9-1-1 (FOX, 8:00pm) — A record heatwave’s (predictably) causing all of Los Angeles to go into blackout mode, which sparks (also predictable) mayhem for the 118. Elsewhere, Maddie’s condition is causing concern all around.
Ordinary Joe (NBC, 10:00pm) — It’s like Sliding Doors but with TV Prince James Wolk (Watchmen, Mad Men, Political Animals, Zoo) and no Gwyneth Paltrow. If that’s not enough to make you climb aboard, consider that Wolk will not only play a rock star (!) but also a nurse and a police officer, all during parallel timelines following a pivotal choice after college graduation. This week, the trio of different Joes are all attempting to come to terms with the 9/11 anniversary while in very different romantic places.
Roswell, New Mexico (CW, 8:00pm) — Jones is stuck in Max’s body while a duo’s attempting to make headway with Dallas, and Heath is the subject of a related search.
Y: The Last Man (FX on Hulu) — The acclaimed graphic novel gets its due as a dystopian TV drama starring Diane Lane as the globe’s de facto president. Her son becomes, as the title suggests, the very last man on Earth following an apocalyptic event that pretty much obliterates the Y chromosome. FX recently made it known that although the Y appears to refer to the chromosome, the show will take a nuanced approach and not operate on a merely gender-binary level.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — Sturgill Simpson, Jon Stewart
The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Snoop Godd, Chris Colfer, Mickey Guyton
Late Night With Seth Meyers — Billy Bob Thornton, Miriam Margolyes, Nick Baglio
In case you missed these weekend picks:
Foundation (Apple TV+ series) — Isaac Asimov’s classic novel gets a heady adaptation starring the always great Jared Harris and Lee Pace. The sci-fi story revolves around exiles who are working to rebuild civilization even as the galaxy falls apart (sounds familiar!). A great deal of attention has been paid to the epic scale of the show, which Apple TV+ appears to want to be its Game of Thrones. The good news here, though, is that the story won’t closely adhere to the books, which should (hopefully) prevent the same sort of finale-season conundrum that we saw with Thrones.
Midnight Mass (Netflix series) — Get ready, The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor addicts, because creator Mike Flanagan’s back to cause us more horror fits. This happens to be his favorite project so far and revolves around an isolated community that lives on spooky Crockett Island, which gets even spookier due to a charismatic priest’s arrival. Naturally, a whole lot of supernatural shenanigans are afoot, but human nature (as we are currently experiencing in-real-life these days) can often be scarier than the ghosts that people can dream up. It’s dark, real dark.