LIFE

TV tonight: 'Doubt,' 'Major Crimes' returns

Robert Bianco
USA TODAY

Speechless
ABC, 8:30 ET/PT

Katherine Heigl plays Sadie Ellis in CBS's 'Doubt.'

Here’s a promising party guest: Casual and Trophy Wife star Michaela Watkins visits broadcast’s best new sitcom as another mom with a special-needs child —  a mom Maya thinks seems a little too perfect. They meet at the DiMeos' annual Oscar party, which means ABC is using this sitcom for the kind of cross-promotion it does more aggressively than any other network. It’s an annoying habit, but don’t hold it against Speechless.

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Major Crimes
TNT, 9 ET/PT

And while we’re talking about great guests, Camryn Manheim stars on Crimes' winter premiere as a deputy chief who sees Sharon as competition. That causes a particular problem with this episode, as her jealousy leads her to obstruct the investigation of a murder of a woman found in the L.A. River.

Doubt
CBS, 10 ET/PT

After a somewhat shaky, strident start, Doubt settles into a more reliably entertaining pattern with this outing that finds Sadie (Katherine Heigl) representing a former judge who, shall we say, is hard to like. (“In my 37 years on the bench,” he tells her, “I’ve witnessed some tremendous opening statements. That was not one of them.”) Some of the twists are predictable, but the story still lands an honest emotional punch — and not many hours on CBS currently can do the same.