There's a lot of TV options to choose from these days. Too much for any one person to completely monitor, but that doesn't mean we're not going to do our best to sift through all the listings and figure out what you should be watching every week...with all the highlights, lowlights and guilty pleasures you can stand.
Monday, June 7th
9:00 p.m. The Good Guys (FOX)
Talk about a front-loaded week of television...The major networks seem to be making an effort to turn the summer into a brand-new TV season, which we can't fault. Take FOX, for example. They're launching a new cop dramedy called The Good Guys pairing Colin Hanks and Bradley Whitford. Both fine enough actors that we're looking forward to seeing them in action, even with the abundance of other cop shows out there.
Also on Monday
10:00 p.m. Persons Unknown (NBC)
Another brand-new show, Persons Unknown, is actually slated as a limited series featuring a group of regular people taken from their mundane lives and placed in a town that's constantly under surveillance. The concept is enough to get us interested (in spite of its close resemblance to The Prisoner), but the fact that it's created by The Usual Suspects and Valkyrie writer Christopher McQuarrie bumps this up into "must check out regardless of other plans" territory.
Tuesday, June 8th
11:00 p.m. U.S. Navy: Pirate Hunters (Spike)
If a show about the Navy hunting down those asshole pirates plaguing private merchants near Africa were on a network like, say, Discovery, we might check it out at some point. Maybe. But, since Pirate Hunters is on Spike, we expect plenty of awesomeness. (This is, after all, the network that's brought us Deadliest Warrior and When Good Pets Go Bad.) Don't disappoint us, Spike! And as for dealing with pirates, might we suggest employing the "crocodile with a clock" deterrent?
Wednesday, June 9th
10:00 p.m. The Challenge: Fresh Meat II (MTV)
After a full season of conniving, back-stabbing, trash-talking and frustrating losses, the latest Real World/Road Rules Challenge combining fresh meat (people who have never been on one of these shows before) and old meat (alumni) comes to a conclusion. Expect plenty of tricky editing, crying and a pretty obvious win from either Kenny and Laurel or Landon and Carley. We miss Wes! (Come on, don't act like you don't know who we're talking about...) Also: swimsuits!
Sunday, June 13th
10:00 p.m. Top Shot (History Channel)
We've been psyched for Top Shot since we started hearing about it a few months back. Of course, we missed the first episode last week, but we're correcting that grave oversight right friggin' now. The concept behind this series is a group of the best marksmen in the world is gathered and then challenged to see how adept they are with a series of weapons (guns, bows and arrows, knives, etc.). As if that weren't enough, this week's episode is called "Zip Line of Fire." How can that not be amazing?
Wednesday, June 9th
8:00 p.m. CMT Music Awards (CMT)
We thought about trying to find a silver lining for the Tony Awards (Sunday at 8 p.m. on CBS, if you're so inclined), but no amount of "Hey, look at the hot ladies dancing" can make up for all the showtunes. Even we're not that good. So, we're turning our attention to the CMT Music Awards. Sure, pop-country music is homogenized and boring, but at least the awards show will be hosted by Kid Rock. (He's bound to say something inappropriate, right?) Plus, the always-hot Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert will perform. Roll in the hay, anyone?
You might have noticed an inordinate number of commercials starring Craig Robinson (best known as Darryl on The Office, the doorman in Knocked Up, and awesome bandleader Nick in Hot Tub Time Machine) sitting at a keyboard and singing to you, his adoring public. We're huge fans, so we didn't mind, but what's with all the hype? Turns out Robinson's got a few big gigs coming up. First off, he's the new host of NBC's Last Comic Standing which premieres Monday at 8:00 p.m. That same night he'll be hosting the 2010 Hip-Hop Honors on VH1. If that's not enough Robinson for you, check out NBC's Office reruns—he got a bigger part this season, moving upstairs from the warehouse to his own office—and while you're at it, check out Thursday morning's (late Wednesday night's) episode of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. Maybe he'll perform with the Roots!
