Media Life Magazine - For media buyers and Planners

TV This Week

On NBC, a cavalcade of former stars

'You and Me' is a who's who from past network hits

By Louisa Ada Seltzer

January 28, 2016

Share |

you me and the apocalypse stars It’s hard to know what to make of “You, Me and the Apocalypse,” NBC’s new limited-run comedy debuting tonight at 8 p.m. with back-to-back episodes.

The network seems to be focusing on star power in promoting the show. After all, it marks the return of three stars from some of the network’s most popular shows of the past two decades – Rob Lowe from “The West Wing,” Megan Mullally from “Will & Grace,” and Jenna Fischer from “The Office.”

The three are all great comedic actors, and the previews seem to indicate they’re starring in a madcap farce.

But it’s actually a bit more. It’s a smart, lively and shockingly dark look at what happens in the final days on Earth, when an asteroid hurtling toward us spells certain doom.

The show is more reminiscent of an oddball British comedy than a major network show, and for good reason – it is. This program already aired in Britain, and NBC collaborated on it with British broadcaster Sky.

Will it find an audience in the U.S.? It may be hard. Oddball humor doesn’t do well in the U.S. traditionally, and NBC seems to believe the best way to draw the audience is to highlight its former stars, which is also rarely a good sell on broadcast.

But “Apocalypse” is getting good reviews, and it won’t have to do much to better the timeslot for NBC. The recently ended “Heroes: Reborn” mustered just a 1.0 adults 18-49 rating in its final episode.

A look at this week’s top TV draws

THURSDAY, JANUARY 2

Time

Network

Program

Description

7 p.m.

ESPN

“College Basketball” (S)

Doubleheader includes Notre Dame-Syracuse and Michigan State-Northwestern.

8 p.m.

NBC

“You, Me and the Apocalypse” (D)

Series premiere. Apocalyptic dramedy starring Rob Lowe and Jenna Fischer.

9 p.m.

ABC

“My Diet is Better Than Yours” (R)

Season finale. The contestants make final preparations for the 5K race.

9 p.m.

CMT

“Party Down South” (R)

Season premiere. Reality show kicks off its fifth and final season.

10 p.m.

BBC America

“London Spy” (D)

Danny meets Alex’s parents, who everyone thought were dead.

10 p.m.

Spike TV

“Lip Sync Battle” (R)

Comedians Chris D’Elia and Brent Morin face off.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 29

Time

Network

Program

Description

8 p.m.

NBC

“Undateable” (C)

Season finale. The comedy wraps up its third season–will it be back for a fourth?

8 p.m.

ABC

“Last Man Standing” (C)

In the show’s 100th episode, there’s a sitcom-style mix-up involving an engagement ring.

8 p.m.

Fox

“MasterChef Junior” (R)

Season finale. The finalists compete for the $100,000 grand prize.

8 p.m.

“The Vampire Diaries” (D)

The drama returns in the Friday 8 p.m. timeslot.

9 p.m.

NBC

“Grimm” (D)

Nick wants to find out the truth after Juliette returns.

10 p.m.

Discovery Channel

“Deadliest Job Interview” (R)

Series premiere. Following new hires working on very dangerous jobs.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30

Time

Network

Program

Description

12 p.m.

Nickelodeon

“Power Rangers Dino Super Charge” (K)

Season premiere. The long-running kids show introduces a new villain for the Power Rangers.

8 p.m.

Fox

“UFC Fight Night” (S)

The main event is a light-heavyweight bout between Anthony Johnson and Ryan Bader.

8 p.m.

TNT, TBS

“Screen Actors Guild Awards” (A)

Live telecast of the 22nd annual awards show.

8 p.m.

Lifetime

“Lila and Eve” (M)

Two mothers of murdered children take matters into their own hands.

9 p.m.

Oxygen

“#Killerpost” (N)

Series premiere. New show about violent crimes that started from social media activity.

10 p.m.

Reelz

“Deadly Shootouts” (N)

Series premiere. Looking at historic shootouts, beginning with Bonnie and Clyde’s in Joplin, Missouri.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 31

Time

Network

Program

Description

7 p.m.

Fox

“Grease: Live” (A)

Live version of the classic musical starring Julianne Hough, Aaron Tveit and Vanessa Hudgens.

7 p.m.

ESPN

“NFL Football” (S)

The annual Pro Bowl all-star game from Honolulu.

8 p.m.

NBC

“American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. the World” (R)

Special in which a team from the U.S> takes on teams from Japan and Europe.

9 p.m.

Animal Planet

“Lone Star Law” (R)

Series premiere. Following workers at the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.

10 p.m.

HBO

“Vice Special Report” (N)

An update on the battle against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

10:15 p.m.

Bravo

“Work Out New York” (R)

Season finale. Noah invites the others to a boxing boot camp.

A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.

Tags: comedies, jenna fischer, nbc, Rob Lowe, thursday tv this week, tv this week, you me and the apocalypse