Oscar vs. Tony Winner on ‘Mom’, J.Lo on ‘Will & Grace’, ‘Jessica Jones’ Returns, ‘Top Chef’ Finale
A selective critical checklist of notable Thursday TV:
Mom (9/8c, CBS): All hail Allison Janney, who added an Oscar this week (for I, Tonya) to her shelf of seven Emmys, including two for this underrated comedy, which this week pits the statuesque star against the diminutive Tony- and Emmy-winning powerhouse Kristin Chenoweth. In a classic guest-star turn, Chenoweth plays Miranda, a chirpy “inner strength coach” who claims success in her rehabbed and slimmed-down client, Jill (Jaime Pressly). Bonnie (Janney), typically, isn’t impressed: “This Muppet thinks I’m teachable,” she scoffs. But Christy (Anna Faris), still reeling from law-school rejections, may actually benefit from one of Miranda’s pricey “energy cleanses.” Or not.
Will & Grace (9/8c, NBC): In a much clumsier guest-star stunt, Jennifer Lopez returns to the sitcom she appeared on during its earlier run, once again playing herself—though this time in a baldly promotional tie-in to her NBC crime drama Shades of Blue (the third season of which the network hasn’t even scheduled yet). Though Jack (Sean Hayes) is thrilled to reunite with J Lo on the Blue set, it’s not a surprise when he refuses to play dead when cast as a corpse. The better subplot finds Will (Eric McCormack) and Grace (Debra Messing) at a baby shower where neither exactly fit in.
Marvel’s Jessica Jones (streaming on Netflix): Timed to launch on International Women’s Day, the second season may lack a villain as memorable as mind-controlling Kilgore (David Tennant), but it still showcases one of Marvel’s and Netflix’s most fascinating, edgy superheroes. Krysten Ritter is a marvel indeed as the hard-drinking, hard-hitting Jessica, damaged by her past and more than capable of damaging those who get on her bad side.
Champions (9:30/8:30c, NBC): Like a messy hybrid of Will & Grace camp and tiresome A.P. Bio-style snark, NBC’s slick, silly new sitcom from Mindy Kaling and her fellow Mindy Project writer-producer Charlie Grandy introduces manchild Brooklyn gym owner Vince (Anders Holm) to Michael (J.J. Totah), the 15-year-old gay theater-prodigy son he never knew. Kaling makes a cameo early on as Michael’s mom Priya, who somewhat incredibly leaves the kid in the care of commitment-phobic Vince and his sweet dim-bulb brother Matthew (Andy Favreau, the show’s most appealing element). Totah has great timing, as he dishes his precociously bitchy lines with “Just Jack” flair, but this hardly feels like championship comedy.
Top Chef (9/8c, Bravo): The delectable culinary competition serves up its final course in Aspen, as the final two chefs go gourmet to impress the judges and celebrity chefs Nancy Silverton, Jonathan Waxman and Curtis Duffy. Whoever wins, good luck getting into their eatery for the next few months.
Inside Thursday TV: Sony’s Crackle streaming service launches the 10-part action drama The Oath, starring Game of Thrones’ Sean Bean and True Blood’s Ryan Kwanten as crooked-cop father and son in a complicated Shield-like scenario about warring gangs of corrupt police. … NBC’s Superstore (8/7c) takes on a timely subject when Mateo (Nico Santos) is injured, and Jonah (Ben Feldman) worries his co-worker’s immigration status will be exposed. … There’s an airborne crisis on ABC’s Scandal (9/8c) in an episode cheekily titled “Air Force Two,” which is where VP Cyrus (Jeff Perry) and AG David (Joshua Malina) are in midflight peril when their plane is hacked en route to a digital piracy summit. … Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) returns to The CW’s Arrow (9/8c), but the circumstances as usual make it less than a happy homecoming.
Conversation20 Comments
Please read the TV Insider Community Guidelines.
Comments are closed on this story.
-
C
Watching the NEW episodes of The Big Bang Theory and Supernatural. I finally gave up on Gotham early this season, and I've deleted the series off my DVR. To Kill a Mockingbird airs tonight on TCM at 6:45pm. As that is my all time favorite movie, I watch it every time it airs. Also, TCM airs the original Poltergeist at 9:15pm. I haven't seen this movie in a long time, so I'm looking forward to seeing it again. The Gallipoli is on Movie Plex at 9:17pm, so I'll DVR that and watch later.
1
-
R
Morjana...Gotham is firmly ENTRENCED in my DVR...I find each episode to be even more interesting/entertaining than the last...
(I have to continually [100-200 times a day] remind myself that..."There are people DIFFERENT FROM ME in the world!!!")
-
G
That's exactly how I feel about Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Tomorrow is the 100th episode!
Almost every episode seems to improve upon the previous.
And seasons also.
-
-
O
It’s Kilgrave, not Kilgore Matt!
-
B
I liked Jessica Jones S1, but a large part of that was the battle with Kilgrave (not Kilgore). Without that sort of presence though, I don't know how they're going to sustain this over 13 long episodes. Surprised it's not 10 or so.
