“Mrs. Eastwood and Company”
Sunday 10pm, E!
I think we can all agree that Clint Eastwood is and always will be a Hollywood A-lister. Actor, writer, director—the guy is a living legend. That’s why it is so mind-boggling that, starting this week, he will be appearing on a show on E!, riding on the sleazy coattails of the Kardashian clan. Mind you, the artist formerly known as Dirty Harry will only be making cameos on “Mrs. Eastwood.” The focus is on the lady of the title, Eastwood’s wife, Dina, as well as their two teenage daughters and the South African band that Dina manages. I know; the whole thing makes less sense the more you read. But crawl toward the madness, children, to see major drama courtesy of 18-year-old Francesca Eastwood and her 30-year-old boyfriend, controversial photographer Tyler Shields, who has a complicated history when it comes to his photographic images of women.
“House”
Monday 8pm, Fox
After eight seasons the once critically acclaimed—but now largely maligned—medical drama comes to a close with a final episode entitled “Everybody Dies.” That might sound apocalyptic—and it could be —but bear in mind that the series pilot was titled “Everybody Lies.” So there’s a nice bit of circular logic going on. Still, death has been hanging over the show for the entire season, with Dr. Gregory House’s best buddy, Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), battling cancer, and genius doc House powerless to save him. It has been confirmed that a host of former cast members will be making cameos, including Olivia Wilde, Kal Penn, Jennifer Morrison, and Amber Tamblyn. But don’t hold your breath for the return of Lisa Edelstein’s Cuddy, who exited the series after Season 7’s controversial finale. Note that a series retrospective will precede the finale.
“American Ninja Warrior”
Monday 9pm, NBC
Folks, we’re living in a media landscape where one of the Big 3 television networks —NBC—is now scalping programming from a cable channel originally centered around video games. “American Ninja Warrior” is the anglicized version of the Japanese competition “Sasuke.” The basic gist is that athletes (serious athletes, not the jokes on “Wipeout”) attempt to complete a grueling obstacle course. If they make it to the end of the qualifying rounds without falling into the water, they advance. Ultimately they’ll tackle the insane final course in Las Vegas, and the person with the quickest time will win $500,000. New episodes air on both G4 and NBC.