Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Sunday, January 10. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
The 73nd Annual Golden Globe Awards (NBC, 8 p.m.): It’s fairly common practice for us to make fun of the Golden Globes, as it’s an awards show whose categories are so chaotic that they defy any attempts to mean something. Case in point, this year’s nominations put The Martian in the Musical or Comedy group next to Trainwreck and Spy, consider Empire and Narcos contenders for Best Drama, and gave Flesh And Bone a Best Limited Series nomination. That being said, the desire to be hip exhibited by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association means that a lot of things that don’t usually get Emmy nominations are recognized here (yay for Mr. Robot, Outlander and Penny Dreadful!), and there are always fun moments in the chaos, like how they can give Gina Rodriguez a much-deserved award one year and confuse her with America Ferrara the next. This year’s show will be hosted by Ricky Gervais for the fourth time, and the fact that he’s still getting invited back after various controversies hopefully means he’s done worrying about it and can just up the asshole quota tenfold. We at The A.V. Club, who never worry about our asshole quota, will be live-chatting the affair and trying not to be upset that we can’t play the Tina Fey/Amy Poehler drinking game from last year.
Top pick in perpetuity
Mad Max: Fury Road (HBO, 9 p.m.): The A.V. Club’s best film of 2015. To be honest, you should skip everything else that’s on television tonight for the chance to once again ride eternal, shiny, and chrome.
Also noted (season premiere edition)
Shameless (Showtime, 9 p.m.): The Gallagher family is back for its sixth season of scheming and scrambling to stay solvent in south side Chicago, and there’s already a mountain of problems for Fiona to deal with: Frank’s new outlook on life in the wake of Bianca’s death, Ian’s refusal to take his bipolar disorder medication, and Debbie’s unplanned pregnancy. And if that’s not enough, right when Fiona got Joshua Alston to stop crashing on her couch, Myles McNutt has moved into the Gallagher house for regular coverage and is offering all his thoughts on how the family is or isn’t keeping things together.
Also noted
Galavant (ABC, 8 p.m): With his kingdom turned into a democracy, King Richard is more than a little disheartened that no one seems to need him anymore. Possibly he’ll take Dan Caffrey’s suggestion and change his name to The Richard Formerly Known As King. Or maybe he’ll raise an army and take it all back by force and song. Either or.
The Simpsons (Fox, 8 p.m.): Homer purchases an off-brand milk substitute that causes early puberty, leading to increased hormones for Bart and bad acne for Lisa. Has The Simpsons ever jumped to teenage Bart and Lisa in its wide history of time travel? We’re not sure, but hopefully Dennis Perkins can fill us in, as he’s got a vast memory of what the show’s done in the past that frequently disappoints him when he sees what they do in the present.
Downton Abbey (PBS, 9 p.m.): We’re a massive fan of the P.G. Wodehouse canon, so tonight’s episode description including the line “Pigs cause trouble for Edith and Marigold” has us really stoked for a possible Blandings Castle crossover, with Lord Emsworth and the Empress of Blandings (an enormous black Berkshire sow) strolling onto the premises. Emily L. Stephens is more of a Jeeves fan herself, so she’s simply nodding at our delusions and saying “Very good, sir.”
The Good Wife (CBS, 9 p.m.): It’s a Good Wife bottle episode (maybe) as the entire Florrick family are crammed into a campaign bus bound for the Iowa caucuses, and Eli and Ruth are along for the ride. Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya is excited by the potential for close quarters wackiness, and even more excited by the descriptor of “entire Florrick family,” which offers the tantalizing hope of finally getting an answer to the longstanding Where Is Zach Florrick question.
Tomorrow in TV Club
We know all of you got really into Making A Murderer, and more than a few of you were left outraged by it. Well, since we think the more outrage the better, we’ve compiled a list of all the other miscarriages of justice that made it into pop culture that had us reaching for our pitchforks and torches.