Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Sunday, October 4th. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
The Leftovers (HBO, 9 p.m.): One of the most arresting, disorienting, heartbreaking, and polarizing shows of last year returns for another year of rampant PTSD, white outfits and chain-smoking, dogs for whom feral doesn’t go far enough, and the increasing desperation of trying to live in a world that can remove two percent of its population at random and never explain why. Having used up all of Tom Perotta’s novel in season one, Damon Lindelof and his fellow writers are quite literally going off book as the Garvey/Durst/Jamison clan heads west in search of a town that was untouched by the Departure. It’s an ambitious move, and one that Erik Adams said in his pre-air review doesn’t damage what makes the show special at all:
Amid all the shakeups, The Leftovers’ standalone technique remains second to none. Practically reversing the way Lindelof and his Island cohorts prioritized the forest over the trees on Lost, The Leftovers staff digs at complex emotions with surgical precision and intimate storytelling. … Few prestige dramas would pause for detailed character sketches like these; only The Leftovers has the supernatural edge that grants tremendous significance to mundane vignettes of backyard pitching practice or trips to the drug store.
With last season’s weekly reviewer undergoing her own Departure—vanishing without a trace save a bizarre Hostages fan fiction—Joshua Alston is taking over coverage, loading up his car and following the characters to Jarden, Texas and the hope things will get better. Though we’re guessing they won’t.
(A serious aside: Some of you may remember we had to shut down the comments on these reviews last year. Please keep things civil and don’t force us to do so a second time. Don’t be a dick.)
Also noted (premiere edition)
The Good Wife (CBS, 9 p.m.): Everyone’s favorite legal drama returns after a rocky sixth season where that title was frequently jeopardized by, amongst other things: a tone-deaf approach to racial politics, aimless plotting and characters without objectives, and a legendarily awful final scene between Alicia and Kalinda that has set a new standard in how badly shows can fail when they try to pull the wool over the eyes of their audience. But despite all that dreck, Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya believes it can rally back to its prior heights, and she’s got her best red wine and pantsuit combo ready for the occasion.
Homeland (Showtime, 9 p.m.): Speaking of a frustrating fall from high quality, the spy drama that’s as bipolar as its protagonist is back for its fifth season. This year the action moves to Berlin, as Carrie Mathison is being called out of a quiet life and back into action for the umpteenth time. Joshua Alston doesn’t understand why the CIA keeps relying on this loose cannon who produces questionable results, but as long as it leads to more exposure for Mandy Patinkin’s full luxurious beard, he’ll allow it.
The Affair (Showtime, 10 p.m.): Carrie Raisler had many highly complicated feelings about this show last year, leading to this summary of the season finale: “It’s a maddening, frustrating, soapy, compelling, occasionally hilarious, entertaining mess, and I somehow equally loved and hated it at the same time. Hey, at least it wasn’t boring.” Thankfully Gwen Ihnat’s pre-air review of season two is encouraging for the show’s return, as she claims the show is coming back with a deepened emotional grasp that allows it to “sail over that sophomore slump that has felled so many other Showtime dramas.” Plus Joshua Jackson and Maura Tierney now have their own perspective scenes, and everyone loves those two.
Also noted (finale edition)
Fear The Walking Dead (AMC, 8 p.m.): With the Cobalt protocol initiated, our band of survivors are caught between a stadium full of zombies and a military so overwhelmed they’d rather burn Los Angeles to the ground than try to save it. Josh Modell hopes not all of it burns down as he’s by and large enjoyed the first half-dozen episodes of this series and is optimistic for its full season next year. Though his fingers are crossed that at least one of Nick, Alicia, or Chris gets cut down in tonight’s crossfire. Ugh, they’re the worst.
The Strain (FX, 9 p.m.): We asked Kyle Fowle to sum up his feelings on this season in one word, and he was torn between “exhausting” and “labored.” Not a great way to feel about a series by any definition of either word, but we’re hoping for some entertaining action set pieces and/or glorious stupidity as Eph, Setrakian, Nora, Eichorst and the rest clash for the fate of New York City.