-
G
So true, most of these Netflix Marvel shows are not consistently entertaining throughout their relatively short seasons. Seems like they lose steam too quickly. Imagine if Netflix/Marvel ordered a full 22 episodes!
Did you watch other non Netflix Marvel shows? The Gifted, Runaways, Legion, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. , Agent Carter, INHUMANS........
What are your thoughts?
-
B
Legion definitely took with me, since even just for the visuals it's worth watching.
With Jessica Jones, due to the length of the episodes, it's about 15 episodes worth of network TV. We'll see how that goes in S2.
1
-
R
Rick...totally agree with your "take" on Legion...
Although I had little (to no) idea what was going on...I found every episode to be QUITE fascinating...
(As opposed to Twin Peaks...where I also had little (to no) idea what was going on...but found every episode QUITE boring.) (I mean...15 minutes of a guy sweeping up the floor...C'MON!!!)
-
B
That's an interesting comparison of those two, and I felt much the same way about them (I will say that Ep 8 of TP is an exception--that one worked for me).
So in the case of Legion, while I wasn't always sure what was happening, I was always engaged and felt that it was playing fair. With the new TP though, I think only the most hardcore of TP fans (who all loved it, btw, almost as if they were programmed to) could withstand what could only make sense in the mind of an abstract impressionist like David Lynch. That sort of thing works in art galleries, but not so much on TV.
2
-
O
JJ S2 is 13 episodes?
A common complaint that I've had with Netflix originals is that they've slavishly adhered to a 10 ep/season cap, and the show creators trying to pack all that they wanted to say into 10 episodes tended to make them bloated and a chore to slog through.
-
-
C
It's CBS vs. NBC comedies again, and I'll have to catch Gotham later.
-
G
Did you watch Designated Survivor and/or American Crime Story last night?
I actually watched both (stayed up late), DS was fast paced and almost thoroughly entertaining. Except the parts with Lyor were kind of silly and unnecessary though. Seems like most every episode the writers are required to insert a filler storyline. I didn't mind the usually boring parts with the kids. I mean it is realistic that the young daughter would be having some emotional issues after what she went through. I wonder how her older brother is coping? I guess they'll focus on him another week.
As for American Crime Story, this one was a bit less thrilling than most and again the parts with the Versace storyline didn't intrigue me very much. Luckily for me Ryan Murphy emphasizes the plots around Andrew Cunanan and his prey much more with most episodes. If the main storyline was about Gianni Versace, I wouldn't be as committed to this show.
-
C
Yes, I watched both of them. You're right about Lyor. It's as if they try too hard to give him something to do. It's like: "Now that we've hired this guy, we've got to find something for him to do." Funny that I just asked about the kids, and the girl popped up in this week's episode."
This week, I'll agree that the parts with Versace and his sister were boring. It's as if their story has nothing to do with the main theme of the series. What does her ability (or inability) to design a dress in Italy have to do with him getting killed?
-
G
Versace's sister and her abilities had ZERO to do with her brother being killed.
Its as if Ryan Murphy set out to script a show about Versace's life and murder but it wasn't compelling enough to sustain for a TV series so he needed to pad it with filler. Perhaps the Versace story would have worked more efficiently as a movie . So far I don't find any scenes dealing with Versace, his sister or assistant/boyfriend intriguing whatsoever. If it wasn't for Andrew Cunanan and his prey, the show would be almost unwatchable to me.
-
C
I can sort of see what they're trying to do...show that his boosting of her self-confidence led him to feel she could watch over things while he went to Florida for an extended period of time.
-
G
I guess. But again the Versace story bores me for the most part.
Next week is a flashback to when Versace and Cunanan are much younger.
-
R
I agree that the writers don't know what to do with Lyor. In fact, that's one of the problems with an ensemble show.... every episode can't feature every character for more than one or two small scenes. Same with Kendra (the attorney, played by Zoe McClellan). In fact, the way they shoehorned her into the show was in a scene with Lyor.
A couple quick things...1) A mini "24" reunion last night, with Kim Raver acting alongside Kiefer Sutherland once again. 2) Hasn't the First Daughter grown significantly since the series began? Wow, seems like she was about 7 years old last time we saw her, and now she looks like she's about 10 or 11. 3) Speaking of characters not getting screen time, was Seth even in this episode? I don't recall seeing him, at least not in any significant way. 4) Any bets that Kirkman will bring back the former President as Secretary of State? I mean once Tom gets his head screwed back on properly. I like the former Prez.
Funny, yesterday was a very "governmental" night for me: reruns of Madam Secretary (political intrigue in the White House), then SEAL Team (government-sanctioned private operations), and then Designated Survivor, for more intrigue in and around the White House.
-
G
Great post! Truth I never pay much attention to Kirkman's kids so didn't notice the age change. But now that I think about she does look a lot older than we last saw her.
Would be nice to have the former the former Secretary of State back .
By the way, did you ever watch The Brave? Highly recommended .
-
C
I noticed that about the daughter too, but I'm not very good at judging kids' ages.
-
O
You may like Evil Lives Here it shows the murders family side of the story and how they were brought up.
-
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services