Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Tuesday, January 15. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Arrested Development (11 a.m.): And now the story of a wealthy family who lost everything, and the one writer who started reviewing their exploits thinking “Development Arrested” would be the last Bluth adventure he’d ever review. It was TV Club’s coverage of Arrested Development, which Noel Murray will shepherd back to “active” status when Netflix dumps those 14 new episodes on everyone in May.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Raising Hope (Fox, 8 p.m.): Jimmy thinks Sabrina deserves a real engagement ring, but his only method of paying for one is participating a series of medical experiments. Phil Dyess-Nugent went through something similar once, and at the end of the ordeal he decided, “No, turning opinions about pop culture into money is good enough.”
Ben And Kate (Fox, 8:30 p.m.): Oh, poor Tommy: Introducing everyone to his new girlfriend while his heart still clearly longs for Kate. Just give Molly Eichel a few more weeks of will-they/won’t-they tension before that hook-up occurs.
New Girl (Fox, 9 p.m.): In the Luck crossover no one saw coming, Dennis Farina (as Nick’s estranged father) takes the roommates out for a long con at the tracks. In accordance to standards set by the Erik Adams Humane Society, no horses were harmed in the making of this episode.
Happy Endings (ABC, 9 p.m.): One of the most entertaining aspects of Brad and Jane’s relationship is that they can be so close yet keep so many secrets from one another—like the fact that the “ex” of Jane’s visiting this week is a woman. But David Sims can see how she could’ve Kerkovich Way’d her way around that detail.
Go On (NBC, 9 p.m.): With Ryan back on the dating scene, his only obstacle to romantic satisfaction is—professional snowboarder Shaun White? Sonia Saraiya’s review will be filed in the form of a Double-Cork into a 360 Stalefish.
Don’t Trust The B—— In Apartment 23 (ABC, 9:30 p.m.): When Chloe and June go after the same guy, the worthiest date partner is decided in a series challenges devises by JVDB—a gauntlet that’s somehow not called “The Hunger James.” Emily Guendelsberger assumes the Apartment 23 writers saw Community’s “Hunger Deans” clip and decided against the pun.
The Mindy Project (Fox, 9:30 p.m.): We thought we’d heard the last from Amanda Setton’s Shauna, but then she showed up in the TV Guide listing for this week’s episode. This back-and-forth casting tug of war can only prove David Sims’ growing suspicions that continuity is not a concern for Mindy, nor is recognizable reality, and therefore Mindy will learn how to fly by season’s end.
Justified (FX, 10 p.m.): In a bold television experiment, “Where’s Waldo?” finds Raylan seated at his desk for a full hour, tracing the moves of a bespectacled, time-traveling, globetrotting man of mystery through crowded beaches, medieval dining halls, and a world populated by the suspect’s own clones. Or Noel Murray will learn more about the owner of that ID card from last week’s première—either seems likely with that title.
Parenthood (NBC, 10 p.m.): This week’s honorary Braverman is Genevieve Koski, who steps in for Todd VanDerWerff in the waning hours of the Television Critics Association winter press tour. The family welcomes Genevieve with a hug, a tender indie-folk song on the soundtrack, and some medium-stakes turmoil.
The Joe Schmo Show (Spike, 10 p.m.): Enough of you read Scott Von Doviak’s take on this faux reality show’s return that we’ve decided to add it to the weekly rotation. (Just wait until Scott figures out the assignment is part of an elaborate ruse where the commenters on his reviews are played by trained actors and this What’s On Tonight entry is written by Ralph Garman.)
Cougar Town (TBS, 10 p.m.): It’s “Tom Selleck mustache” night around the cul-de-sac, which must’ve made for a mightily confusing episode for one-time fictional-Selleck paramour Courteney Cox. A newly mustachioed Ryan McGee, meanwhile, is teaching himself how to drink without ending up with a wine glass full of facial hair.
WHAT ELSE IS ON
Face Off (Syfy, 9 p.m.): As the latest fellowship of makeup artists heads out for a season of this reality competition, they have Syfy’s camera, Michael Westmore’s moral support, and John Rhys-Davies’ AXE! (Because the character actor and Lord Of The Rings star is the guest judge on this season première, see?)
The Ultimate Guide To The Presidents (History, 9 p.m.): “Ultimate,” eh? Well, we suppose if this is the last word History has on the presidents of the United States, they still have Nazis, extraterrestrials, and all of Rick Harrison’s buddies/experts to bleed dry.
The Real Husbands Of Hollywood (BET, 10 p.m.): The more promising of the two BET comedies debuting tonight, this mockumentary places Kevin Hart, J.B. Smoove, Nick Cannon, and Robin Thicke (?) into the petty jealousies and probably staged smackdowns of the Real Housewives franchise. Molly Eichel can’t wait until someone has a drink splashed in his face.
Second Generation Wayans (BET, 10:30 p.m.): Though he’s willing to speak his mind about Scary Movie 5, Marlon Wayans is staying suspiciously quiet about this project that more or less arrives on the coattails of the work he, his brothers, and sisters did in the 1990s. We wonder why…
Die Hard 2 (HBO2, 6:20 p.m.): John McClane’s really bad day at the airport, presented on premium cable—and therefore “mister falcon”-free. Though we’ll sure miss the way fake Dennis Franz tosses off a “freakin’.”
The League Of Gentlemen (TCM, 8 p.m.): Not to be confused with the comedy troupe of the same name (or the extraordinary characters of Victorian literature who fight under a similar banner) this caper pulls together a ragtag group of British actors looking to pull a right bloody brilliant spot of crime, guv’na!
College Basketball: Wisconsin at Indiana (ESPN, 8 p.m.): Half of the Big Ten’s membership is currently ranked in the men’s basketball polls, with the Hoosiers at the top of the heap at No. 2 of both NCAA polls. The Badgers lurk just outside the Top 25, looking as inconspicuous as they did when they knocked IU out of the Big Ten championship race last year.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Continuum: The A.V. Club’s resident time-travel fanatic, Alasdair Wilkins, gives the première of this decade-hopping Canadian import a “B+,” which is the grade just below “1.21 gigawatts!” on The A.V. Club’s scale for grading works about time travel.