the oceans. Followed by a “Fun Fact Edition” of The Americas (9/8c), set on the Gulf Coast.
• The Bear (9/8c, FX): A power outage, late customer arrivals, and short supplies are the latest headaches as the restaurant staff prepares for an all-or-nothing dinner service.
• The Man Will Burn (9/8c, HBO): The docuseries history of Burning Man continues with fans staging an alternate “Renegade Burn” after the festival is canceled for a second year during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Project Runway (9:30/8:30c, Freeform): Tyra Banks and Ice Spice are guest judges as the designers get a second chance to make a first impression by creating a look that reflects their style.
• Marc by Sofia (streaming on HBO Max): Sofia Coppola‘s first non-fiction film makes its streaming debut, featuring an intimate biographical interview with fashion designer Marc Jacobs.