Genial, complicated ‘Impastor’ returns on TV Land
Too many network sitcoms hardly go through the motions of creating new “situations” to go with their “comedy.” Have you seen CBS’ “Kevin Can Wait”? The makers of TV Land’s “Impastor” (10:30 p.m., TV-14), now entering its second season, can’t be accused of sleeping on the job. The genial comedy packs as much backstory and dark subplots as a complicated (multiple) murder mystery and plays them all for laughs.
The notion of a gambling addict (Michael Rosenbaum) named Buddy assuming the identity of a dead gay Lutheran minister and taking over his starchy parish is deliciously preposterous. Once there, he is surrounded by suspicious church elders and would-be paramours of both genders when not pursued by figures from his sketchy past.
A genial riff on themes of secret identities and playing the very long con, “Impastor” manages to keep a light touch. The tone is reminiscent of bygone USA comedies including “Monk” and “Psych,” the whimsical series the network loved before turning to darker skies with shows like “Mr. Robot.”
The “Impastor” cast includes Sara Rue as Dora, Buddy’s delightfully naive assistant. Mircea Monroe plays the attractive church treasurer with secrets of her own. Viewers may know Monroe from her role on the wonderful and much-missed “Episodes.” That Showtime series is slated for a short fifth and final season, due to arrive sometime in 2017.
SPARSE SCARES
Prior to its debut, “American Horror Story: Roanoke” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA) was shrouded in more secrecy and clever misdirection than a KGB operation. Even its subtitle was withheld until the last minute.
I’ve come to think of it as “American Horror Story: They Cut the Budget.” Its story and setting, a haunted house in the backwoods, is chillingly austere. Particularly when compared to the rococo excess of last season’s “Hotel.”
Not to reveal too much, but we critics have nothing to reveal. FX has taken the unusual step of never sending out review screeners for this series and never even providing descriptive listings for forthcoming episodes. It’s all part of the velvet rope of secrecy that made the season premiere of “Roanoke” so successful.
Fresh from “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” Cuba Gooding Jr. and Sarah Paulson portray a couple who have sunk their savings into a rustic fixer-upper only to be surrounded by hostile, ritualistic backwoods cretins who may or may not be among the living.
You don’t need a great deal of expensive special effects to create the series’ “Blair Witch Project” meets “The Shining” atmosphere. Sometimes a scene of a child pleading with her invisible friend to spare her family from slaughter is quite chilling enough. Evoking a storytelling tradition that goes back at least as far as Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” “Roanoke” reminds us that the most demonic forces dwelling in the untamed woods are the ones that you never see.
TONIGHT’S HIGHLIGHTS
Alvez joins the team on “Criminal Minds” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14). ›
Shark bite victims need help on “Code Black” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14). ›
Bombs rock New York on “Blindspot” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14). ›
A celebrity mansion erupts in gunfire on “Lethal Weapon” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
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Jamal recuperates on “Empire” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14). ›
Jay strives to make a strong first impression on “Modern Family” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
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A beating victim’s fiancee vanishes on “Chicago P.D.” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14). ›
Foes emerge, foreign and domestic, on “Designated Survivor” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG). ›
Edgar copes with his PTSD on “You’re the Worst” (10 p.m., FXX, TV-MA).
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Generations clash on “Survivor” (8 p.m., CBS). ›
Barry teaches gym on
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“The Goldbergs” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG). ›
The hosts perform their own best trick on “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” (8 p.m., CW, repeat, TV-PG). ›
J.J.’s new aide disappoints on “Speechless” (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG). ›
A freed suspect fits the profile of a new perpetrator on “Law & Order: SVU” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14). ›
On two helpings of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” (CW, TV-14), Cheryl Hines (9 p.m.), Chris Jericho (9:30 p.m., repeat).