Netflix’s ‘Lord of the Flies,’ ‘Idol’ Throwback, Star Wars Day, ‘Rookie’ Finale

Lord Of The Flies

Long before Yellowjackets, William Golding showed how it was done with his iconic 1954 allegory about the collapse of civilization as seen through the eyes of schoolboys stranded on an island after a plane crash. Filmed twice before (in 1964 and less memorably in 1990), this harrowing tale of a descent into tribal savagery becomes a four-part limited series by Jack Thorne, whose Emmy-winning Adolescence was apparently just a warm-up.

American Idol

Seems like old times on the Idol stage when the singing competition turns back the clock 20 years to welcome back contestants from the class of 2006 for a musical reunion. Nostalgia rules on the judging panel as well, with OG Paula Abdul visiting as a guest judge and Randy Jackson providing wisdom as a guest mentor. Among the 2006 Idol alums scheduled to appear: Season 5 Idol winner Taylor Hicks, Kellie Pickler, Bucky Covington, Paris Bennett, and Elliott Yamin, performing duets with this year’s Top 5: Chris Tungseth, Hannah Harper, Braden Rumfelt, Keyla Richardson, and Jordan McCullough. The celebration also features performances by pros from the Dancing with the Stars cast. After America votes live (including on the Disney+ livestream), the field will be narrowed to a Top 3.

Star Wars

May the 4th — or if you will — “May the Force” — has become an annual cause for celebration among Star Wars fans, and what better way to indulge than with a daylong marathon of George Lucas‘ original and arguably best trilogy, starting with 1977’s breakthrough hit A New Hope (noon/11c), followed by the pinnacle The Empire Strikes Back (3/2c) and Return of the Jedi (6/5c). In prime time, FXX leans into actual parody with Family Guy‘s irreverent tribute, Laugh It Up, Fuzzball: The Family Guy Trilogy (9/8c), featuring three hourlong episodes narrated by Peter Griffin (series creator Seth MacFarlane) and opening with “Blue Harvest,” which was originally released in 2007 to mark Star Wars’ 30th anniversary. Followed by “Something, Something, Dark Side” from 2009 and “It’s a Trap!” from 2010. Somewhere, Jar Jar Binks is smiling. Elsewhere, Disney+ presents the final two episodes of the animated series Star Wars: Maul—Shadow Lord.

The Rookie

What a rookie move it would be if fans have to wait until next season for Tim (Eric Winter) to propose to Lucy (Melissa O’Neil). While waiting for him to spring the ring on his beloved, the LAPD crew gets caught in the crossfire while transferring international crime boss Everett (Jeffrey Vincent Parise) to a downtown courthouse. Given that ABC has renewed the show for a ninth season, a cliffhanger isn’t out of the question.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Let’s do the Time Warp again! In the spirit of midnight movies everywhere, the cast of the acclaimed new Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show (expected to pick up several Tony nominations this week) migrates from the Studio 54 theater to Studio 6B for a special performance. The stacked cast includes Luke Evans as the latest flamboyant Frank-N-Furter, with support from Saturday Night Live alum Rachel Dratch, What We Do in the Shadows‘ Harvey Guillén, Juliette Lewis, Stephanie Hsu, and former Tony nominees Andrew Durand and Amber Gray. If we’re lucky, maybe they can get the night’s other guests — The Comeback‘s Lisa Kudrow, Dancing with the Stars champ Robert Irwin, and Steven Van Zandt — to play along.

 

INSIDE MONDAY TV:

• The Neighborhood (8/7c, CBS): With only one more episode to go before packing up for good, the sitcom finds Dave (Max Greenfield) and Gemma (Beth Behrs) exploring new horizons, while the Butler sons Malcolm (Sheaun McKinney) and Marty (Marcel Spears) face hurdles on the way to their respective weddings. Followed by the penultimate episode of freshman comedy DMV (8:30/7:30c).
• Sullivan’s Crossing (8/7c, The CW): The Northern Lights provides a scenic backdrop while Maggie (Morgan Kohan) scrambles to find a local doctor to support her application to the board of physicians while calming Cal’s (Chad Michael Murray) concerns about her past with her ex, Liam (Marcus Rosner).
• FBI (9/8c, CBS): The team hunts for a murderer whose crypto scam has made him and his family the target of a vengeful mark. Followed by CIA (10/9c), where Colin (Tom Ellis) and Bill (Nick Gehlfuss) learn the motive behind a foreign diplomat’s murder: a rare mineral with international implications.
• Dead & Buried (streaming on Acorn TV): Annabel Scholey stars in a British psychological thriller as a woman plotting revenge on the man (Colin Morgan) who murdered her brother 20 years ago and has successfully started a new life after early release from prison. Her approach: seduce him, then destroy. Also on Acorn TV: a new episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries and the finale of the suburban suspense drama The Feud on Shelbury Drive.