Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Thursday, October 22. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Heroes Reborn (NBC, 8 p.m.): Back when Heroes premiered in 2006 it wasn’t the regenerating cheerleader or the flying congressman who captured the nation’s heart; it was the Japanese office worker with the ability to bend space and time. Now fan favorite Masi Oka makes his long-anticipated return to Heroes Reborn as Hiro Nakamura. While he’s busy trying to save humanity, Tommy and Emily set off on an “unexpected journey,” Noah looks for answers, and Luke deals with his identity crisis. Since Kate Kulzick found last week’s episode lacking in both compelling plots and characters, hopefully Hiro can teleport her into a timeline in which this show is actually good.
Also noted
Scandal (ABC, 9 p.m.): It’s “Mistress Mania” as Olivia and Fitz’s affair makes national headlines and Mellie calls for her ex-husband’s impeachment. Olivia hires Leo to help her handle damage control and he decides to spin the affair as a romance of the ages. Gwen Ihnat hopes he does a better job of that than Scandal has.
Nathan For You (Comedy Central, 10 p.m.): This week Nathan lends his business acumen to a horse ranch that needs to accommodate overweight riders and a women’s boutique that wants to appease male customers. John Teti thinks there must be some way to combine those two, right?
How To Get Away With Murder (ABC, 10 p.m.): It’s time to “Meet Bonnie” this week as Liza Weil’s character finally takes center stage. Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya hopes the show reveals Bonnie is actually Paris Geller, who changed her name and went into law after her time on Gilmore Girls. After all, Paris and Bonnie are both intense, intelligent women who have had weird relationships with men named Asher.
Regular Coverage
The Vampire Diaries (The CW, 8 p.m.)
Sleepy Hollow (Fox, 9 p.m.)
Comedy Bang! Bang! (IFC, 11 p.m.)
Elsewhere in TV Club
Resident comic book aficionado Tim O’Neil offers his pre-air take on Supergirl. Despite finding a few flaws in the pilot, he writes:
[Melissa Benoist’s] guileless performance as the Girl Of Steel is enough to elevate what could otherwise have been a fairly pro forma exercise into something a lot more compelling. The show will live or die by her performance, and based on the evidence of the pilot she appears more than capable. Her Supergirl is spunky without an ounce of corn (or maybe just the right amount of corn): smart and competent but still at this point a beginner, not yet fully aware of her own abilities. She doesn’t know how to fight, so she spends a good part of the premiere getting the stuffing knocked out of her. But she’s learning, and watching her grow into the role in the coming weeks and months promises to be a treat.
Elsewhere, Casper Van Dien chats with us about everything from Starship Troopers to SyFy films like Fire Twister to his infamous turn on Beverly Hills, 90210 in a brand new Random Roles.
What else is on?
Teen Titans Go! (Cartoon Network, 6:30 p.m.): Robin tries to pass on a few life lessons via fairytales, but the Titans spin his stories into their own twisted tales. Coincidentally, that’s also how Tim Burton made Batman.
Bones (Fox, 8 p.m.): Tonight’s Bones features, of all things, coyote-wolf hybrids. When those mutants pups start eating people in the woods Brennan brings in an older forensic anthropologist to help her with the case. Hopefully he’s a direwolf expert.
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, 8 p.m.): In the auspiciously titled “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner,” Maggie has to leave her own dinner party so April takes over cooking duties. We’d say Grey’s Anatomy is going off the rails but stress cooking has been a part of this show’s DNA ever since Izzy put together her first Thanksgiving.
Billy On The Street (TruTV, 10:30 p.m.): Anna Kendrick joins Billy to help him find love in a round of “real life Tinder.” Other games include “Quizzed In The Face” and “What Does Katy Perry’s Cat Care About?”
The Hunger Games (ABC Family, 8 p.m.): The fourth and final Hunger Games installment hits theaters in less than a month so brush up on your Hunger Games knowledge by revisiting the film that started it all. It may not be the best in the series, but it does feature the best scene of a man pretending to be a rock:
The Fifth Element (BBC America, 8 p.m.): A sci-fi adventure so strange it makes Guardians Of The Galaxy look like a logical, small-scale romp.
Thursday Night Football: Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers (CBS, 8:25 p.m.): The Seahawks are favored to win this match-up so fair weather fans should don their blue, green, and white.
In case you missed it
Arrow: Before Greg Berlanti’s new superhero show, Supergirl, premieres on CBS, check out Alasdair Wilkins’ latest review of the series that started it all.