Truth, Justice, and Two Idols Go Home

We rarely feel guilty about our pleasures, but there's something about Wednesday nights on Fox that engages the same part of our brains that loves John Grisham novels and food festivals. But with the sweet comes the salty, as we're predicting that Matt & Lil are done on Idol after tonight. Susan Boyle, they aren't.

Lie to Me [8 PM, Fox]

It's time for a hot backstory injection for Dr. Lightman (Tim Roth) as Jennifer Beals guest-stars this week as his ex-wife. After pricing out the other lie-detection services in the Baltimore-DC area, she hires the Lightman Group to investigate an arson case. Meanwhile, in the B-plot, Foster (Kelli Williams) and Torres (Monica Raymund) analyze a drive-by shooting related to a rapper rivalry.

Secrets of the Dead [8 PM, PBS]

This is a PBS series that uses a team of scientists, researchers, and archaeologists to explore historical mysteries, and tonight's episode explores what is believed to be Blackbeard's sunken flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge. In this new world where NatGeo, Discovery and History are essentially flashier versions of PBS (but without annoying pledge drives), we're rooting for public television to succeed. Everyone loves a tax-exempt underdog.

South Park [10 PM, Comedy Central]

If PBS doesn't satisfy your thirst for high-seas action, then South Park certainly should. The mid-season finale finds Cartman running away from home to become a pirate named Fatbeard. Did pirates hate Jews? We'll certainly find out.

Late Show with David Letterman [11:35 PM, CBS]

Beyoncé, Jim Parsons, Paul Weller. Beyoncé is beautiful and Paul Weller was in The Jam, so that's awesome, but we're watching tonight for our second-favorite cast member of The Big Bang Theory, Jim Parsons. It's not that long of a shot to see him getting a nomination for Best Supporting Actor this year, as long as Kunal Nayyar snags one, too.