About Last Night…THE CONNERS, SPLITTING UP TOGETHER, THE ROOKIE, and More

Hypothetically, when someone spends more than five hours watching an NLCS game, it may mean less time for scripted/primetime television. Hypothetically, of course. (Go Dodgers.)

That being said, there was a lot of TV on Tuesday night. Let’s talk about some of it…

THE VOICE: We’re only on night 2 of the Battles and it already feels super rushed?! After Kelly Clarkson’s first battle between Kymberli Joye and OneUp and Jennifer Hudson’s Mike Parker and Natasia Greycloud, I don’t know if I could name any of the other contestants. (Outside of not-Ben Affleck.) We saw a lot of one-chair turns during the Blinds, and it feels like now the Battles are suffering for it.

THE CONNERS: It was basically the worst-kept secret that THE CONNERS would be killing off Roseanne, and even the details about the cause (opioid overdose) were leaked. The first episode, naturally, had to be all about the loss, and they handled it well. I don’t know how particularly funny the episode was, but it also couldn’t be a laugh-riot without feeling false. The cast was incredible, though, including guest star Mary Steenburgen, whose character was irrationally blamed for Roseanne’s death.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: I like Mary McCormack and Michael Cudlitz a lot, so I’ll watch a bit more. (The pilot made me miss THE REAL O’NEALS.)

SPLITTING UP TOGETHER: This show is an underrated gem. (Emily Kapnek, who created this, was also behind SUBURGATORY and the gone-too-soon SELFIE.) Part of the fun of the first season was watching Lena and Martin grow as separate people, but also still gravitate back to each other. Now that they’re (likely, temporarily) back together—albeit with his ex-girlfriend’s possible pregnancy hanging over them—what comes next? If they split, either because of the pregnancy or because they just haven’t changed enough, how does that fundamentally change the dynamic?

THE ROOKIE: This was actually probably my favorite pilot of the batch airing this fall. While every show is trying to do a new take on the police procedural, this actually feels unique. The ensemble felt strong from the start, it’s more serious than you would expect from a current-day ABC cop series, and Fillion was pitch-perfect as one of the, well, rookies.

One of the interesting elements is that virtually every procedural on ABC in recent years has had some element of will they/won’t they romance. (Including Fillion’s own CASTLE.) This show feels a bit more grounded than those, but the John/Lucy relationship feels like trouble waiting to happen.

Which shows did you watch last night?

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