Celebrate a half-century of sport, spectacle, and soda commercials with Super Bowl 50

Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Sunday, February 7. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Super Bowl 50, Broncos vs. Panthers (CBS, 6:30 p.m.): The only sporting event so important that it can declare Roman numerals not good enough to represent their golden anniversary. It’s time for the Super Bowl! From the NFC comes Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers, looking to cap off their remarkable 17-1 season with the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy. And from the AFC comes Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, looking to erase the memory of their downright shameful performance in Super Bowl XLVIII. (Your What’s On Tonight correspondent isn’t expecting them to do that and is taking the Panthers to beat the spread by at least three points.) There’s also a national anthem performed by Lady Gaga, a halftime show headlined by Coldplay with expected appearances by previous headliners Beyonce and Bruno Mars, a bunch of commercials that will hopefully involve gratuitous testicular violence in the name of selling Budweiser, Doritos, and Pepsi, and probably at least one pointless Danica Patrick ad for GoDaddy.com. And, as always, should you decide to be one of the millions of people not watching as opposed to one of the millions of people watching, John Teti reminds you nobody cares about your decision.
Also noted
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS, 10 p.m.): This year’s winner of the coveted post-Super Bowl slot is The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, which could use some help in the ratings (though CBS will remind you they’re not at all worried about that). As a host Colbert always thrives in a special occasion setting, and he’s stocked tonight’s show with plenty of great talent: Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Will Ferrell, Keegan-Michael Key, and Jordan Peele. No word on whether Key and Peele will revive their beloved East West Bowl segment for a Super Bowl edition, but if they don’t bring the kitten from Keanu over for a visit there’ll be riots.
The Late Late Show With James Corden (CBS, 11:35 p.m.): Winning the post-post-Super Bowl slot is, appropriately for fans of parallel structure, The Late Late Show With James Corden. Corden’s announced lineup includes Anna Kendrick, Zac Efron, and Adam Devine, and will also include Sir Elton John in an installment of Carpool Karaoke. We’ll have to see if he can trump Adele’s mastery of Nicki Minaj’s “Monster.”
Downton Abbey (PBS, 9 p.m.): Last week’s episode had the residents of Downton seeing red as Lord Grantham’s ulcer burst, giving the phrase “bloody awful” a whole new set of connotations. The word “sanguine” has long been applied to the Crawleys for their optimism in the face of the changing world, how will they react now that its other definition applies to their dining room table? Emily L. Stephens just hopes the grand old abbey isn’t destined to meet the same fate as the house in Crimson Peak.
Shameless (Showtime, 9 p.m.): Another old house whose inhabitants were thrown into disarray last week is the Gallagher home, which was sold at auction and has left Fiona and her brood homeless in the wake of gentrification. What are they going to do? Maybe they can all move into the university that Lip’s attending, which would undoubtedly please Myles McNutt given University Verisimilitude Corner stray observations are turning into his favorite part of weekly reviews.
Billions (Showtime, 10 p.m.): Joshua Alston has created the perfect alternate title for this show, “Wendy Rhoades: Douche Whisperer,” given the way she has to juggle between the two awful people at the center of the show. We imagine she sits back during her conversations with Chuck or Axe and fantasizes about being a badass old lady of a California biker gang, who wouldn’t take any of this crap from rich jackoffs.
Regular coverage
The Venture Bros. (Adult Swim, 12 a.m.)
Tomorrow in TV Club
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, so that means it’s time for Love Week at The A.V. Club once again, all the coverage of relationships old and new that you can stomach. This year, Love Week overlaps with TV Club’s latest turn at Watch This, and we’re using that opportunity to take a look at TV’s most memorable proposals. Joshua Alston said “I do” to starting off the week with a look at Cam and Mitchell on Modern Family. Elsewhere, Ben Philippe has a For Our Consideration on what Scandal’s recent abortion storyline means for the show, and our latest Inventory looks at those times in pop culture where characters got caught with their pants down.