Laurie Metcalf may know something we don’t.

Waiting for ABC’s “The Conners” to be renewed for a fifth season, the Tony Award winning actress has taken a recurring role on HBO’s hit show, “Hacks.”

“Hacks” stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbeinder. It was nominated for 3 Emmy Awards last year. Smart won, and she just won the Critics Choice Award. So did the series. “Hacks” is on roll as the best new comedy of the last year.

“The Conners” is draining out to an end either this year or next. Metcalf has played Aunt Jackie since “Roseanne” began a hundred years ago. She’s also won not one but two Tony Awards and has been nominated for an Oscar. She’s a consummate actress. But on “The Conners” she’s made to act foolish. it’s a payday.

If “The Conners” is renewed, new shows will begin in the fall. This will be right after or during “Hacks” second season. Metcalf — who also has 3 Emmy Awards and several more nominations — could be on two shows simultaneously. And on different networks. Of course, other network actors have taken jobs on prestigious cable shows, but this seems like an eye roller. If Metcalf has time for “Hacks,” what is that saying about Aunt Jackie?

Other guest stars named for season 2 of “Hacks” are Margaret Cho, Ming-Na Wen, and a relative newcomer named Martha Kelly.

PS A sharp eyed Twitter reader points out that Goodman is featured on HBO’s “The Righteous Gemstones.” So maybe they all know something!

NBC may not have hit comedies but they have outplayed ABC with Dick Wolf shows.

Last night, “Law & Order SVU” crunched “Grey’s Anatomy” handily. “SVU” brought in 4.53 million, widening the gap over “Grey’s Anatomy.” The Shondaland veteran had 1 million fewer eyes.

The difference between “SVU” and “Grey’s” is easy to see: the former stays fresh while the latter has collapsed under the weight of fan favorites being dismissed to make room for Ellen Pompeo’s salary and ego.

“SVU” is now the linchpin in a Thursday night that beats ABC right through the night. The revived “L&O” at 8pm takes “Station 19” and it’s brand new. At 10pm, “Organized Crime” is improving. But it doesn’t take much to beat “Blue Big Sky,” a show no one watches while awake. (I couldn’t even remember its actual name.)

CBS had no new shows last night because of March Madness. But the real madness must be at Shondaland where they’re probably wracking their brains trying to figure out if Patrick Dempsey can come back as his twin brother.

“Yellowstone” fans have ramped up interest in their show– they must be missing it a lot.

Last week, “Yellowstone” Season 4 re-took the top spot on the home video sales chart. Released last November, Season 4 was number 1 among mostly movies for a week. It returned on January 22nd, then dropped down the chart. Now it’s back on top.

“Yellowstone” is such a hit that the knock offs are coming. NBC is filming a pilot called “Unbroken” starring Scott Bakula. The show will feature “three dynastic ranch families on the central coast of California [that] make love and war in a passionate struggle to survive, ultimately setting the stage for a group of fiercely determined young women to win big for all at the National Championship of Rodeo.”

Yee-hah!

I’m actually surprised there aren’t more contemporary westerns coming a la “Yellowstone.” This one apparently integrates a winery a la “Falcon Crest.” The problem is none of these will ever be as good as the Lorimar series of the 80s– “Dallas,” “Knots Landing,” and “Falcon Crest.” Michael Filerman, Leonard Katzman, and David Jacobs knew what they were doing when it came to pacing and characters.

Wednesday night’s comedy block on ABC was the usual ratings disaster. All the shows performed miserably, and ABC finished in fourth place behind Fox.

Behind Fox!

The big question everyone is waiting to hear about is which of the low rated families will get the axe: The Conners or the Goldbergs?

My guess is, The Goldbergs. They fell well under  3 million viewers this week to 2.79 mil. Jeff Garlin is gone and all the pretending in the world hasn’t worked to make Murray Goldberg’s absence make sense.The show is not funny and not well acted or written. After 9 seasons, “The Goldbergs” are ready to say so long.

“The Conners” has one more season left to it. They finished last with 2.9 million, down 10.5% from the prior outing. At least they have stars like Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman. They also have a chance to wrap up the Conners’ saga once and for all with a fifth final season. The writers can give everyone a happy ending.

This seems like the way to go, but knowing network executives, they’ll do something else entirely. ABC also has to deal with their two other comedy half hours on Wednesday, the Black “Wonder Years” and Home Economics. Each one scores less than 2 million viewers although I am partial to “The Wonder Years.” I hope it continues.

In movies, The Old Rock is a big star.

Dwayne Johnson is a box office draw, that’s for sure, in movies like “Jungle Cruise” or a Fast and Furious.

But on TV, “Young Rock” can’t find an audience.

On Monday night, “Young Rock” returned for its second season and floundered like a fish out of water. Total viewers were just 2.5 million. That was down over 16.7% from the show’s last outing, which was a one off in December. They key demo was down just as much.

“Young Rock” was not a hit in its first season, but it’s produced and distributed by NBC and Universal Television. They own it, and by god, they’re going to make it a hit or die trying!

But 2.5 million is a very weak number for a sitcom about one of movie’s biggest stars. It’s about half the audience of CBS’s new “Ghosts” and a third of “Young Sheldon.” A full spring season of these numbers aren’t going to work. My guess, “Young Rock” will start looking pretty old to advertisers soon.

Johnson’s next movie is “Black Adam,” which features actor Uli Latukefu, who plays Young Rock in the series. “Black Adam” is now set for release on October 21st. By that time, “Young Rock” may be all rocked out.