Fans with an appetite for yet another dysfunctional detective might sample “Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14). The awkwardly titled procedural will replace “The Blacklist” until March.
Russell Hornsby (“Grimm”) stars in the title role. He is touted as a brilliant forensic detective with a photographic memory and an encyclopedic knowledge of his New York City beat. Any resemblance to Sherlock Holmes or PBS’ “Sherlock” are confirmed by graphic tricks that show us the detective’s deductive mind at work.
Not to give too much away, but we’re shown Lincoln hot in pursuit of the serial killer known as the Bone Collector when he falls several stories onto a pile of bricks, rendering him paralyzed.
Fast-forward to the present, and a fetching transit detective, Amelia (Arielle Kebbel, “Midnight, Texas”), discovers evidence on a subway track that very much resembles the work of the Bone Collector, a killer who has been dormant since Lincoln’s accident.
The discovery reawakens Lincoln’s interest in the case as well as his off-putting, demanding and cranky personality. He’ll only agree to work with the NYPD brass (including Michael Imperioli of “Sopranos” fame) if Amelia will work with him as his eyes and ears at the scene. That means she must be outfitted with body cameras and other technology to allow Lincoln to be at the crime sites and generally boss her around via earbuds.
We know early on that Amelia is “troubled” too. She opens a letter from the FBI training academy indicating that she’s not cut out for the agency. It seems weird that this gifted “rebel” type would long submit to being tethered to an obnoxious alpha male, playing Pinocchio to his Geppetto.
Adapted from Jeffery Deaver’s novel “The Bone Collector,” there’s little new or original in this procedural to make it stand out in an increasingly crowded field.
— The gang behind “Childrens Hospital” returns with a mashup satire of TV procedurals, “Medical Police.” Streaming on Netflix, this broad spoof features Erinn Hayes, Rob Huebel, Malin Akerman, Lake Bell, Rob Corddry and Ken Marino. Over the course of the season, guest stars will include Joel McHale, Randall Park, Craig Robinson, Fred Melamed, Jason Schwartzman and Lilly Singh.
— Netflix also streams the Japanese-language thriller “Giri/Haji,” beginning today. Acclaimed in the U.K., it concerns a Japanese detective, Kenzo (Takehiro Hira), sent to London to find his brother, long considered dead, who may be part of a Japanese crime syndicate. Look for Kelly Macdonald as a London detective who helps him. Viewers may recall the Scottish actress Macdonald as Nucky Thompson’s long-suffering wife in “Boardwalk Empire.”
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Off to find herself on a European jaunt, a woman is wooed by the sceptred set in the 2017 romance “A Royal Winter” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— The true-life doomed-romance series “Hopelessly in Love” (9 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14) continues with the sad saga of Faith Evans and Notorious B.I.G., who was murdered in 1997.
— A widow calls out Frank’s insensitivity on “Blue Bloods” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— TCM invites insomniacs to stay up with two John Waters movies from his edgy, bad-taste youth. Divine, David Lochary and Mary Vivian Pearce star in “Multiple Maniacs” (2 a.m., TCM) and “Female Trouble” (3:45 a.m.), from 1970 and ‘74.
CULT CHOICE
— Long before “Succession” or “Dallas,” the 1956 pot-boiler “Written on the Wind” (8 p.m., TCM) explored the miseries of the dysfunctionally wealthy. Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack and Dorothy Malone star. Malone won an Oscar for playing a willful trampy sister.
SERIES NOTES
A country club golfer gets placed on ice on “Hawaii Five-0” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … “WWE Friday Night SmackDown” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … A shared hobby on “American Housewife” (8 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) … Illusionists audition on “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” (8 p.m. CW, r, TV-PG) … Louis sets his sights high on “Fresh Off the Boat” (8:30 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG).
A corporate bully dies unmourned on “Magnum P.I.” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … “Dateline” (9 p.m., NBC) … “20/20” (9 p.m., ABC) … Scheduled on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” (CW, r): Elisabeth Gillies (9 p.m., TV-PG), Brad Sherwood (9:30 p.m., TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
Jimmy Fallon welcomes Martin Lawrence, Matthew Lopez, Kyle Soller and Karol G on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC)
Oscar Isaac, Casey Wilson and Jon Pardi visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC, r) … Christian Slater, Kaitlyn Dever and Gary Clark Jr. appear on “The Late Late Show With James Corden” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
