Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Tuesday, February 26. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Golden Boy (CBS, 10 p.m.): The last time CBS debuted a police drama with an enviable pedigree at midseason, it was the 2012 flop NYC 22. But Golden Boy has destiny on its side—at premise-level, at least, seeing as it tells the disjointed story of a New York cop who goes from walking a beat to becoming the youngest police commissioner in the city’s history. Of course, Todd VanDerWerff just wants to know if the presence of Chi McBride as a more experienced sleuth ties the series into the Pushing Daisies universe.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Raising Hope (Fox, 8 p.m.): Hoping Disney Channel-honed lightning strikes twice, erstwhile Lizzie McGuire Hilary Duff follows Ashley Tisdale’s footsteps to Natesville. These references are going over Phil Dyess-Nugent’s head, since the last time he checked, the Disney Channel was all Anne Of Avonlea and the new Mickey Mouse Club.
New Girl (Fox, 9 p.m.): Schmidt is exactly the kind of person who’d throw a party celebrating 10 years of being roommates with Nick—and Nick is exactly the kind of person who’d foul up the plans for such a celebration. Somehow, a hot-air balloon is involved, which crosses off an item on Erik Adams’ bucket list that he didn’t even know existed.
The Mindy Project (Fox, 9:30 p.m.): Seth Rogen drops by to play Mindy’s “one that got away”—which is the way TV feels about the former Freaks And Geeks-star-turned-go-to-big-screen-schlub. David Sims gives TV a pat on the back and an Undeclared DVD set to dry its tears.
Justified (FX, 10 p.m.): As it has for the majority of this fourth season, “the search for Drew Thompson carries on.” At this rate, Noel Murray might be more surprised by what Smash has to offer on a weekly basis. That said…
Smash (NBC, 10 p.m.): …Myles McNutt gives Noel some extra Second Opinions Week reprieve—because NBC is bad at labeling its screeners, and Myles originally wrote this review during Second Opinions Week. Has his mind changed since? Probably not.
The Joe Schmo Show (Spike, 10 p.m.): Scott Von Doviak grows more suspicious by the day about the “third season” of The Joe Schmo Show he’s reviewing—a suspiciousness that requires the ultimate gambit: Bringing back Lorenzo Lamas. That kind of star power ought to keep the doubts at bay for at least one more week.
Cougar Town (TBS, 10 p.m.): Prepare for an emotional wallop when Laurie tells Travis that she’s moving in with Wade. Ryan McGee is standing by with emergency wine for any Cougar Town viewers who may need to drown their emotions in it.
White Collar (USA, 10 p.m.): There are so many easy ways to fake a piece of art—just ask that Florida pastor with the stockpile of fake Damien Hirsts—so why would any White Collar adversary go to the trouble of faking a sculpture? While you ponder that question, Kenny Herzog wants to know if you can take this bisected cow in formaldehyde off his hands.
WHAT ELSE IS ON
Celebrity Wife Swap (ABC, 8 p.m.): ABC puts it to you, America: Who needs those Happy Endings cutups when the promise of Kate Goselin and Kendra Wilkinson switching houses and families promises just as many (or possibly more) hijinks? Huh? HUH? The network is willing to wait until March 29 for your answer.
Makers (PBS, 8 p.m.): A three-hour documentary chronicling the “before,” “during,” and “after” of the women’s movement in America, a film about sweeping social changes and reforms that still somehow didn’t prevent a show called Celebrity Wife Swap from being broadcast in goddamn 2013.
Parade’s End (HBO, 9 p.m.): Seeing an opportunity to steal back the Anglophile attention Downton Abbey hogged all winter, Benedict Cumberbatch steps into the HBO spotlight—and brazenly sets up camp in Downton’s time period. Brandon Nowalk admires the man’s gall.
Robot Combat League (Syfy, 10 p.m.): In the grand tradition of The Mob Doctor and Stars In Danger: The High Dive, Syfy’s latest addition to the “what you read is what you get” school of television is a stab at turning Real Steel into a reality show.
Chicago (Style, 8 p.m.): Having successfully reminded cinephiles of its existence during last Sunday’s Oscar telecast, Rob Marshall’s adaptation of the show that gave the world “All That Jazz” and “Mr. Cellophane” finds a whoopee spot for Prohibition-era razzle dazzle on basic cable.
Mommie Dearest (Sundance, 8 p.m.): Be careful not to keep any scenery too close to your television tonight, because Faye Dunaway’s liable to jump right out of the screen and chew it to pieces in this camped-up Joan Crawford biopic.
College Basketball: Indiana at Minnesota (ESPN, 7 p.m.): The top team in the nation pays a visit to the Land of 1,000 Lakes, where the Golden Golphers will either turn out to be Hoosier feed or spoilers taking a ding at Indiana’s near-perfect record.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The Carrie Diaries: The CW’s Sex And The City prequel offers its take on TV’s ongoing misplaced holiday trend with a Christmas-in-February episode. Carrie Raisler’s review doesn’t mention whether or not The Waitresses’ “Christmas Wrapping”—the sure sign of quality for any 1980s-set Yuletide story—made the soundtrack.