Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Thursday, May 14. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Wayward Pines (Fox, 9 p.m.): M. Night Shyamalan makes the leap to the small screen as the executive producer and sometimes-director of this spooky new “event series.” Matt Dillon is a Secret Service agent who winds up in a strange Idaho town called Wayward Pines. There the likes of Melissa Leo, Terrance Howard, Juliette Lewis, Hope Davis, and Toby Jones are happy to welcome him in increasingly creepy ways, although they aren’t so keen on the idea of him ever leaving again. In his pre-air review Joshua Alston found the show “brisk and rollicking, capable of defying gravity despite its narrative excess.” In a shocking twist, Alex McCown will be covering the show each week as it riffs on everything from Lost to The Twilight Zone to Twin Peaks.
Also noted: Season Finale Edition
Grey’s Anatomy (CBS, 10 p.m.): We’ve got to give Shonda Rhimes credit for turning a show in its 11th season (with no end in sight) into must-see TV by killing off a major character. But while Derek Shepherd’s send-off was pretty groundbreaking, the season finale is classic Grey’s Anatomy: “The doctors are busy dealing with the aftermath of a disaster, which bonds them as it reminds them about what to prioritize in life.” Gwen Ihnat scrubs in to check it out.
The Vampire Diaries (The CW, 8 p.m.): Much as Grey’s Anatomy did with Derek Shepherd, The Vampire Diaries also bids farewell to a beloved cast member in tonight’s sixth season finale. It remains to be seen exactly how Nina Dobrev’s Elena will exit the series, but Carrie Raisler knows it will definitely involve tears.
Scandal (ABC, 9 p.m.): As far as we know, there are no major character exits planned for Scandal’s fourth-season finale, but then again anything is possible on this show. The gladiators “make bold moves” to take down Command, but all Joshua Alston wants to know is whether or not Mellie will win her election. #Mellie2016
Regular Coverage: Season Finale Edition
Reign (The CW, 9 p.m.)
Elementary (CBS, 10 p.m.)
American Crime (ABC, 10 p.m.)
Regular Coverage: Regular Edition
Grace And Frankie (Netflix, 6 p.m.)
Adventure Time (Cartoon Network, 7:30 p.m.)
Louie (FX, 10:30 p.m.)
TV Club Classic
Futurama (10 a.m.): There’s no crying in baseball or in the League Of Their Own homage “A Leela Of Her Own.” Then Bender becomes a domineering ruler in “A Pharaoh To Remember.” Zack Handlen has to admit that 90% of his interest in Futurama is based on the show’s punny titles.
Elsewhere in TV Club
In a brand new For Our Consideration, Myles McNutt examines the fact that despite fans’ best efforts—and support from William Shatner— social media wasn’t enough to save Constantine from cancellation:
Yet Constantine was still canceled, and I’d argue it hurts more than ever before. In the past, one could at least believe that networks were acting out of ignorance: They didn’t know how many fans were posting on message boards, because there were no way of measuring that activity. Once fans of Chuck and Jericho translated that fandom into something that the networks understood, they reversed their decisions. But in this circumstance, NBC had all the information. They had the Twitter ratings, they had the streaming statistics, and they were in the room when Cerone pulled out that cell phone to show that fans were tweeting #SaveConstantine. But despite all this information, they chose to cancel it anyway, and that has to hurt for the show’s fans, who felt their actions meant more than they ended up meaning in the end.
We also have Joshua Alston’s aforementioned Wayward Pines pre-air review. And elsewhere Vikram Murthi weighs in on the return of IFC’s Maron (see below), which has “settled into a comfortable narrative and stylistic groove” in its third season.
What else is on?
The Odd Couple (CBS, 8:30 p.m.): The Odd Couple has officially been renewed for a second season, which is lucky because otherwise the show would have ended with the terribly-titled episode, “The Audit Couple.” As it stands, that cheesy title now merely belongs to a season finale, not a series one.
The Blacklist (NBC, 9 p.m.): Cabal frames Liz, Cooper gets shocking news, and the team is “plagued by trust issues.” Sounds like the season finale will be business as usual for NBC’s insanely popular drama.
Maron (IFC, 10 p.m.): Marc Maron brings his particular brand of moody comedy back to IFC in the third season premiere of Maron. In his pre-air review, Vikram Murthi writes: “Maron’s third season confirms that its success often lies in taking broad premises and integrating genuine emotion within them, empathizing with human vulnerability and personal failures.”
Pontoon Payday (CMT, 10 p.m.): This new CMT show boasts the exhilarating tagline: “Set sail with the first-ever game show on a boat.” Random “lake-goers” are pulled from their party boats to compete for money and if they lose, they get tossed overboard. In other words, it’s basically that game show you and your stoned friends thought up one night.
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (Spike, 7 p.m.): Before checking out the nearly-universally-praised new installment of the franchise, brush up on the Mad Max Cinematic Universe by revisiting this 1981 classic.
The Princess Diaries (ABC Family, 8:30 p.m.): The Princess Diaries ranks high on the list of best teen makeover movies. Rather than redo her look to please a boy, Mia Thermopolis’ makeover represents her maturation into a future leader. Plus she ends up with the guy who saw her back when she was “invisible.” Oh and she also gets to be a real-life princess.
Playoff Central
NBA Playoff: Cavaliers at Bulls (ESPN, 8 p.m.)
Stanley Cup Playoff: TBA (NBC Sports, 7:30 p.m.)
In case you missed it
The Middle/The Goldbergs: Will Harris pulled double duty this year by reviewing both The Middle and The Goldbergs each Wednesday. Give him a tip of the hat by checking out his double-stuffed review of the dual season finales.