‘Home Improvement’ Moves UP, the Final ‘Lucifer,’ Royal Wedding Watch on PBS
A selective critical checklist of notable Monday TV:
Home Improvement (1 pm/noon CT): Tim Allen is having a good week. Fox will make official at its Monday Upfront presentation that his sitcom Last Man Standing, canceled a year ago by ABC, will return for a seventh season on Fox. And cable’s family-oriented UP TV has resurrected Allen’s breakthrough hit, Home Improvement, for a daily run from 1-3 pm/ET. (For those keeping track, Last Man Standing recently joined WGN America’s lineup, airing on Wednesday nights.)
Lucifer (8/7c, Fox): Less happy Fox network news for fans of the supernatural procedural, which has been canceled after three seasons. The season—now series—finale ends on an apparent cliffhanger, according to a tweet from the show’s co-creator Joe Henderson, who somehow assumed that leaving the story unresolved would ensure renewal. (In these cases, I pin the blame on the producer, not the network.) In the last episode, Lucifer (Tom Ellis) has an epiphany—and seemingly so does Chloe (Lauren German) who “finally sees the truth.” About her devilish partner?
The Resident (9/8c, Fox): At least fans of the first-year medical drama don’t have to worry about being left hanging. Fox has renewed the show for a second season, which will be a relief, giving all the intrigue in the season finale. Conrad (Matt Czuchry) calls in a favor to save Nic (Emily VanCamp) from Lane’s (Melina Kanakaredes) scheming, and Dr. Bell (Bruce Greenwood) rethinks his alliance with Lane when one of her patients is readmitted to the hospital. Seems to me all of these characters would benefit from a tour of duty with Grey’s Anatomy’s Dr. Bailey. Now there’s a great TV doctor.
Inside Monday TV: PBS is getting into the upcoming royal wedding in a big way. Each night this week, stations will air a Royal Wedding Watch (10/9c), courtesy of BBC Studios, co-hosted by Meredith Vieira and British presenter Matt Baker, highlighting various aspects of the much-anticipated ceremony. … In the world of reality competitions, ABC’s rushed mini-season of Dancing With the Stars (8/7c) is already at the semi-finals, with the six remaining couples performing a solo dance and then a dance-off in which viewers in the East and Central time periods can vote live via an online “Passion Meter.” … NBC’s The Voice (8/7c) is also in semi-final mode, with the Top 8 teaming in a “Special Duets” round. … An armed robbery in the (now series) finale of CBS’s Superior Donuts (9/8c) leads to some soul-searching from Arthur (Judd Hirsch), Franco (Jermaine Fowler) and Sofia (Diane Guerrero).
