“The Unusuals”
Wednesday 8pm, ABC
Oh, look—another cop show! Oh, but this is a different kind of cop show, mixing dark humor with the typical procedural stuff you can find on almost any channel at almost any time of day. They’re promoting it as a cop version of “M.A.S.H.” but the abundance of quirk has me thinking “Scrubs.” Amber Tamblyn (“Joan of Arcadia”) leads a Cast of the Damned that also includes Harold Perrineau (“Oz,” “Lost”) and Adam Goldberg (Saving Private Ryan, Dazed and Confused, generally annoying). Tamblyn plays a vice cop reassigned to the homicide unit, and—wouldn’t you know it?—her first case is to track down the killer of the cop she’s replacing, and get to know all the nutball characters that make up the police force.
“Parks and Recreation”
Thursday 8:30pm, NBC
When Amy Poehler left “Saturday Night Live” last year it was announced that she was working on a spin-off to “The Office.” That’s what this show eventually became. “Parks and Recreation” has nothing to do with Michael Scott and the rest of the Dunder Mifflinites, but it has the same producers and premise: clueless but well-meaning dork at the center of a documentary film that will certainly never be finished. (How many hours of footage do they need from the Scranton branch, anyway?) Poehler plays Leslie Knope, an employee of the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana, who is trying to turn an abandoned construction site into a park for kids. Hilarity ensues as Leslie, unabashed optimist and firm believer in the power of public service, runs afoul of jaded bureaucrats, asshole neighbors and other general pricks. Also starring Rashida Jones (Karen from “The Office”) and “Human Giant”’s Aziz Ansari, poised for stardom as the newest addition to Team Apatow.
“Harper’s Island”
Thursday 10pm, CBS
This has potential. Taking a cue from Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians, this new 13-part murder mystery features a group of people drawn to a secluded island for a wedding who then get picked off one by one by a killer among them. Who’s the bad guy? Who’s the next victim? Who’s going to get out alive? Why all the chop-chop, bang-bang? All will be revealed; no cliffhangers here. Starring Christopher Gorham (Henry from “Ugly Betty”) and Harry Hamlin (“L.A. Law”). I’m betting on The Nerd for the baddie.
