‘Jeopardy! Masters’ and Pat Spins the ‘Wheel’ Again, Cooking with ‘Carême,’ Vietnam as a ‘Turning Point’

Some of Jeopardy!‘s best and brightest return to the Alex Trebek stage for a third season of brain-teasing trivia. Surprisingly, James Holzhauer (who won the first Masters tournament in 2023) is sitting out the tournament this year, but there’s plenty of talent on display. The opening night of Knockouts pits last year’s Masters champ Victoria Groce against returning finalist Yogesh Raut and Jeopardy! veteran Brad Rutter, who hasn’t played a round since 2020. In the second game, Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament winner Matt Amodio takes on JIT finalists Roger Craig and Juveria Zaheer. (Tournament of Champions winner Neilesh Vinjamuri faces TOC finalists Adriana Harmeyer and Issac Hirsch next week.) The ultimate Master takes home $500,000 with another $100,000 donated to charity.

Look who’s coming out of retirement for a “final spin,” hosting one more season of the prime-time Wheel (it was in his contract): Pat Sajak, once again teaming with Vanna White to welcome celebrity contestants to the long-running game show. First night players include Deal or No Deal Island host Joe Manganiello, comedian Tiffany Haddish and Veep‘s Matt Walsh. All are spinning and solving for charity.

A sensual feast for fans of historical drama, this French production (with subtitles) stars the dashing Benjamin Voisin as Marie-Antoine Carême, a talented chef (“The most noble form is pastry”) who rises quickly from obscurity to the kitchens of Napoleon Bonaparte himself. No fan of the soon-to-be-emperor, Caréme uses his talent and new celebrity to insinuate himself into high society, while spying for those (including the canny diplomat Talleyrand) plotting to subvert the ruler’s ambitions. It’s a colorful story with a taste for deliciously debauched savoir faire. Launches with two episodes.

Earlier Turning Point historical docuseries focused on the Cold War and the post-9/11 war on terror, and now the franchise relives the divisive Vietnam War experience — described by one observer as “a story of ignorance, hubris, arrogance” — over five episodes. With footage from CBS News archives and Vietnamese sources, and access to declassified government records and White House recordings, the series depicts the tumult on the home front, the carnage on the front lines, and the impact of the conflict on a nation that still hasn’t fully healed. This was also the first TV war, playing out in almost real time on home screens, and as a commentator recalls, “Seeing the graphic images were a turning point in the American conscience.”

The hilarious show-biz satire steps into a treacherous minefield of cultural sensitivities when the studio execs begin casting Kool-Aid: The Movie in one of the funniest episodes to date. The movie’s teaser poster is testing off the charts, gushes marketing maven Maya (the ferocious Kathryn Hahn): “It’s just the perfect storm of nostalgia, kitsch, irony and stupidity.” Ice Cube seems a natural to voice the Kool-Aid Man, but as the other roles in this wacky brand extension come into focus, the filmmakers twist themselves in knots trying not to offend anyone, which of course offends everyone. And as the reveal approaches at a Comic Con, how will the public respond?

INSIDE WEDNESDAY TV:

• Survivor (8/7c, CBS): How hungry are these castaways? A rice negotiation with Jeff Probst is settled in almost record time. And a lively tribal council finds two players on the bottom of the proverbial totem pole turning on each other. Followed by The Amazing Race (9:30/8:30c), where the road leads to Naples, Italy, and a pizza-making challenge.
• Cuomo Town Hall: The First 100 Days (8/7c, NewsNation, simulcast on The CW): Chris Cuomo moderates a town hall from New York City, with an audience comprised of Republicans, Democrats and Independents and a panel including Bill O’Reilly and Stephen A. Smith. The president will dial in for a live phone interview.
• Nova (9/8c, PBS): In “Critical Condition: Health in Black America,” the science program enlists filmmaker Stanley Nelson to explore the health disparities in the U.S. that contribute to Black Americans being disproportionately more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.
• In the Kitchen With Harry Hamlin (11/10c, IFC, streaming on AMC+): The actor and his classically trained niece Renee Guilbault welcome celebrity guests for a second season of dinner-party conversations. First up: Harry Hamlin‘s Mad Men costars Ben Feldman and Kevin Rahm, sharing memories over prime rib with port-wine sauce and hot fudge sundaes. Beware going to bed hungry.

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