The Flash will finally prove he’s the fastest man alive by defeating that dude who’s obviously faster than he is
Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Tuesday, May 24. All times are Eastern.
Top picks
The Flash (The CW, 8 p.m.): The second season ends with “Zoom revealing this true plan,” which… huh, so he hadn’t already revealed that? We honestly thought we’d finally gotten to the innermost layer of this show’s masterplan onion, but apparently not. Anyway, tonight presumably will reveal the identity of Zoom’s prisoner in the iron mask, and we’re hoping the show throws all caution and logic to the wind by revealing it’s actually Gorilla Grodd, because we’ve missed that big telepathic galoot. For after all, Scott Von Doviak knows the true arch-nemesis of any self-respecting speedster is not a rival speedster, but a giant talking, mind-controlling gorilla. Storytelling 101 here, people.
Fresh Off The Boat (ABC, 8 p.m.): Our notorious failure to watch Tuesday mainstay iZombie has obscured the fact that we also don’t watch Fresh Off The Boat, for no particular reason beyond, damn, there’s just so much TV these days. Anyway, its season finale feels like as good a time as any to bring it out of the quiet anonymity of the regular coverage section for a moment in the spotlight. So, uh, episode synopsis, want to help us out at all here by giving us concrete details to riff on? “In the Season 2 finale, Louis’ visiting brother has big news for the family.” I see that’s how you want to play it. Fine, be that way. See if we care. (Shelby Fero still cares.)
Person Of Interest (CBS, 9 p.m./10 p.m.): So, not only is CBS airing new episodes on both Mondays and Tuesdays, but now it’s also airing back-to-back episodes tonight? We’d call this next-level burning off, but, well, just hold that thought for a moment. Besides, much like a student desperately trying to finish an assignment in the final 15 minutes before the deadline, realizing it’s just not possible, and then sending the teacher some bullshit excuse and asking for an extension, CBS is about to abandon this whole turbocharged strategy once the TV season officially ends, with the show going back to airing just one new episode at a time after next week. Alexa Planje appreciates the imminent reduced strain on her reviewer’s wrists.
Premieres and finales
Hotel Hell (Fox, 8 p.m.): We were not previously familiar with this show, but since it’s on Fox and has the word “hell” in the title, we assumed it involved Gordon Ramsay yelling at hotels, which as a celebrity chef he’s entirely qualified to do. Which, yes, that’s pretty much it, and the third season kicks off with a trip to an Idaho hotel that “fell into disrepair after the owner suffered a family tragedy and lost his passion for the business.” Oh boy, this is going to take Gordon Ramsay’s most sympathetic, heartfelt screaming yet.
Virtually In Love (Oxygen, 9 p.m.): In case you feel Hotel Hell’s Tuesday-night stablemate Coupled is too… island-y, we guess? Here’s an alternative dating show option, as couples who have been exclusively dating online take that next step and meet in-person.
The Real O’Neals (ABC, 8:30 p.m.): The first season ends with the kids preparing to go to the prom, which does feel like a reasonable target for the heightened realness that The Real O’Neals promises. That said, the episode description uses the term “promposals,” which… ew, no. (Also, go check out Myles McNutt’s For Our Consideration on the show if you haven’t had a chance yet. And get ready for next season’s regular coverage from Ashley Ray-Harris by checking out her review tonight.)
Dancing With The Stars/The Voice (ABC/NBC, 9 p.m.): Are these shows still things? Both their seasons are wrapping up, and it feels like this is the first we’re hearing about either of them this year, but then we’ll admit that we’re the part of the What’s On Tonight gestalt entity that has just never gotten the appeal of these kinds of shows whatsoever. And we say that with no sense of high-brow superiority, given we’re mostly too busy watching the wrassling.
Awkward (MTV, 10 p.m.): Speaking of things we’re not sure are still things, Awkward wraps up its run with tonight’s series finale. Pour one out for a show that was once really good, then damn-near apocalyptically bad, which honestly sounds like as good a summary of one’s teen years as any we’ve heard.
Stitchers (Freeform, 10 p.m.): This is another show that hasn’t really been on our radar, but it’s apparently a decent enough sci-fi drama about people inserting themselves into the memories of recently deceased people to solve crimes. Plus, reading the show’s cast list has provided us with a fun opportunity to remember some people from late ’00s/early ’10s Syfy shows we had since forgotten. Allison Scagliotti! Salli Richardson-Whitfield! Ah, Warehouse 13 and Eureka, you were both so pleasantly above average.
Just the strangest damn thing we’ve ever seen
Psychic Matchmaker (TLC, 6 a.m.): Look, this is presumably just fulfilling some obscure contractual obligation and that’s the end of it. But, as far as we can work out, TLC ordered a 12-episode season of this show more than a year ago, aired four episodes in two weeks in May 2015, and is now suddenly airing the remaining eight episodes in the most unceremonious fashion possible by scheduling them at six in the damn morning all throughout this week. Our half-assed Googling suggests no one has really noticed, so we just wanted to point out this is apparently a thing, and it’s just the strangest damn thing we’ve ever seen (on a TV listings page, at least).
Regular coverage A.K.A. one more week and The Mindy Project is pretty much a top pick by default from here on out
The Mindy Project (Hulu, 3:01 a.m.)
Streaming pick
“Beware The Beast From Below,” Scooby-Doo!: Mystery Incorporated (Netflix): As we mentioned in last night’s Bob’s Burgers review, we just finished binge-watching this hilarious, surprisingly complex 2010 update of Scooby-Doo, and damn is it spectacular. For anyone who’s still going through Gravity Falls withdrawals and missed this gem the first time around, go watch it. Besides, we now have so many more wonderfully pretentious takes about how Scooby-Doo is one of the most iconic pieces of 20th-century literature, and Patrick Warburton as the bumbling sheriff is a hoot and a half.