‘Hacks’ Last Laugh, ‘Half Man’ Finale, ‘Criminal Minds’ Returns, Marilyn Monroe’s Mob Ties

How does one top an outdoor concert in Central Park, which even a comedy legend like Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) admits will make “a great lead to an obituary”? In the series finale, Hacks doesn’t really try, but the episode provides a fitting and bittersweet coda to the fable of a maverick talent who’ll never stop reaching for that next joke, with the help of her combative companion Ava (Hannah Einbinder). Smart has won four Emmys as Deborah, and while Lisa Kudrow is serious competition this year for another final season (of HBO’s The Comeback), I wouldn’t count her out from joining the ranks of Mary Tyler Moore and Candice Bergen with a historic fifth win.

Unresolved conflicts and dark secrets haunt the tortured relationship of “brothers from another lover” Ruben (Richard Gadd) and Niall (Jamie Bell), which reaches a fever pitch of confrontation in the finale of the harrowing psychodrama. Ruben’s years in prison have only heightened his sense of resentment and anger towards the maddeningly self-involved Niall, but their love-hate bond may not survive its final test when Ruben crashes Niall’s wedding.

The undying crime drama opens its 19th season (its fourth on the streamer) with a one-year time jump, finding the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) still coping with the long shadow of jailed serial killer Elias Voit (Zach Gilford), who’s become “Bundy and Dahmer famous.” While psychologist/agent Tara Lewis (Aisha Tyler) continues to probe Voit’s psyche, hoping to convince him to meet with his victims’ families, Voit warns that they should be more worried about potential Sicarius copycats, which appears to be what’s happening as the season opens with two episodes. The cases remain as troubling as ever, with Jeri Ryan guest-starring in the opener as a kidnapping survivor who sheds light on fiends who are abducting couples off of back roads. The second episode features the return of nutty conspiracy theorist Brian Garrity (Paul F. Tompkins), whose popular Sicarius podcast is so outrageous that only a face-to-face with Voit himself will shut him up.

With iconic sex symbol Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday just days away (on June 1), expect a renewed flurry of specials and remembrances of her remarkable life and career. This two-part documentary from the U.K. delves into one of the darker aspects of the movie star’s life, exploring her intersection with the criminal underworld and association with the likes of mobster Sam Giancana. The special focuses on the last weeks of her life in 1962, stirring up long-held speculation that her relationship with the mob-connected Frank Sinatra and the Kennedys made her a pawn and may have contributed to her untimely death.

A flop with critics but a hit with moviegoers, who made it the highest-grossing (emphasis on gross) film in the franchise, the latest chapter in the bloody Ghostface saga makes its streaming debut. Neve Campbell returns as Sidney Prescott, who learns there’s no escaping the life of a scream queen when her daughter (1883‘s Isabel May) becomes the latest target.

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

ON THE STREAM:

• The Four Seasons (streaming on Netflix): The friend group (minus Steve Carell) is back for another year of camaraderie and travel, with Italy on the itinerary and a baby in the mix for the comedy’s second season.
• Deli Boys (streaming on Hulu): The comedic crime caper returns for a second season, with Saturday Night Live alum Fred Armisen joining the merry mayhem as casino magnate and money launderer Max Sugar, who brings new chaos into the lives of brothers Mir (Asif Ali) and Raj (Saagar Shaikh).
• Emi Martínez: The Kid Who Stops Time (streaming on Netflix): A documentary profile of the Argentine goalkeeper uses animation to illustrate his journey to soccer stardom.
• I Gotta Ask (streaming on Wonder Project on Prime Video): Author and podcaster Annie F. Downs leads faith-based discussions on topics including dating and personal finance.