TV Jots

I’ll Take Some Funny with That

NBC and ABC are the place to be tonight during prime time if you like your crime procedurals funny and smart, with a little bite and a few gunshots for good measure.

At 9pm ET on the Peacock, Damian Lewis‘ excellent cop show Life calls it a second season with the finale “One.” Although there’s legitimate cause to be sad since poor ratings could lead to the episode doubling as a series finale, too, at least the show is doing its best to go out with a bang instead of a whimper.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles regular Garret Dillahunt returns as wicked Russian gangster Roman Nevikov for the installment, and it seems he’s the person responsible for Dani Reese’s (Sarah Shahi) recent disappearance during her temporary stint at the FBI.

That can only mean bad things, of course, which is why she — and viewers — should be darn grateful her partner is Charlie Crews (Damian Lewis), who can shock with his swift transformation from contemplative Zen Dude to quick-draw Badass Lawman mode. I can’t wait to see how he puts this ongoing strife with Roman to rest at last, or if he even manages to.

When Life’s last scene fades from the screen, I’ll be flicking the dial over to ABC (sorry, Lost — I’ll stream you online later) to catch the series premiere of the new Amber Tamblyn series The Unusuals at 10:02pm ET.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Joan of Arcadia actress plays NYPD Vice detective Casey Shraeger, who finds herself transferred to Homicide and partnered with Jason Walsh (Jeremy Renner, 28 Weeks Later). Their first case together? Investigating the death of Walsh’s former partner. Lovely.

Shraeger’s more “unusual” colleagues in her new unit include Harold Perrineau of Lost as paranoid Detective Leo Banks, whose condition motivates him to wear a bulletproof vest all the time, and Adam Goldberg ( Entourage) as Banks’ suicidal partner Detective Eric Delahoy, who wants to meet his maker, provided that the introduction happens while he’s at work.

If the pilot sneak peek below is any indication, it should be fun watching to see if Delahoy ever gets his death wish. And, that’s saying a lot coming from someone who usually considers Goldberg unbearably annoying and an excellent reason to change the channel.