Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Monday, February 17. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Star-Crossed (The CW, 8 p.m.): Though we’re still in the drought of Olympics coverage, Monday night is still packed—with new episodes from Fox, ABC, and a whole new show from The CW. We’re covering the Olympics as we have been all week—but in the meantime, why not drop in on something new? The CW is flouting the Olympics ratings gods tonight by debuting Star-Crossed, about a human woman and an alien man who fall in love in a future where his alien race is an oppressed minority. This, and all the Romeo And Juliet references you could possibly stand (each episode is named after a line from the play). We’re taken with its sweet-but-sharp tone, which pairs endless love with, of all things, social justice.
Carrie Raisler reviewed the show for us over in TV Reviews and found it to be a surprisingly moving tale of segregation and belonging—despite its trappings of teen romance and, you know, the alien thing. Shades of District 9 or shades of Roswell? You decide!
ALSO NOTED
The 2014 Winter Olympics (NBC, 8 p.m.): It's Caroline Framke’s turn to take on the Sochi Games tonight, as the long program and medal ceremony for ice dancing will be awarded tonight. Americans Charlie White and Meryl Davis go up against their practice partners, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada. Both pairs are excellent skaters, prompting us all to wonder about their romantic histories, and also, if ice dancing is a real sport. Caroline Framke is planning a 10,000 exploration of these questions, and more.
Almost Human (Fox, 8 p.m.): Almost Human has settled from inconsistent to pleasantly average over the course of the last few weeks, as the series works out some weird plotting from episodes aired out of order and entrenches into a long-term arc with something creepy called Insyndicate. Kevin McFarland will be your guide tonight as a “smart house” tries to kill its occupants. As he well knows, that is how you get ants.
Rick And Morty (Adult Swim, 10:30 p.m.): And just in case you missed this last week, we’re saying it again: Rick And Morty is taking a break for the next few weeks, but Zack Handlen is using this time to pick up the first few episodes we didn’t cover. Tonight, “Lawnmower Dog,” was an episode that made some of us here at What’s On Tonight laugh-cry, which is as close to a ringing endorsement as we get.