Saving Ukraine’s Animals, ‘Amazing Race’ Finale, ‘Abbott’s Playground Battle, Queen Will Rock You

Among the casualties of war are the beloved pets and zoo animals endangered by the ravages of modern military conflict. An inspiring edition of the long-running Nature docuseries features Ukrainian YouTuber Anton Ptushkin’s account of citizens in Ukraine rescuing and caring for the vulnerable animal population, including Shafa the cat, who was stranded for two months on the exposed seventh floor of an apartment building in Borodyanka following a devastating Russian missile air strike. Now reunited with its owner, Shafa is one of the many animals taken from abandoned buildings or rescued from Ukraine’s zoos before they become collateral damage. Worthy of its own documentary: Patron, a bomb-sniffing Jack Russell terrier who has helped save many lives.

After traversing eight countries and 14 cities covering more than 11,700 miles, the final four teams are narrowed to three for the final leg of the around-the-world competition. Whoever makes it to the end—nurse couple Amber and Vinny, pilots Juan and Shane, husband-wife Rod and Letitia, or boyfriends Ricky and Cesar—had better know their American history to increase their chances of crossing the finish line first and claiming $1 million.

“I have never seen evil like this, and I have been to a Cowboys home game,” mutters the most combative of Abbott’s teachers, Melissa Schemmenti (the terrific Lisa Ann Walter), when she and her fellow teachers cross paths with the arrogant staff of a rival school while on a field trip outing to a public park. Even slow-to-anger Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) gets caught up in the conflict, which reduces the adults to the level of kids playing schoolyard games. The only ones oblivious to the heated competition are Janine (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams), who are still working out their complicated feelings on swing sets and slides.

The hit IMAX concert film, drawn from two memorable concerts of the original Queen band (Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon) in November 1981, makes its streaming premiere as the first film of its kind available with IMAX Enhanced Sound powered by DTS, for subscribers of IMAX Enhanced certified devices. (A selection of 18 Marvel movies on the streamer will also be available with IMAX Enhanced sound.) Let Queen rock you, and your house.

The Real House-husband of Lisa Rinna (recently seen as Lifetime’s Mommy Meanest) and star of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches on AMC is also an enthusiastic cook who’s happy to share his creations with famous friends. With assistance from his niece Renee Guilbault, a classically trained chef, Hamlin whips up tasty dishes with humorous asides and helpful tips, concluding each episode with a dinner party. In the opener, Harry and Renee put a new twist on Hamlin’s classic Bolognese for Rinna and Saturday Night Live alum Bobby Moynihan.

The parallel-world sci-fi thriller takes a breath in its third episode, as Jason (Joel Edgerton) is shown the invention that allowed his doppelganger (let’s call him Jason 2) to steal him from his own world and take over his life. Jason 2 has his own challenges when he and wife Daniela (Jennifer Connelly) host a dinner party and he gets a crash course in another person’s life.

INSIDE WEDNESDAY TV:

• Jeopardy! Masters (8/7c, ABC): The final quarterfinal games decide who will move on to the semifinals, which begin Friday. (Victoria Groce, Yogesh Raut and James Holzhauer appear to be locks.)
• The Masked Singer (8/7c, Fox): A two-hour episode begins with a look back at the season’s highlights and behind-the-scenes moments, then it’s time for the semifinals, with Gumball, Goldfish and Clock performing to see who makes it into the Final Two.
• Survivor (8/7c, CBS): Tears will be shed in what is traditionally any season’s most emotional reward challenge, when the remaining castaways compete to receive letters from their loved ones back home.
• Chicago Med (8/7c, NBC): Crockett’s (Dominic Rains) risky liver transplant is endangered by an infection. Followed by new episodes of Chicago Fire (9/8c), where Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Violet (Hanako Greensmith) clash with Paramedic Chief Robinson (Laura Allen); and Chicago P.D. (10/9c), with the serial killer investigation heating up after the case goes public.
• Ghost Adventures (9/8c, Discovery Channel): The new season’s two-hour opener sends the team of paranormal investigators (Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley and Jay Wasley) to a remote Utah town where they get help from local Native Americans to explore a family’s claim of sightings of shape-shifting Skinwalkers.
• Nova: Secrets in Your Data (9/8c, PBS): Host Alok Patel weighs the risks and rewards of sharing your personal data online, with tips on how to how to protect one’s privacy while surfing the web and social media.
• Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies, & Scandal (streaming on Netflix): Case in point: a three-part docuseries explores the fallout from the hack on the dating site for people seeking adulterous affairs, exposing damaging personal information on millions of users. The series also asks what drew people the site to begin with.
• The Conners (9:30/8:30c, ABC): In a rare turn of good news, Dan (John Goodman) pays off his house and reconsiders the legend of the “Conners curse,” while grandson Mark (Ames McNamara) gets some news that has him reconsidering his own future.
• Pompeii: The New Dig (10/9c, PBS): A three-part docuseries unearths incredible discoveries made during the recent archaeological excavation of the ancient city.
• Botched Bariatrics (10/9c, TLC): Surgeons come to the rescue of patients whose bariatric procedures (such as gastric bypass) went horribly wrong.
• Royal Rules of Ohio (10:30/9:30c, Freeform): A reality series follows three sisters in a family descended from Ghana royalty now living in Columbus, Ohio, torn between opposing cultures.