Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Monday, January 27. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
The Following (Fox, 9 p.m.): Joe Carroll is alive, and as you can see from the above picture, his facial expression communicates a nuanced emotion called “blarrgghghlllleee”! Tonight, The Following moves to its regular time slot. Joe Carroll is rakishly holding a kitchen knife and hoping that you watch his inevitable rise to power (again). We hope you join his serial-killing cult like he wants you to. Otherwise he’ll serial-kill more people! But wait! If you join it, you’ll serial-kill, too! Is there no end to this madness? Why is Joe Carroll holding a bloody towel? Who did he kill this time? Is it… Edgar Allan Poe?!?! David Sims INVESTIGATES.
ALSO NOTED
Adventure Time (Cartoon Network, 7 p.m.): Finn battles an old gumball robot named Rattleballs, and discovers he’s not the master swordsman he thought he was. This is a tough realization for Oliver Sava, who put Finn in his fantasy swordsman league. But no matter, because Rainn Wilson guest-stars in tonight’s episode, and we hear he is pretty good with a katana.
How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 8 p.m.): In the series’ 200th episode, How I Met Your Mother looks back at what on earth The Mother was doing for the last eight seasons. Donna Bowman hopes there is a Q&A afterwards, because she has a lot of questions.
Archer (FX, 10 p.m.): Pam makes a deal with the Yakuza, which goes south, naturally. Malory wouldn’t mind throwing her to the wolves, but Archer and Todd VanDerWerff have an elaborate plan to save the day.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Regular Show (Cartoon Network, 7:30 p.m.)
Switched At Birth (ABC Family, 9 p.m.)
Mom (CBS, 9:30 p.m.)
Teen Wolf (MTV, 10 p.m.)
The Blacklist (NBC, 10 p.m.)
Rick And Morty (Adult Swim, 10:30 p.m.)
ALSO ON TV CLUB
Phil Dyess-Nugent reviewed HBO’s new documentary on Herbert Block, better known as Herblock: “From his perch at the Washington Post, which he held onto from his discharge from the U. S. Army in 1956 until his death in the fall of 2001, Herblock created and sustained a sort of perfect image of the ideal op-ed cartoonist: Intelligent and sane with no ax to grind.”
And Todd VanDerWerff dives into the magical first and only season of My So-Called Life, for One Season Wonders, Weirdos, and Wannabes. He writes of its lead actress, Claire Danes: “Danes’ greatest talent was being able to allow essentially any emotion—or any combination of emotions or cycle of emotions—to play across her face almost instantaneously. It’s a skill the show would turn to time and again, without ever over-relying on it.”
WHAT ELSE IS ON?
Hart Of Dixie (The CW, 8 p.m.): We just did a Google image search for Hart Of Dixie and realized that the stethoscope she’s holding is in the shape of a heart. We are very impressed with Hart Of Dixie.
The Bachelor (ABC, 8 p.m.): Juan-uary is almost over! In this last weekend of the greatest month known to humankind, Juan takes six of the contestants to Seoul, South Korea, for karaoke and dancing. Remember: It’s okay to hold a competition for your life partner, and eliminate them through a complicated ritual with roses, but it sets a bad example for kids to show gay men and women on television. Hooray!
Antiques Roadshow (PBS, 8 p.m.): Part one of three hours in Detroit, Michigan.
Independent Lens: The State Of Arizona (PBS, 10 p.m.): The docuseries takes a look at Arizona Senate Bill 1070, a controversial law that requires police officers to determine the immigration status of any detainee, as it approaches consideration by the Supreme Court.
Dude, Where’s My Car? (Encore, 8 p.m.): This modern classic, based on an Edith Wharton novel, follows two young men on a day-long quest to discover themselves. Starring Ashton Kutcher and Sean William Scott.
The Age Of Innocence (TCM, 8 p.m.): In this stoner comedy, directed by Martin Scorcese, a society lawyer (Daniel Day-Lewis) obsesses over his fiancée’s beautiful cousin (Michelle Pfeiffer), who has “a scandalous reputation.”
WWE Raw (USA, 8 p.m.): Amidst all this hullaballoo about the “Super Bowl,” you may have forgotten that the Royal Rumble is tonight on pay-per-view and WrestleMania fast approaches. SET YOUR DVRS NOW!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
True Detective: Erik Adams gets into this show’s third episode, “The Locked Room,” which is the series’ best to date. He is not yet ‘shipping Rust and Marty, but… we are.