Television Premieres and Notables: March 23-29, 2015

Monday, 3/23

The Late Late Show With James Corden; CBS. 11:37 pm CST. Series Premiere.
I don't have the time to regularly watch late night talk shows, but I'll be trying this show for a week or three.
I've liked what I've seen of Corden in the television and films he's been in; the guy is warm, funny, and talented.
He's not going to hit a home run on his first at-bat, but I think, like Ferguson, Fallon, and O'Brien, he's going to make this show-- and the format-- his own.


Tuesday, 3/24

The Mindy Project (Fox; 8:30 pm CST). Season Finale.


Wednesday, 3/25

Big Time in Hollywood, FL; Comedy Central. 9:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Two slacker brothers trying to make a film get into trouble.


Thursday, 3/26

Bones; Fox. 7 pm CST. Mid-season Premiere.


Friday, 3/27

Hart of Dixie (CW; 7 pm CST). Season Finale.

Girl Meets World (Disney; 7:30 pm CST). Season Finale.


Saturday, 3/28

Black Sails (Starz; 8 pm CST). Season Finale.


Sunday, 3/29

The Walking Dead (AMC; 8 pm CST). Season Finale.
So... something has happened to this show in the last year or two: it's always been exciting and unexpected. But it's become something more: very good. It's still a show where you have to just take for granted that the dead walk-- and that people have to do dumb things sometimes (no drama if the slow-moving Walkers aren't a threat). But the stories have been tighter, the characters don't make as many dumb decisions, and the actors have raised their game just as the writers have.

But anyway, enough of the hard sell. This is for the people who have been watching (and absolutely no spoilers for those haven't).
Let's take a trip down Fifth Season memory lane (off the top of my head):

Terminus
shish-ka-bob (not in the show, but you know what it refers to)
Gareth
Slabtown
lollipops
"We brought dinner."
cookies
massacre
porch dick (you'd have to watch Talking Dead for that one to make sense)
"Shut it off."

Television Premieres and Notables: March 16-22, 2015

Monday, 3/16

Dancing With the Stars; ABC. 7 pm CST. Season Premiere.


Tuesday, 3/17

Community; Yahoo! Screen. Streaming. 6th Season Premiere.
NBC never knew what to do with it, so hopefully Yahoo! lets it be what it supposed to be.
We'll be short a Shirley but will gain a Frankie (Paget Brewster).
Yahoo! is also taking a more traditional approach to the series and launching one episode a week as opposed to the season "dumps" the others do.

iZombie; The CW. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
This adaptation of the Chris Robertson and Michael Allred comic book should prove to be a little off-the-wall. But Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas is doing the adapting, so it should hold together well.
Olivia is a mortician that becomes a zombie-- and finds she can help solve crimes by eating the brains of the victims.

One Big Happy; NBC. 8:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.


Wednesday, 3/18

Empire (Fox; 7 pm CST). Season Finale.


Friday, 3/20

Bloodline; Netflix. Streaming. Series Premiere.
Kyle Chandler stars in this new family drama that also features Linda Cardellini, Sissy Spacek, and Sam Shepard.
Netflix is dropping the entire 13 episode season all at once.

Glee (Fox; 7 pm CST). Series Finale.
This show was just all over the place.
The first half-season was pretty much perfect.
Then it became all about the (selling of the) songs (on iTunes).
Then they realized they could make a difference and started getting relevant (and very quickly smashing us over the head with it).
Then they tried to grow and gave us a new crew of kids-- that kept getting pushed out by the old crew.
Then they dumped the new crew.
Then it became a cartoon.
And, finally, this season: it became self-aware (still cartoony, but at least acknowledging it).
But even though I watched the last two seasons out of duty, I'm glad it was able to finish on its own terms.And I'm glad it did what it did.
It brought music back to TV. It did try to address societal issues, even if often got too heavy-handed. It brought a few talented people into our consciousness.
So I'll call this a "win".
I won't say I'll miss it-- but I am glad I watched it.

Children's Hospital; [adult swim]. 11 pm CST. Season Premiere.


Saturday, 3/21

The Musketeers (BBC America; 8 pm CST). Season Finale.


Sunday, 3/22

Girls (HBO; 8 pm CST)> Season Finale.

Neighbors With Benefits; A&E. 9 pm CST> Series Premiere.
A reality docuseries about swingers in suburban Ohio.
I'm sure it'll be classy...