As The Last Man on Earth (Season Premiere, 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Fox) returns this week, we already know a few things: First off, the title is a blatant lie. Phil Miller (Will Forte) is not the last man on Earth. He’s not the last (hu)man on Earth. He’s not the last male on Earth. He’s not even the last Phil Miller on Earth. For a normal person facing the end of civilization, these would be great things — strength in numbers, right? But for a friggin’ jerk like Phil, getting along with other people is hard. Even in the apocalypse.
Forte is completely in his element as Phil, and fans of his wacky SNL contributions will be happy to see him shine here. Phil meets his match in Carol (Kristen Schaal), a sweet but intense woman who isn’t exactly anyone’s ideal sole companion, either. This season picks up with Phil and Carol as they ditch Tucson to travel the country, cautiously observing every stop sign along the way. Hopefully they make a pit-stop at a NASA facility?
While The Last Man on Earth crew walked out of the recent Emmys sans trophies, the show garnered a number of deserved nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor (Forte), Writing (Forte), Directing (creators Phil Lord and Christopher Miller — see what they did there?) and Single-Camera Picture Editing (Stacey Schroeder) for a Comedy Series.
WEDNESDAY 23
Empire (Season Premiere, 9 p.m., Fox) – Season Two picks up three months after Lucious’ arrest, as the music mogul tries to run his company from prison. Cookie organizes a celeb-packed #FreeLucious concert as Andre, Hakeem, Anika and new billionaire-venture capitalist Mimi (Marisa Tomei) plot a hostile takeover.
Modern Family (Season Premiere, 9 p.m., ABC) – Andy and Haley’s feelings come to a head as he prepares to propose to Beth; Jay and Gloria enter the competitive world of preschool admissions; with Mitch is full midlife-crisis mode, Cam tries to get him his job back.
Blackish (Season Premiere, 9:30 p.m., ABC) – Jack’s talent show performance almost gets him expelled when he drops the word onstage.
THURSDAY 24
Documentary Now! (Season Finale,
10 p.m., IFC) – This one-hour finale gives us Gentle and Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee, inspired by History of The Eagles.
SUNDAY 27
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Season Premiere, 8:30 p.m., Fox) – With Holt gone, his replacement captain (Bill Hader) takes over. Elsewhere, Amy and Jake cope with the fallout from their kiss.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Series Finale, 9 p.m., CBS) – Grissom, Catherine and Brass all return to Vegas to help out (and presumably test plenty of semen samples) when the city’s in crisis in this two-hour final episode.
Fear the Walking Dead (9 p.m., AMC) – Travis and Madison make a tough call when the National Guard reveals its true plans for the neighborhood.
MONDAY 28
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Series Premiere, 11 p.m., Comedy Central) – The 31-year-old South African comedian picks up where Jon Stewart left off.
TUESDAY 29
The Mindy Project (Hulu) – Welcome to the world, Baby Leo! Out on maternity leave, Mindy tries to spice up her time off. Back at the office, Tamra spills the tea on Jeremy’s new girlfriend (Cristin Milioti).
The Grinder (Series Premiere, 8:30 p.m., Fox) – When a TV actor’s (Rob Lowe) long-running series is cancelled, he decides to take his experience playing a lawyer to his family’s law firm, much to the dismay of his actual-lawyer brother (Fred Savage).
CONTACT JAC KERN: [email protected] or @jackern
