Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Wednesday, January 14. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Broad City (Comedy Central, 10:30 p.m.): Ah, good old Broad City. The city of good old broads. Welcome back, ladies. Abbi and Ilana (and reviewer Caroline Framke) return for a second season of hijinks and shenanigans in the only way they possibly could: with Abbi trying to find an air conditioner for her bedroom and Ilana looking for a gift for Lincoln. Fine, that description doesn’t exactly scream hijinks and shenanigans, but when it comes to Broad City—just like in life and Lord Of The Rings—it’s all about the journey. An air conditioner is not just an air conditioner, and a gift for Lincoln is not just a gift for Lincoln when it comes to Abbi and Ilana. If you’re impatient and can’t wait for the return of weekly reviews for the show, Pilot Viruet also wrote a pre-air review of the first three episodes of the season.
Also noted
The Middle (ABC, 8 p.m.) / The Goldbergs (ABC, 8:30 p.m.): This week on The Goldbergs, “Beverly picks out Barry’s date for the Sadie Hawkins dance, and her choice comes as a shock to everyone.” Knowing Beverly, the only possible date she could choose that would shock “everyone” is a girl who is not herself. If that is the case, that really is pretty shocking. Meanwhile, The Middle’s latest episode appears to be all about work ethic, something that clearly didn’t exist in the 1980s. Will Harris is up to the task of judging both of these shows for their values or lack thereof.
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (FXX, 10 p.m.): 10 seasons of Sunny. Not bad for a show that was playing second fiddle to Starved (Remember Starved? Your friendly, neighborhood What’s On Tonight contributor does. She’s the only one.) back in its first season. Nowadays, Sunny is on FXX (which is certainly more of a real network than Destination America), and it’s showing no signs of ever slowing down. Dennis Perkins is so excited for the return of America’s favorite sociopaths. (Just between you and us, they’re his type of people.)
Workaholics (Comedy Central, 10 p.m.): Season five, baby! You know what that means: job fair! Dennis Perkins figures that the show’s got to put the “work” in Workaholics somehow.
Man Seeking Woman (FXX, 10:30 p.m.): FXX has to fill its non-Simpsons schedule somehow, and after the return of It’s Always Sunny, FXX is giving a chance to a brand new series, Man Seeking Woman. Jay Baruchel and Eric André star in the sitcom based on creator Simon Rich’s book of short stories, The Last Girlfriend On Earth. That definitely sounds appealing, and according to Noel Murray’s pre-air review, it kind of is. We hear there’s time travel and trolls.
Regular coverage
Modern Family (ABC, 9 p.m.)
Empire (Fox, 9 p.m.)
Black-ish (ABC, 9:30 p.m)
Top Chef (Bravo, 10 p.m.)
American Horror Story: Freak Show (FX, 10 p.m.)
Elsewhere in TV Club
Because TV Club is as much the home of The Simpsons as FXX (see Man Seeking Woman listing above) and it just so happens to be Simpsons Week, we’ve got an A.V. To Z of the best obscure Simpsons characters “from chimpan-A to chimpan-Z.” Simpsons Week also brings a Hear This piece on the song “Privileged Boy” (2 p.m.), courtesy of Joshua Alston, as well as a Watch This (we’re all about ordering people around this week) on The Road To El Dorado (2 p.m.), which was co-directed by The Simpsons’ own David Silverman.
Plus, there’s a new Tolerability Index at noon, which reminds us, it wouldn’t be TV Club without a reason for arguments to begin…
And with that well-placed transition, here is the first part of TV Club’s list of the best sitcom episodes of the last 25 years. It’s a list of 25 episodes, so there’s plenty of room to mention how we missed something. (No, it’s not just 25 episodes of The Simpsons in a row.)
What else is on?
Melissa & Joey (ABC Family, 8 p.m.): The wait for the official start to the fourth season of Melissa & Joey is over! No more special holiday episodes! This time around, Melissa & Joey is back in a big way with the episode “The Honeymooners!” It’s quite the bold statement, invoking the name of a classic sitcom for the episode title of a not-so-classic sitcom, but if there’s one word and only one word to describe Melissa & Joey… Well, “bold” is a word.
