It’s 2020 and Will Forte is the Last Man on Earth
Top pick
Last Man On Earth (Fox, 9 p.m.): From the second Fox announced Last Man on Earth, the question has been, “how?” Yes, the trailer was hilarious, and the series is produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (the powerhouse pair behind 21 Jump Street, The Lego Movie, and lest we forget, Clone High). But it was still hard to see how an entire series devoted to a barren wasteland of a planet populated solely by Will Forte would actually work beyond those tight three minutes. Tonight, Fox airs two back-to-back episodes to prove why you should add Forte’s comedy to your already stacked television schedule on Sunday nights. Molly Eichel took a look at the first three episodes, which she found intriguing, and weekly coverage will start tonight with none other than Caroline Framke (we hear she’s good people).
Also noted
Battle Creek (CBS, 10 p.m.): We had not heard much about Battle Creek, so imagine our surprise when it turned out to be a mismatched detective show starring Dean Winters and Josh Duhamel instead of, say, a History Channel original series on Revolutionary War battles happening in or around creeks. We’re disappointed, but since it’s from the minds of House’s David Shore and Breaking Bad’s Vince Gilligan, we’re assuming most of you are on board.
Secrets And Lies (ABC, 9 p.m.): We can’t think of a less original title for a thriller procedural than Secrets And Lies, but according to Kate Kulzick, it’s not so bad! Even with Ryan Phillippe starring! Who knew!
Downton Abbey (PBS, 9 p.m.): Here we must apologize, for we told you the fifth season finale was happening last week, when it is, in fact, happening tonight. Join Emily Stephens as she bids farewell to Lady Mary and her magnificent side-eye, won’t you?
The Good Wife (CBS, 9 p.m.): Alicia Florrick returns to television, and she’s bringing Laura Benanti, Dylan Baker, David Hyde Pierce, and new player Ed Asner with her. Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya is breaking out the celebratory wine in Alicia’s honor (though to be honest, we’re pretty sure she’d break out the celebratory wine no matter what, Kayla knows what’s up).
Bob’s Burgers (Fox, 7:30 p.m.): The Belchers (plus Megan Mullally’s Gayle) come to us and Alasdair Wilkins a bit earlier than usual to make room for Last Man on Earth’s hour premiere.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox, 8:30 p.m.): Gina takes charge of her mother’s wedding to Boyle’s father tonight, resulting in more excellent emoji references and some of Chelsea Peretti’s best sardonic work to date. Also, Captain Holt does his very best to emote. This makes us feel all warm and slanty face help desk girl inside, so we’ll leave it to LaToya to quantify such things with her review and letter grade.
Looking (HBO, 10 p.m.): We already respect the hell out of tonight’s episode, which we are choosing to believe is a winking reference to some of the show’s less effusive reviews, as it is called, “Looking For a Plot.” Brandon Nowalk will be the judge of that.
Regular coverage
The Simpsons (Fox, 8 p.m.)
Girls (HBO, 9 p.m)
Togetherness (HBO, 9:30 p.m.)
Shameless (Showtime, 10 p.m.)
Classic coverage
The Simpsons (2 p.m.)
What else is on?
The Great British Baking Show (PBS, 8 p.m.): The finale pits baker against baker in a winner take all bake-off to the stars! (We assume. Our internet browsers keep freezing and dying on us, so we’re winging it from here on out.)
Once Upon A Time: Secrets Of Storybrooke (ABC, 7 p.m.): Secrets of a fairy tale type nature are exposed in this (maybe?) scintillating take, (likely) through an animation of an old book with fancy calligraphy turning its own pages.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (Showtime, 5 p.m.): We have never been on good terms with this franchise, but we will never forgive it for giving us twenty minutes of vampires ripping each other’s heads off and throwing limbs into a fiery hellpit only to reveal that—SPOILER SPACE—it was all in Ashley Greene’s head. How dare you, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2. How dare you.
NBA Basketball: Thunder at Lakers (ESPN, 3:30 p.m.): ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Christina Milian Turned Up: “A Milian Emotions” (E!, 10 p.m.): :/
Sister Wives: Divorce (TLC, 8 p.m.): 🙁
In case you missed it
Sex Box: Sex Box.