“Trust Us with Your Life”
Tuesday 9pm, ABC
This comedy series from the creators of “Whose Line is it Anyway?” brings back the televised improv concept, but with a celebrity talk-show spin. Each episode will feature a different famous person—Serena Williams, Jerry Springer, Florence Henderson, and Ricky Gervais among them—being interviewed by host Fred Willard, as he prompts them to recount key moments from their actual lives. A troupe of improvisers reenacts their stories through a variety of improv games and sketches. Anchoring the improv team are familiar faces Wayne Brady, Colin Mochrie, and Jonathan Mangum, who’ll be joined by rotating comics. Writing this prompted me to watch some “Jerry Springer” videos on YouTube, and his episode’s hair weave budget (for pulling) had better be massive.
“Political Animals”
Sunday 10pm, USA
This new mini-series is easily one of the most anticipated TV events of the summer. Sigourney Weaver stars as a former First Lady and current Secretary of State potentially eyeing a run at the presidency. (Now where do you suppose they thought up that idea?) While the six-part series deals quite a bit with politics, and the media’s role in them (Carla Gugino plays a scoop-thirsty reporter), it is also very much a family drama: which makes sense, as it’s being executed/produced by the man who brought us “Brothers & Sisters.” Rounding out the cast are Ciaran Hinds as the oft-philandering former President, James Wolk (“Lone Star”) and Sebastian Stan (“Gossip Girl”) as their twin sons, and the great Ellen Burstyn as the family matriarch.
“Breaking Bad”
Sunday 10pm, AMC
“Mad Men” and “Walking Dead” get all the headlines, but scores of critics—and viewers—consider “Breaking Bad” the best show on AMC. I’ve seen its most recent season referred to as one of the strongest seasons of any show in TV history, and a hard-to-please friend referred to it as a completely flawless string of episodes. So of course the show is coming to an end. Its fifth and final season bows this week, featuring 16 episodes split in half with a sizable break in between (like “Walking Dead” Season 2). The good news is that means we get a little longer to learn the final fate of Walter White, cancer-ridden high-school science teacher turned inadvertent drug kingpin (played to perfection by Bryan Cranston), and his tragic de facto protégé, Jesse Pinkman (the equally excellent Aaron Paul).