Tonight's TV Hot List: Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Criminal Minds
9/8c CBS
Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker, who had a recurring role in the series The Shield, returns to television — and the world of crime — in this episode. Hotch and the team meet Whitaker's Sam Cooper when they investigate the murders of homeless men in San Francisco, where they work with a separate BAU group whose current case could be connected to the deaths. — Bill Ecklund
American Idol
9/8c Fox
The Idol magical mystery tour continued last night when the Top 9 contestants came down with a severe case of Beatlemania. Without the singing services of the supersensitive Didi Benami — who was bumped last week — our lords of the sing took on the iconic songbook of Beatles gurus John Lennon and Paul McCartney. But a dark cloud now materializes: After this results show, only eight will have a ticket to ride and one contestant will be ousted. That person will just have to let it be. Also letting it be is songstress Rihanna, who performs the song "Te Amo." — Dean Maurer
Top Chef Masters
11/10c Bravo
Bravo serves up a heaping new season of this tasty reality show, which tracks professional chefs as they compete for a cool $100,000 to be given to a charity of their choice. It all gets steamy in the Season 2 opener when meal masters Ana Sortun, Govind Armstrong, Jerry Traunfeld, Jimmy Bradley, Susan Feniger and Tony Mantuano craft aphrodisiacal dinners for romantic first dates. If successful, their meals will put a twinkle in the eye. Oysters, anyone? Gail Simmons, famed of Top Chef, joins the judges' table this season. — Dean Maurer
Being Erica
10/9c SOAPnet
This dramedy wraps up its second season with Erica making choices that affect two big parts of her life: her love life and her career. On the romantic front, Erica weighs the comfort of staying with Ethan against the new adventure of starting something with Kai. As for her job, Erica considers making a bold career move. To help her with all of these possibly life-changing choices, Dr. Tom throws a new twist into her therapy. — Jennifer Sankowski
In Plain Sight
10/9c USA
It's flashback time for Mary and Marshall after the first witness the pair handled together is put into danger by a break-in. The look into the past shows the dynamic duo's first meeting, which wasn't exactly picture-perfect due to a much-different Mary and her dismissal of Marshall's role in WITSEC. Allison Janney guest stars. — Brie Hearn