Reba returns to television
Malibu Country, a self-referential new sitcom starring country queen Reba McEntire as a heightened version of herself, has a couple of things weighing in its favour. First, it won’t be the first new show cancelled this fall season. Malibu Country premières tonight, on ABC and Citytv, extending an already long, inordinately spread-out fall season. The season has already seen two casualties, so the worst that can happen is a collective “meh.”
Second, despite an obnoxious laugh track and broad humour that swerves unevenly between risqué and downright vulgar, Malibu Country has its tart, pointed moments, as when Reba, looking to reinvent herself as a country star in Hollywood, tries to sell a music agent on her singing ability.
Third, Malibu Country has a truly great artist in its mix — Lily Tomlin, chewing scenery as Reba’s bad-tempered, sharp-tongued Southern mom, Lillie Mae, who accompanies her middle-aged daughter from Nashville as Reba chases her new dream in L.A. Lillie Mae is as tough as nails and, to her, her daughter’s country twang sounds a little like nails being scraped down a back-country chalkboard. What are moms for? McEntire’s scenes with Tomlin are the stuff of comedy legend. (ABC, Citytv — 9:30 p.m.)
Undercover Boss is back with a new season and, in the opener, cameras follow Modell’s Sporting Goods CEO Mitchell Modell as he goes undercover in his own company. (CBS, CTV Two — 9 p.m.)
That nice, mild-mannered Gordon Ramsay has his patience tested yet again in a followup to last week’s season opener of Kitchen Nightmares. A feud erupts in the kitchen and at least one server quits. (Fox, Global — 9 p.m.)
“Expect the unexpected.” That’s the catchphrase in Fringe, as the clock continues to tick down on the cult drama’s fifth and final season. (Fox, Citytv — 10 p.m.)