Fox apologizes for canceling The Cleveland Show by letting Seth MacFarlane creep into the Simpsons finale
Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Sunday, May 19. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
The Simpsons/Family Guy (Fox, 8/9 p.m.): It’s only seemed like Seth MacFarlane has dominated Fox’s animation bloc for the last four years: Everyone’s least-favorite Oscar host since James Franco has had three shows in the Animation Domination rotation since 2009, but The Simpsons and Bob’s Burgers have stood in the way of a complete MacTakeover. Until tonight, that is, when all three hour-long finales (including Cleveland’s last stand) have have been touched by MacFarlane. [Insert off-color Family Guy-style joke here—maybe something involving Tickle Me Elmo.] Season 11 of Family Guy wraps with the latest in Stewie and Brian’s Hope-Crosby homages; The Simpsons’ 24th year, meanwhile, concludes with the Family Guy/American Dad/Cleveland/Dads guy playing the newest charmer to get between Homer and Marge. MacFarlane will also animate and voice Robert David Sullivan and Kevin McFarland this evening.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Game Of Thrones (HBO, 9 p.m.): WESTEROS WEEEEEEEEEEEEEDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! Todd VanDerWerff is currently bribing the DJ to play the Hold Steady’s Westerosi drinking song, while David Sims keeps banging his knife against his wine glass in order to make the bride and groom kiss—because it’s a really weird coupling, and he’s genuinely curious about what a kiss between them would look like.
Mad Men (AMC, 10 p.m.): Well, all of those “On the next Mad Men” snippets of characters looking offscreen and expressing shock are about to pay off, as a “surprise visitor” for Don factors heavily into “The Crash.” Todd VanDerWerff bets it’s one of those free-lovin’ hippies Don ran off with during that business trip to California.
Veep (HBO, 10 p.m.): Selina butts heads with a major rival—and that’s only in the plot that includes her ex-husband! [Rim shot.] Robert David Sullivan votes “nay” to the structure of that joke.
Family Tree (HBO, 10:30 p.m.): There are so many parts of tonight’s HBO slate that your What’s On Tonight? correspondent want to spoil. Not to be an asshole—just to have someone with whom he can talk about them. Luckily, your What’s On Tonight correspondent and Erik Adams are the same person, so they can have an internal conversation about the fantastic setpiece Tom pulls out of his great-grandfather’s past in “Treading The Boards.”
The Borgias (Showtime, 10 p.m.): Catherina’s latest bit of plotting involves “biological warfare”—which during the Renaissance, amounts to what? Sneezing on the enemy? All Les Chappells must wash their hands before writing this review.