Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Thursday, April 30. All times are Eastern.
Top picks
The Paley Center Salutes Parks And Recreation (NBC, 8 p.m) and A Parks And Recreation Special (NBC, 8:30 p.m.): Never say that this pandemic never got you anything. Sure, it’s almost all bad—like, lots of bad—but hey, we’re also getting a new episode of Parks And Recreation, the first since 2015.
First, though, we get a Paley Center tribute to the series, which should be fun and charming as hell. (It was filmed back when people could congregate.) After that though, Michael Schur and company offer up a new half-hour of Leslie Knope and friends, with all of the main series cast returning (give or take a Mark Brendanawicz, though who knows, he could show). The episode, which focuses on Leslie as she works to keep in touch with all her friends during quarantine, was written, rehearsed, and filmed remotely. It’s also a charitable effort, with proceeds benefiting Feeding America.
Dennis Perkins will recap. A quick heads-up: This is scheduled to run until 9:02 p.m., so if you have DVR worries, make sure to account for that.
Can you binge it? If you’ve never visited Pawnee, you have zero chance of watching it all before this airs tonight, but if you start now, you could catch up in a few weeks! All seven seasons can be found via Netflix.
Regular coverage
Better Things (FX, 10 p.m.): Fourth-season finale
How To Get Away With Murder (ABC, 10:01 p.m.)
On stage At home
Stars In The House (YouTube, 8 p.m.): This series of performances and conversations (twice daily) continues with a reunion of child stars from classic television shows. Expect Mackenzie Phillips and Glenn Scarpelli of the original One Day At A Time (though Phillips appears on the current series as well), The Facts Of Life’s Mindy Cohn, and The Love Boat alum Jill Whelan.
Wild card
Katy Keene (The CW, 8 p.m.): Katy Keene is, on an ordinary day, a very particular kind of New York fantasy. But “Who Can I Turn To?” is even more reality-breaking than usual, because it’s set during an event that should be happening next week but which is not happening because nothing is happening because everything is canceled. So if you’re one of the people bummed you won’t get to see what Billy Porter would have worn to this year’s Met Gala, then this episode is for you. Just watch and pretend it’s real.
29 Comments
Parks and Rec went downhill after Brendanawicz went back to his home planet.
I dunno, there was a lot of good post-Brendanawicz. I think Chris and Ben added plenty of energy to the show. I really enjoyed their dynamic with one another, in addition to their eventual romances.
A bold and accurate take. One might even say Bredanawicz was the friends we made along the way.
and when they wrote off Paul Iaresco to make Chris Traeger the City Manager.
More like BrendanaQUITS!
Literally every one of the show’s best episodes came after he left.
Yeah everything being said is bad except this. Parks & Rec is incredible and only gets better post-Mark leaving.
What about “Hunting Trip”? “Sister City”? “94 Meetings”? Actually there are so many good season 2 episodes that I’m just going to assume you’re not being serious.
Will regular coverage of Better Things actually be returning tonight?
Seconded!
does anyone else find Adam Scott’s brow lift unsettling?
His face looks very different and its very unsettling
He looks a little like David Byrne…
I was gonna say Christian bale circa American psycho
Is *that* what happened? It’s his face and everything, but I think he should put it back the way it was.
it’s either a brow lift or he lost a lot of weight and is more gaunt, neither one is good news
Did he do it to look more like a demon? Cos it worked.
Yeah that close-up isn’t doing him any favors.
Maybe it’s just the angle but it looks like massive weight loss. On a guy who was already skinny.
He didn’t age for 20 years and then it all suddenly caught up with him.
My wife was watching a game show, maybe Nailed It, and I walked by thinking that looks like a second rate Adam Scott. Then he spoke and I realized it was Adam Scott. He looks very odd.
He decided to treat himself.
I watched the show and still can’t quite tell what’s up…could be a good (i.e. not obvious) brow lift, could be he has lost weight and therefore might be sick which would be a bummer, I like Adam Scott and hope he’s well
i assumed they put a slight fish-eye lens filter on everyone, to increase the awkwardness of the online conversation alienation. Of course, “actor gets cosmetic surgery” is equally likely. Wait, more likely.
Is this going to be an actual episode with a plot or will it just be clips of people talking to each other and reading cuecards?
And with this shitty show, which is worse?
I didn’t finish the show, did Tom turn into that deer head?
I see NBC wants to mercy-kill us with the shittiness of their TV before the virus gets us… brave.
Might I also recommend, for anyone who can access it, The Great British Sewing Bee.
Especially for those who have found recent seasons of Bake Off to leave a sour taste, Sewing Bee is light and joyful with the judges always finding something positive to say.
You can also play the Sewing Bee drinking game, in which you take a drink (I recommend Pimm’s) everytime Patrick says the word “diaphanous”.