Here’s what’s up in the world of television for Sunday, May 18. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Fox Animation Domination (Fox, 7 p.m.): Some of the most controversial news out of upfronts week was the pending breakup of Fox’s long-standing Sunday-night animation bloc—a breakup that was more or less inevitable, given American Dad’s upcoming move to TBS. But the digital gnashing of e-teeth continued anyway, because cartoons and live-action haven’t lived side by side on Sundays since 2005, and people get comfortable with setups like that. So cling tightly to Animation Domination’s final, two-uninterrupted-hours hold on your Sunday nights, then join Alasdair Wilkins, Kevin McFarland, Dennis Perkins, and Eric Thurm for a post-episode vigil (while everyone else gets stoned during Cosmos).
ALSO NOTED
America’s Funniest Home Videos (ABC, 7 p.m.): Sure, Animation Domination’s 9-year run on Sundays is impressive—until you consider America’s Funniest Home Videos’ has aired nearly all of its seasons in this timeslot, dating back to the days when The Simpsons duked it out with The Cosby Show on Thursday nights. Who would’ve thought there’d be so many stories the friends next door never told?
The Good Wife (CBS, 9 p.m.): In a season partially defined by electronic snooping (the parts that weren’t defined by the establishment of a new law firm or a major character’s death, at least), the season finale might as well hinge on revelations made after a teleconferencing camera isn’t turned off properly. Sonia Saraiya’s thoughts on the episode have already been transcribed by the NSA.
Game Of Thrones (HBO, 9 p.m.): ERIK ADAMS AND TODD VANDERWERFF DEMAND TRIAL BY COMBAT! FAILING THAT, THEY DEMAND COMBAT BY TRIAL! OR NEW COPIES OF COMBAT ROCK BY THE CLASH!
REGULAR COVERAGE
Mad Men (AMC, 10 p.m.)
Silicon Valley (HBO, 10 p.m.)
Veep (HBO, 10:30 p.m.)
TV CLUB CLASSIC
The Simpsons (Classic) (3 p.m.): Gwen Ihnat reviews “Homer The Smithers,” but only after eating a hearty breakfast of egg, toast, and bacon skewers prepared through the busted window of a microwave.
WHAT ELSE IS ON
2014 Billboard Music Awards (ABC, 8 p.m.): At last, a celebration of music not based on arbitrary metrics like personal taste or the votes of aging label executives, but rather the cold, hard statistics printed in America’s leading trade publication for the music and outdoor advertising industries.
The Amazing Race (CBS, 8 p.m.): An all-star season concludes with a stunt by the all-starriest of all-star illusionist, David Copperfield.
The Women Of SNL (NBC, 9 p.m.): Yet another occasion to sound the eternal cry: “Whither Robin Duke?”
Those Who Kill (Lifetime Movie Network, 10 p.m.): Yanked from the A&E schedule after its second episode, the serial-killer drama that didn’t turn out to be as popular as Bates Motel finishes its lone season in A+E Networks’ equivalent of the Psycho House basement: the Lifetime Movie Network.
Gentleman’s Agreement (TCM, 7 p.m.): Winner of the Best Picture honors at the 20th Annual Academy Awards (where it also won Best Director for Elia Kazan and Best Supporting Actress for Celeste Holm), this film takes an unflinching look at antisemitism among the wealthy in postwar America.
Wild Wild West (WGN America, 7 p.m.): An equally serious take on the discrimination against rough riders and desperadoes (of which you don’t want nada) perpetrated by giant metal spiders in the American West. (The American West is not to be confused with Jim West, desperado, rough rider… oh, you’ve already heard the rest!)
MLB Baseball: Tigers at Red Sox (ESPN, 7 p.m.): Not wanting to jinx one of the sides involved in this primetime matchup, What’s On Tonight will merely make the objective statement that the tables appear to have turned since Detroit and Boston met in the ALCS last fall.
TOMORROW IN TV CLUB
TV Club considers the legacies of two TV programs with runs of wildly different lengths: The MTV perennial Unplugged (in a For Our Consideration essay by David Brusie) and Decoy: Police Woman (in a One Season Wonders, Weirdos, And Wannabes installment by Genevieve Valentine).
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Saturday Night Live: Dennis Perkins brings year 39 of SNL to a close, hopefully after an episode that featured host Andy Samberg and musical guest St. Vincent collaborating on the latest chapter in the Shy Ronnie saga.