“The Riches”
Tuesday 10pm, FX
This show is fantastic, but it stresses me out. The amazing Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver play Wayne and Dahlia Malloy, a married couple that are part of the Irish Traveler community. While fleeing their con-man tribe, they caused an accident that resulted in the death of Doug and Cherien Rich, a couple in the process of moving into a new house in a very wealthy gated community. Wayne and Dahlia decided to adopt the Riches’ identities and, along with their three kids, fake their way into “normal” life. So just about every relationship in the entire series is based on lies, and the increasingly elaborate house of cards built during Season 1 came crashing down in the finale, leaving Wayne and Dahlia trapped in suburbia with their lies exposed, the Irish Travelers literally at their door, and their beaten-up RV completely broken down. And thus Season 2 begins tonight. Enjoy!
“Miss/Guided”
Tuesday 10:30pm and Thursday 8pm, ABC
You’ll probably wonder how you recognize the star of this new sitcom, Judy Greer. Allow me to assist: She was Jennifer Garner’s frienemy in 13 Going on 30, she had a bit part in the movie Adaptation as the waitress Nic Cage’s character dreamed about humping at a flower show, and most important, she played “Arrested Development”’s Kitty Sanchez, the cross-eyed, incompetent secretary whose exits frequently involved flashing her uneven boob job. So really, Greer has earned a shot at the spotlight. Here she plays Becky Freeley, a former geek who returns to her old high school as a well-meaning guidance counselor. Unfortunately, she finds herself reliving her adolescent torment as her mean girl nemesis gets a teaching job at the same school. Ashton Kutcher produces, and guests in one of the Thursday eps.
“How I Met Your Mother”
Monday 8:30pm, CBS
Britney Spears guest stars on tonight’s episode. Really! It’s a little out of left field, but let’s give the girl some credit. Roughly a month ago she was in the psych ward after completely losing her shit. (I believe that’s the precise medical terminology.) But after a family intervention, Brit seems to be on the comeback trail, and if her spot on this show (which, Britney or not, is actually quite good and totally deserving of your attention) is anything like her “Will & Grace” cameo, it can only add to her momentum. And rumor has it she’ll actually be acting, not just playing herself. It’s really amazing how low the bar has been set, isn’t it?
