‘The Middle’ starts its final countdown

Hey, it’s May! Time was, May was a pretty big deal in the TV universe, the month when shows wrapped up their seasons, and networks offered big movies, miniseries and events in the programming razzle-dazzle known as sweeps. Glancing at tonight’s schedule, it’s more like the networks are running out the clock.

Many series, even successful ones, have already concluded. The schedule is studded with shows that have returned or arrived rather late in the game. They seem like afterthoughts.

“Roseanne” has received strong ratings, but can the same be said for “For the People”? It’s from Shonda Rhimes, but it’s also the umpteenth ABC drama about smug, elitist lawyers who look like they should still be in high school. Also on ABC, “Splitting Up Together” asks us to imagine the much-loved Pam (Jenna Fischer) from “The Office” as a miserably married woman still sharing a house with the man-child (Oliver Hudson) she can’t afford to divorce. I’d love to meet the focus group that approved that one!

On Fox, the gruesomely unfunny midseason series “LA to Vegas” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14) wraps up its first outing. Over on NBC, we’re expected to be excited by “Rise,” a recently arrived series that refracts the natural buzz of a high school musical through the prism of a pretentious teacher’s midlife crisis.

If anything feels like a “May” event, a show dwindling down to its tear-jerker finale, it’s “The Middle” (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).

The series will air its one-hour final episode on May 22. For years, it was the only comedy on network TV in which folks did not appear to be effortlessly affluent, and parents (Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn) had to worry about their kids being able to afford college.

Viewers who have followed the series since 2009 have seen the young cast grow up. That’s not always easy. From “Leave It to Beaver” to “Malcolm in the Middle,” shows featuring “cute” young kids often end up with awkward adolescents. “The Middle” has always made the most of the fact that the kids were not movie-star gorgeous and worked their peculiarities and insecurities into the plot.

Tonight’s “Middle” features a story that’s indicative of TV parents fearing the advent of an empty nest: Frankie insists on choosing a prom date for Brick.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

› “Civilizations” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-PG) examines artistic representations of the divine.

› A defendant faces impossible odds on “Bull” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14).

› The bunker is jeopardized on “The 100” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14)

› A rehearsal tape is leaked online on “Rise” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).

› A case for the textbooks on “NCIS: New Orleans” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).

› A block-party bloodbath fills the wards on “Chicago Med” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).

› Leonard ponders the big questions on “For the People” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).

› An unexpected reunion leads to a realization on “Legion” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA).

› A vet seeks justice for her mother on “NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG).

› The top nine emerge on “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).

› Murtaugh becomes captain on “Lethal Weapon” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).

› Dan chafes at Mark’s flamboyant style on “Roseanne” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).

› Gypsy returns on “The Flash” (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG).

› A kitchen remodel raises buried issues on “blackish” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).

› The gang gathers at a memorial service on “New Girl” (9:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14).

› Lena sets a good example on “Splitting Up Together” (9:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).