Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Monday, May 30. All times are Eastern.
Top picks
WWE Monday Night RAW (USA, 8 p.m.): A few years ago, no one could expect your friendly neighborhood What’s On Tonight contributor to feel any type of excitement over John Cena returning from injury. Oh what a difference a Roman Reigns makes. (Sorry to insult your favorite wrestler again, Kyle Fowle.) The true face that runs the place returns to WWE on Memorial Day, because: Well, of course he does. He’s The Marine! He compromised Osama Bin Laden “to a permanent end,” dammit!
Please. Save us, Cena. We won’t even make fun of your Springboard Stunner this time.
Roots (A&E/History Channel/Lifetime/Lifetime Movie Network, 9 p.m.): What better way to officially kick off your summer than with Roots? No, not the 1977 mini-series that has been classified on more than occasion as Black Homework. The 2016 remake of said mini-series that has been termed “for a new generation.” No, we don’t get it either—especially since Roots: The Next Generations also exists—but it’s like they always say: Roots is Roots is Roots. (Joshua Alston’s pre-air review says much more than that though.) Part one of four is tonight, and as you can see, you can pick your network poison.
Mistresses (ABC, 10 p.m.): In the season four premiere of Mistresses—you know, the tonal opposite of Roots but not necessarily Monday Night RAW—“The New Girl,” there’s apparently “more drama in store for Karen, Joss and April.” Duh-doy. By the way, we misread “Jerry O’Connell Guest Stars as Robert” as “Jerry O’Connell Guest Stars as Robot,” and now we’re severely disappointed that that’s not what we’re getting on the drama (that’s in store!) front. Also, Mistresses has made it to four seasons, you guys. Do you know anyone who watches Mistresses? That’s your homework for tonight: Find someone who watches Mistresses, then ask them why the show doesn’t get in on that robot action. Gwen Ihnat is bound to answer this question in her review of the premiere.
Premieres and finales
The Bachelorette (ABC, 8 p.m.): This is the “time slot premiere” of The Bachelorette season 12, which is kind of a like a real premiere.
So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation (Fox, 8 p.m.): First, they tried Justin Bieber—and fans rejected that. Then, they tried stage versus street—and fans rejected that. So what’s the new gimmick So You Think You Can Dance is going with, instead of Fox just accepting the show for what it is? Kids. We mean, that worked so well with American Idol, a show that—unlike So You Think You Can Dance—was a ratings and pop culture juggernaut, right? Oh, wait, it didn’t? Whoops! Anyway, have fun dealing with the sob stories of kids from “ages 8 to 13,” since there’s no way that aspect of reality show competitions is slipping through the cracks with this season of So You Think You Can Dance. In fact, there will probably be even more.