The Collider Weekly TV Guide is a rundown of notable episodes, premieres, returns, finales, and opportunities to catch up on great shows (or cast an eye to the occasional TV train wreck). Here are the picks for the week beginning Monday, March 23rd:
Monday 3/23:
Better Call Saul, “RICO” (AMC, 10 p.m.) - With the Kettleman embezzlement seemingly in his rearview, Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) goes about working on ensuring his trust and future with Chuck (Michael McKean). It turns out to be an endeavor that makes his already precarious morality dip into darker, more unsteady terrain. So, wait, corruption is lucrative? Who’d have guessed?
The Late Late Show with James Corden, Premiere (CBS, 12:30 a.m.) – On any list of shoes you’d never feel comfortable filling, Craig Ferguson would rank near the top. Aside from John Oliver, he may be the most influential of modern English comedians, and he’s held his own weight in the late-show game for years, and now James Corden (Into the Woods) will try his hand at the slot. It’s a lot of pressure but Corden has shown an instinctual sense of timing and PG-13 rated jokes that, by and large, don’t suck. He’ll kick off his hopefully fruitful reign in the chair with Mila Kunis and a relatively unknown, plucky upstart named Tom Hanks. Review forthcoming.
The Returned, “Julie” (A&E, 10 p.m.) - A&E’s surprisingly rewarding take on the French miniseries of the same name continues to cast an eerie spell with its third episode, which sees Jack (Mark Pellegrino) and Claire (Tandi Wright) considering a move to help Camille (India Enninga) acquaint herself with life once again, even as she attempts to pass as their niece. The jury is out on whether or not resurrection is an odder occurrence than having a niece that’s identical to your daughter.
Tuesday 3/24:
Justified, “Trust” (FX, 10 p.m.) - As we close in on the series finale of this exceptionally detailed crime series, Boyd (Walton Goggins) still has designs on Markham’s (Sam Elliott) money and rights to grow legal weed in Kentucky. The situation continues to put his beloved Ava (Joelle Carter) in peril, even in the wake of her confession of ratting on him. Elsewhere, Timothy Olyphant’s Raylan starts wringing out his informants for as many tips as possible that may help with the encroaching storm of vendettas that are set to rock Harlan County. Chances of Boyd making a stately speech about life in the South or at the very least, an eloquent death threat: roughly 548%.
Wednesday 3/25:
Big Time in Hollywood, FL, “Severance” (Comedy Central, 10:30 p.m.) - This zippy, amiable half-hour comedy stars Alex Anfanger and Lenny Jacobson as delusional filmmaking brothers who get kicked out of their parents’ home after a long string of laziness and half-assed starts. The series co-stars Stephen Tobolowsky and Kathy Baker as the parents, and the inaugural season promises turns from Cuba Gooding Jr., Michael Madsen, and Keith David. Honestly, where would modern television be without arrested development or, for that matter, Arrested Development? Review forthcoming.
Black-ish “30 Something” (ABC, 9:30 p.m.) - Kenya Barris’s very funny family comedy, one of the best multi-camera network sitcoms of this decade, returns from the short hiatus that kept it off the air for most of March. As the new episode opens, Anthony Anderson’s Dre is looking down the barrel of the big 4-0, and his family competes to find him the perfect gift. What do you get the man who already has Roots on laserdisc?
Thursday 3/26:
The Americans “Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?” (FX, 10 p.m.) - The best crime drama currently on television continues it’s staggeringly brilliant third season. With Nina’s (Annet Mahendru) life behind bars becoming more and more untenable, Noah Emmerich’s Stan and his Russian counterpart, Oleg (Costa Ronin), hatch a plan to secure her freedom and safety. As their plans come together, Phil (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth (Keri Russell) find themselves again facing the unforeseen effects of their work. I’m sure everything will end totally fine and happy though.
Friday 3/27:
Bloodline “Part 10” (Netflix, Streaming) - The first season of Netflix’s new drama, from the creators of Damages, drags out its climax to a frankly preposterous point but the show is held together by a great cast and a instinctual sense of life in small, bucolic, and very rich communities in Florida and the Keys. In “Part 10,” Kyle Chandler’s John finally comes face-to-face with the dirty work that Danny (Ben Mendelsohn) has been living on aside from his work with his family. Chandler and Mendelsohn are two of the best character actors in the game, and just watching them circle one another is a pleasure that few current television series can offer. The cherry on top: Sissy Spacek’s Mother Rayburn sharing a joint with Mendelsohn’s troublesome black sheep.
Sunday 3/29:
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (HBO, 8 p.m.) - Alex Gibney continues his impressive, prolific hot streak of fascinating, stylistically acute documentaries with this expose-like look at the Church of Lunatics Scientology. Gibney has a way at getting at the smaller stories embedded inside a very public story, like his incredibly attentive view of progressive African-American politics in Mr. Dynamite. Regardless of what Gibney uncovers, expect a few people in Hollywood to not be particularly fond of his charges.
Call the Midwife, Season 4 Premiere (PBS, 8 p.m.) - This thoroughly delightful period drama, centering on a group of nurse-midwives working in London’s East End in the 1950s and 60s, comes back to PBS, complete with Vanessa Redgrave’s wonderful narration. Series regulars Helen George and Pam Ferris are the focus of the premiere, concerning a proposal and some serious health problems. The show currently holds the record for most stirrups spotted in a single series.
Mr. Selfridge, Season 3 Premiere (PBS, 9:05 p.m.): Jeremy Piven returns as the titular character, the famed owner of a major British department store chain, for the third season of this comedic drama. The likelihood of Piven asking a rich noble customer to “hug it out, bitch” is, thankfully, not that great.
The Walking Dead, “Conquer” (AMC, 9 p.m.) - The season finale of AMC’s unerringly smart, entertaining, and tough horror-western will likely prove to pull out all the stops. Considering the title, it’s almost certain the episode will hinge on Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) want to take over the Alexandria Safe-Zone, but if ever there was a show that’s hard to predict, it’s this one. There’s also rumors of a Negan tease, a name that will chill the blood of anyone familiar with the source material. Oh, and there may be a zombie.
