‘The Late Show’s Final Bow, Welcome to ‘The Boroughs,’ ‘Hacks’ Plays Manhattan, ‘Ghosts’ Crisis, ‘Elsbeth’s Diva Act

They’re keeping details under wraps for Stephen Colbert‘s final late-night stand on CBS, which may extend beyond its usual hour format, and given the amplitude of these last few weeks, it’s bound to be memorable. (In their latest show of solidarity, his late-night rivals on NBC and ABC are airing repeats.) So ends a comedy institution, and for now, the marquee goes dark on the fabled Ed Sullivan Theater, which housed the eponymous variety show from 1953 to 1971, was the home of the CBS sitcom Kate & Allie in the 1980s, and was revived in 1993 when Late Show with David Letterman premiered. While the tone of the final The Late Show will no doubt be celebratory, it’s a sad night on Broadway and for the world of late-night television.

You’re never too old to be a hero of your own story. That’s the takeaway from this entertaining eight-part supernatural romp from executive producers the Duffer Brothers and Emmy-winning creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews. In a reversal of the Duffers’ breakthrough hit Stranger Things, about kids battling monsters, The Boroughs features characters who could easily be their grandparents staging a “gray rebellion” against a sinister otherworldly force that’s stalking them in their sleep. The cast of veteran scene-stealers is led by Alfred Molina as the newly widowed Sam, a retired engineer who sees The Boroughs, a retirement community abutting the New Mexico desert, as a tomb, a trap. And that’s before he discovers that a creepy-crawly menace is in their midst. He’s soon joined by a crew including Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Clarke Peters, and Denis O’Hare, with Bill Pullman as the cul-de-sac’s friendliest chatterbox and Ed Begley Jr. as a troubled memory-care patient who warns of owls in the walls. The series is a welcome reminder that some things, and people, just get better with age.

The penultimate episode of the Emmy-winning showbiz comedy brings the legendary Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) to New York City for her long-awaited comeback at Madison Square Garden. No longer hobbled by the non-compete clause that has kept her silenced for more than a year since leaving her own late-night show (in circumstances even more turbulent than Colbert’s), Deborah is ready for her victory lap, selling out the historic venue as the pinnacle for any stand-up comedian. But it wouldn’t be Hacks if there weren’t obstacles to success, which her companion and writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) is also learning as she pitches her version of a reboot of Deborah’s classic sitcom Who’s Making Dinner?.

The future of the Woodstone B&B is once again on the line in the hit sitcom’s two-part Season 5 finale airing back-to-back, and Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay’s (Utkarsh Ambudkar) only hope to preserve the mansion may be to get it listed as a historical landmark. But first, they have to convince a local historian (Saturday Night Live‘s James Austin Johnson). The surprising backstory of one of the local spirits prompts a quick trip to Merry Olde England, though Sam stays behind to focus on a new screenwriting opportunity. When all is said and done, home is where the haunt is, and they’ll do anything to keep these ghosts under one roof.

An unusually meta episode of the comedic procedural makes several sly references to this being the Season 3 finale, and a subplot involving Elsbeth’s (Carrie Preston) son Teddy (Ben Levi Ross) suggests he has a talent worthy of Broadway. (In real life, Ross is nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in the Lincoln Center revival of Ragtime.) Theatrical insiders will also revel in the guest appearance of legendary, some might say notorious, diva Patti LuPone, sending up her own persona as caustic cabaret singer Ruby Lane, who goes to murderous extremes to protect her position in the posh hotel where she sings and lives. Other guest stars include Shrinking‘s Michael Urie as an enigmatic philanthropist and Mid-Century Modern scene stealer Nathan Lee Graham as Ruby’s dishy pianist.

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• Stanley Cup Playoffs (8 pm/ET, TNT, truTV, streaming on HBO Max): The Eastern Conference finals open with the Montreal Canadiens taking on the Carolina Hurricanes.
• NBA Eastern Conference Finals (8 pm/ET, ESPN): The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to tie things up against the come-from-behind New York Knicks in the second game at Madison Square Garden.
• Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage (8/7c and 8:30/7:30c, CBS): Mandy (Emily Osment) and Jim (Will Sasso) don’t work well together when they fill in at the store for a sickened Georgie (Montana Jordan) and Ruben (Jessie Prez) in the first of two season-ending episodes. In the second, Georgie is alarmed when his mom, Mary (Zoe Perry), starts spending time with his arch-rival, Fagenbacher (Matthew Letscher).
• Next Level Chef (8/7c, Fox): The final three chefs have 90 minutes to create a dish on each level in the cooking competition’s Season 5 finale. Followed by the second half of the Fear Factor: 48 Hours of Fear stunt (9/8c).
• Half Man (9/8c, HBO): Betrayals and lies escalate in the penultimate chapter of the harrowing psychodrama, when Niall (Jamie Bell) agrees to work for his soul “brother” Ruben (Richard Gadd) to pay off his sizable debt.
• Joplin: 15 Years Later (9 pm/ET, The Weather Channel): Meteorologist Mike Bettes returns to Joplin, Missouri, to talk to survivors of the catastrophic 2011 EF-5 tornado that swept through the town, killing 158 and causing nearly $3 billion in damages. The special also reports on the town’s long road to recovery.
• Welcome to Wrexham (9/8c, FXX): With so many new high-priced players on the Welsh soccer team, it takes time to gel as they face tough competition in the Championship league. The women’s team is also in transition, gaining an accomplished new head coach.

ON THE STREAM:

• Kyle Larson vs. The Double (streaming on Prime Video): A sports documentary depicts NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson‘s two-year journey to attempt one of auto racing’s greatest challenges: The Double, competing in the Indianapolis 500 and North Carolina’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
• SkyMed (streaming on Paramount+): Lauren Lee Smith (Frankie Drake Mysteries) joins the Canadian airborne rescue drama’s fourth season in a recurring role as globe-trotting pilot Capt. Riley, who was once engaged to Wheezer (Aaron Ashmore).
• The Terror: Devil in Silver (streaming on AMC+ and Shudder): Pepper (Dan Stevens) goes off his meds in the horror series set in a mental hospital, so it is real or another hallucination when the devil shows him a vision of his possible future?