For what it’s worth, the network schedule has begun to return to normal, emerging from the work stoppages and strikes that reduced it to repeats and recycled fare. Scripted series featuring union actors are back. NBC’s “Chicago” trilogy returns with new episodes tonight. See below.
With or without strikes, television has come to be defined by two certainties: 1) There is entirely too much to watch. 2) People will watch anything.
And by anything, I submit as evidence “Flip a Coin” (9:30 p.m., Maximum Effort). For once a show’s title describes it perfectly and entirely. Each half-hour episode of “Flip a Coin” consists of martial artist, actor and “Rocky IV” star Dolph Lundgren flipping a coin 21 times.
As we all know, there are only two ways this can go.
But the binary simplicity of these 21 flips creates a kind of blank canvas for viewers to project upon — or turn into an opportunity for betting or elaborate drinking games.
Like Lundgren, “Flip” is from Sweden, so the coin being flipped is a krona. And in the proper title, the word “Coin” sports an umlaut.
Lundgren teamed up with his “Rocky” sparring partner Sylvester Stallone in the 2010 thriller “The Expendables” He has expressed excitement for this new venture. “Yes, I am in this show,” Lungren enthused. “I don’t quite understand why, but they tell me it will be huge in Sweden, so it must be great.”
For those wondering just what the Maximum Effort channel is and where to find it, it is an offshoot of Ryan Reynolds’ production company and can be streamed on Fubo and FreeVee, among other venues.
It may be easy to snicker at a show as simple as “Flip a Coin,” but it’s never wise to underestimate the business acumen or the vision of Reynolds. In addition to his starring roles in “Deadpool” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA) and other films, he and Rob McElhenney (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) have a hit and a pop-cultural touchstone with FX’s feel-good sports docuseries “Welcome to Wrexham.” And Reynolds’ involvement with the Mint Mobile wireless carrier has earned him some serious coin — with or without an umlaut.
— “Trafficked: Underworld With Mariana Van Zeller” (9 p.m., National Geographic, TV-14) takes viewers into some of the world’s darkest corners and most dangerous black markets. Van Zeller interviews individuals who smuggle drugs, guns, brides and illegal immigrants as well as killers for hire in a shadow economy that accounts for trillions of dollars.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— An ordinary man takes to the woods to prove his manhood in the 2022 drama “The Integrity of Joseph Chambers” (7:15 p.m., TMCX).
— A crash fills the wards on “Chicago Med” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— Exotic creatures migrate to survive in locations as diverse as Taiwan and Brazil on “Nature” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings).
— The Los Angeles Lakers host the Dallas Mavericks in NBA basketball (8:30 p.m., ABC).
— Precinct houses share quarters on “Chicago Fire” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— “NOVA” (9 p.m., PBS, r, TV-PG, check local listings) celebrates the James Webb telescope from conception to construction and launch.
— A Somali pirate leads agents on a globe-spanning chase on “FBI True” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— Upton throws medical ethics to the winds on “Chicago P.D.” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— “Secrets of the Dead” (9 p.m., PBS, r, TV-14, check local listings) ponders the mystery of human bones found in the basement of Benjamin Franklin’s London residence, remains that may have been used in scientific experiments.
CULT CHOICE
Still considered one of the great widescreen film experiences, the 1962 historical epic “Lawrence of Arabia” (8 p.m., TCM, TV-14) made household names of two relative unknowns, Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif. The Egyptian Sharif would star in director David Lean’s next movie, “Dr. Zhivago” in 1965, and in the 1968 adaptation of Barbra Streisand’s Broadway hit “Funny Girl” (4:30 a.m., early Thursday, TV-PG).
SERIES NOTES
“The Price Is Right at Night” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … “I Can See Your Voice” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … “NBA Countdown” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) anticipates the big game.
“Raid the Cage” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … “We Are Family” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Clive Owen and Juno Temple are booked on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Jodie Foster, Christopher Briney and Alec Benjamin on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Renee Rapp, Ian McShane and Black Pumas visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Taylor Tomlinson hosts “After Midnight” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
