‘Mary Poppins’ at 60, ‘Shrinking’ at Forgiveness, Back to the Chef’s Table, Lindsay Lohan’s ‘Little Secret’ (2024)

Marking its 60th anniversary, Mary Poppins gets the “untold story” treatment in a two-hour edition of 20/20. Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting in a touching episode of the Apple TV+ comedy Shrinking. A new season of Netflix’s Chef’s Table moves from Philadelphia and New York to Spain and Mexico to savor the work of top chefs. Lindsay Lohan stars in the holiday anti-romcom Our Little Secret.

Supercalifragil— if you know the rest, then feel free to take that spoonful of sugar and indulge in a nostalgic two-hour 60th-anniversary tribute to the Disney fantasy-musical that has enchanted generations of families since its premiere in 1964. Mary Poppins won five Oscars, including for then-rising star Julie Andrews and for the Sherman Brothers’ score and song “Chim Chim Cher-ee.” The special includes interviews with Andrews (now 89), costar Dick Van Dyke (now 98) and two of Walt Disney’s grandchildren, plus footage from the film’s premiere and rarely heard demos of the many memorable songs. A bonus highlight: the broadcast debut of a short film, “The Last Verse,” that revisits the Shermans’ “It’s a Small World” earworm with a new verse by composer Richard Sherman in his last work for Disney before his death. If this whets your appetite, Mary Poppins will air in its entirety Thursday as a Thanksgiving night special edition of ABC’s The Wonderful World of Disney.

An unusually moving episode of the poignant comedy is touched with the grace of forgiveness, sparked by Jimmy’s (Jason Segel) shocking discovery that his daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell) and best friend Brian (Michael Urie) have been spending quality time getting to know Louis (Ted Lasso’s Brett Goldstein), the man responsible for the death of Jimmy’s beloved wife in a drunk-driving accident. This seeming betrayal triggers a flashback to three years earlier, before the tragedy. (Guest-starring as Louis’s girlfriend: Meredith Hagner, in a complete tonal reversal of her amoral villainess in producer Bill Lawrence’s Bad Monkey.) Also seeking forgiveness: Jimmy’s neighbor Liz (Christa Miller), who hopes her normally laid-back husband Derek (Ted McGinley) can look past her ill-advised flirtation with an old friend. When Derek turns to Gaby (Jessica Williams) for counseling, we can’t help but marvel along with her when she blurts, “What do you put in that head of hair of yours?”

The seventh edition of the culinary docuseries travels near and far to showcase master chefs, including New York’s Kwame Onwuachi, championing diversity in fine dining kitchens, and Philadelphia’s Nok Suntaranon, a former Thai Airways flight attendant whose drive led to success with Kalaya, a restaurant named for her mother. The series travels to Spain to profile Ángel León, who’s discovered a species of “sea rice” he believes can help combat world hunger, and to Mexico City, where Norma Listman and Saqib Keval lean into their Indian-Ethiopian and Mexican heritages.

The farcical ho-ho-hos are plentiful in a holiday comedy starring Netflix fan favorite Lindsay Lohan as Avery, who thinks her greatest challenge this Christmas will be impressing her boyfriend’s hypercritical mother (Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth). What Avery doesn’t expect is the discovery that her new beau’s sister is dating her estranged ex, Logan (Pretty Little Liars’ Ian Harding), and they’re stuck under the same roof, pretending to be total strangers. The supporting cast includes such comic pros as Tim Meadows, Dan Bucatinsky, Judy Reyes, and Chris Parnell.

Countdown to Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (8/7c, NBC): ’Twas the night before Thanksgiving, and final preparation are underway for the iconic New York parade down 6th Avenue. As a curtain raiser, St. Denis Medical star Wendi McLendon-Covey goes live at the starting line to explore the various balloons, floats and bands awaiting their big moment. Followed by A Saturday Night Live Thanksgiving (9/8c), a two-hour compilation of great holiday-themed sketches from the late-night comedy’s 50-year history.

INSIDE WEDNESDAY TV:

• Christmas Under the Lights (8/7c, Hallmark Channel): A holiday romance stars Heather Hemmens as Emily, who returns to her family’s animal rescue ranch after her mother’s death, bonding with her brother’s artist friend Luke (Virgin River’s Marco Grazzini) as they plan the annual Christmas Carnival.
• Sullivan’s Crossing (8/7c, The CW): Meghan Ory (Chesapeake Shores) guest-stars as Cal’s (Chad Michael Murray) sister Sedona, who helps Maggie (Morgan Kohan) gain more insight into Cal’s past.
• Survivor (8/7c, CBS): Alliances are tested when a classic immunity challenge decides who moves on to the final seven. Followed by The Summit (9:30/8:30c), where the remaining climbers traverse a harrowing chasm called King’s Leap with only a single rope to pull them across to get to their final checkpoint.
• Expedition Files (9/8c, Discovery): Adventurer Josh Gates’ new series travels through history to uncover answers to legendary mysteries. The opener promises new insights into Jack the Ripper’s identity, possible Yeti DNA and the story behind Max Headroom.
• Bad Sisters (streaming on Apple TV+): It’s caper time when the sisters decide to go after their “grief thief” nemesis Angelica (Fiona Shaw) — though breaking into her home may not be the wisest method. Becka (Eve Hewson) reacts to a shock by turning not to her boyfriend Joe (Peter Claffey), but to her ex, Matt (Daryl McCormack).