The Mysteries Of Laura (NBC, 8 p.m.): In “The Mystery Of The Fateful Fire,” Laura… We’re actually not exactly sure what Laura does, but with an episode title like that, we’re actually a little bit interested this week. Laura, you truly are a mystery.
Baby Daddy (ABC Family, 8:30 p.m.): After you’ve considered the use of the words “classic sitcom” in relation to Melissa & Joey, you can watch the season premiere of Baby Daddy, which looks to take things all the way back to… Middle school? “Ben tests Riley’s feelings for Danny by writing a love note to him and forging Riley’s signature on it.” Try not to bust too many viewer guts tonight, ABC Family.
Wahlburgers (A&E, 10 p.m.): “Mark starts a weight-loss competition.” If this episode of Wahlburgers isn’t just 30 minutes of the music video for “Good Vibrations,” then what are any of us even doing here?
Stalker (CBS, 10 p.m.): Stalker is back, which means it’s time to bring back the classic Stalker Theme Song: Stalker in the morning, Stalker in the evening, Stalker at its regularly scheduled time. When Stalker’s on the TV, you should watch Stalker every time. For fear of being stalked! (Sure, we just rhymed “time” with “time,” but you can’t say it wasn’t catchy.) This week, the mayor is being stalked. That sounds pretty straightforward, right? Wrong! First rule of Stalk Club: Nothing is ever straightforward when you’re being stalked.
Hindsight (VH1, 10 p.m.): Time for episode two of VH1’s new scripted series, Hindsight. Will this episode be the one where the show just admits it’s a retread of The WB’s Do Over? If you get the chance to watch, do let us know. As usual, What’s On Tonight is a safe space.
Web Therapy (Showtime, 11 p.m.): “NSA analyst Abel accuses Fiona of psychological terrorism.” Sold! We’re sold.
The Brady Bunch Movie (Logo, 7 p.m.): Two things about The Brady Bunch Movie: 1. It’s a pretty great time capsule for the mid-‘90s. 2. It still holds up. Sadly, Logo isn’t going for a double feature of both this and its sequel (the appropriately titled A Very Brady Sequel). But the movie that taught us all that Davy Jones is “the most” and putting a hand on a date’s shoulder constitutes as third base is still fine all on its own.
Ocean’s Thirteen (Spike TV, 8 p.m.): With George Clooney having just received the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award at the Golden Globes, it’s only appropriate we include an Ocean’s film on What’s On Tonight. That’s mostly because Batman And Robin—a movie that was notably absent from the Clooney montage—isn’t on. So we suggest you watch the third film in the Ocean’s trilogy while also tossing out terrible (more like terribly brilliant) ice puns every now and then.
NBA Basketball: Wizards at Bulls (ESPN, 8 p.m.) / NBA Basketball: Clippers at Trail Blazers (ESPN, 10:30 p.m.): As usual, if you’re more into the sports ball thing, there’s always plenty, all over TV. ESPN’s got you covered for the professional stuff…
College Basketball: UCLA at USC (ESPN2, 9 p.m.) / College Basketball: San Diego State at Wyoming (ESPN2, 11 p.m.): …and ESPN2’s got you covered with the college stuff. It’s like we always say: We like sportz and we don’t care who knows.
Lucha Underground (El Rey, 8 p.m.): “18 seconds” has a negative connotation in sports entertainment, thanks to WWE (always thanks to WWE), but Lucha Underground is doing its best with this 18 second, old school video game style promo for this week’s episode:
NXT (WWE Network, 8 p.m.): With SmackDown now moving to Thursday, WWE’s only show worth watching all the way through, NXT, had to move too. That’s right—the two best wrestling shows on television (“television”) are now on Wednesday night, which means you’ll never hear the end of it on Wednesday What’s On Tonights. You gotta love it.
In case you missed it
Parks And Recreation: Alasdair Wilkins—Tuesday night What’s On Tonight contributor and nemesis of the Wednesday night What’s On Tonight contributor—is reviewing the farewell season of Parks, a season that is sure to make us all laugh and cry. In case you missed it, please direct all laughs and tears directly to Alasdair.