There are scores of TV shows out there, with dozens of new episodes each week, not to mention everything you can find on Hulu Plus, Netflix streaming, and HBO Go. How’s a viewer to keep up? To help you sort through all that television has to offer, Flavorwire is compiling the five best moments on TV each week. This round, Larry Wilmore pulls zero punches with his late-night debut.
Larry Wilmore Takes on Cosby
In just four nights on the air, Larry Wilmore’s Nightly Show, taking over Stephen Colbert’s post-Stewart time slot, has made a name for itself by tackling big, wide-ranging topics “tonightly.” The biggest standout of Wilmore’s first week by a long shot was its Cosby episode, which opened with Wilmore’s blunt declaration that Cosby definitely did it and featured a panel that overwhelmingly sided with the accusers. Whether or not Wilmore’s right (for the record, I think he is), major points for taking a strong stance against one of Hollywood’s most powerful figures.
Naomi Struts Into Empire
NAOMI CAMPBELL IS HAKEEM’S SECRET OLDER (not that she looks it) LOVER!!! Empire is full of cheesy, ridiculous surprises, but this one’s the best out of the three episodes we’ve gotten so far. And won’t hurt the thus-far-stellar ratings.
The Freak Show Shuts Down
It says something about our collective Ryan Murphy fatigue that a season wrapping up with a gun rampage and suicide by Edward Mordrake turned out to be somewhat yawn-inducing. But that’s what American Horror Story, a show that couldn’t jump the shark because it practically started mid-air, has done to us. Hopefully the OJ Simpson true crime show will make up for it once our camp tolerance has taken a plunge.
Leslie and Ron Don’t Kiss, But Still Make Up
This week’s Parks and Recreation bottle episode technically caps off a fight that’s just four episodes long, but manages to be about something much bigger in the universe of the show: the central tension of a friendship between a passionate advocate for government and a stubbornly self-reliant libertarian allergic to any outside assistance. Leslie and Ron spend 12 hours locked in their old office, exorcising their demons and singing along to “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” It’s perfect.
Conan O’Brien Uses Tinder
Or the animated Archer version of him does, anyway. Archer is full of bizarre guest stars (Christian Slater as “Slater” the CIA agent, anybody?), but Conan is one of the first to blatantly play himself.