Monday, June 7th
9:00 p.m. The Good Guys (FOX)
Talk about a front-loaded week of television...The major networks seem to be making an effort to turn the summer into a brand-new TV season, which we can't fault. Take FOX, for example. They're launching a new cop dramedy called The Good Guys pairing Colin Hanks and Bradley Whitford. Both fine enough actors that we're looking forward to seeing them in action, even with the abundance of other cop shows out there.
Also on Monday
10:00 p.m. Persons Unknown (NBC)
Another brand-new show, Persons Unknown, is actually slated as a limited series featuring a group of regular people taken from their mundane lives and placed in a town that's constantly under surveillance. The concept is enough to get us interested (in spite of its close resemblance to The Prisoner), but the fact that it's created by The Usual Suspects and Valkyrie writer Christopher McQuarrie bumps this up into "must check out regardless of other plans" territory.
Tuesday, June 8th
11:00 p.m. U.S. Navy: Pirate Hunters (Spike)
If a show about the Navy hunting down those asshole pirates plaguing private merchants near Africa were on a network like, say, Discovery, we might check it out at some point. Maybe. But, since Pirate Hunters is on Spike, we expect plenty of awesomeness. (This is, after all, the network that's brought us Deadliest Warrior and When Good Pets Go Bad.) Don't disappoint us, Spike! And as for dealing with pirates, might we suggest employing the "crocodile with a clock" deterrent?
Wednesday, June 9th
10:00 p.m. The Challenge: Fresh Meat II (MTV)
After a full season of conniving, back-stabbing, trash-talking and frustrating losses, the latest Real World/Road Rules Challenge combining fresh meat (people who have never been on one of these shows before) and old meat (alumni) comes to a conclusion. Expect plenty of tricky editing, crying and a pretty obvious win from either Kenny and Laurel or Landon and Carley. We miss Wes! (Come on, don't act like you don't know who we're talking about...) Also: swimsuits!
Sunday, June 13th
10:00 p.m. Top Shot (History Channel)
We've been psyched for Top Shot since we started hearing about it a few months back. Of course, we missed the first episode last week, but we're correcting that grave oversight right friggin' now. The concept behind this series is a group of the best marksmen in the world is gathered and then challenged to see how adept they are with a series of weapons (guns, bows and arrows, knives, etc.). As if that weren't enough, this week's episode is called "Zip Line of Fire." How can that not be amazing?
THE SILVER LINING
Wednesday, June 9th
8:00 p.m. CMT Music Awards (CMT)
We thought about trying to find a silver lining for the Tony Awards (Sunday at 8 p.m. on CBS, if you're so inclined), but no amount of "Hey, look at the hot ladies dancing" can make up for all the showtunes. Even we're not that good. So, we're turning our attention to the CMT Music Awards. Sure, pop-country music is homogenized and boring, but at least the awards show will be hosted by Kid Rock. (He's bound to say something inappropriate, right?) Plus, the always-hot Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert will perform. Roll in the hay, anyone?
CRAIG ROBINSON WATCH
Monday, June 7th
8:00 p.m. Last Comic Standing (NBC)...among other thingsYou might have noticed an inordinate number of commercials starring Craig Robinson (best known as Darryl on The Office, the doorman in Knocked Up, and awesome bandleader Nick in Hot Tub Time Machine) sitting at a keyboard and singing to you, his adoring public. We're huge fans, so we didn't mind, but what's with all the hype? Turns out Robinson's got a few big gigs coming up. First off, he's the new host of NBC's Last Comic Standing which premieres Monday at 8:00 p.m. That same night he'll be hosting the 2010 Hip-Hop Honors on VH1. If that's not enough Robinson for you, check out NBC's Office reruns—he got a bigger part this season, moving upstairs from the warehouse to his own office—and while you're at it, check out Thursday morning's (late Wednesday night's) episode of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. Maybe he'll perform with the Roots!