What’s on Tonight: ‘Justified’!

Justified (FX) — Season premiere. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: if you’re a dude and you DON’T have at least a little crush on Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens, you’re totally gay (don’t worry, the scenes with Natalie Zea balance it out). This show is part Western, part noir, and always in touch with pop culture landmarks and its influences. One of the most surprising pleasures of 2010, and one of the best shows on TV. [click through for some great “Justfied” clips]
Friday Night Lights (DirecTV’s The 101) — Series finale. Of course, the fifth and final season won’t begin airing on NBC until this April, so fans of this show still have one more chance to take a lap around the stadium with it.
Mr. Sunshine (ABC) — Series premiere. Matthew Perry returns to TV as a sports arena manager whose mannerisms are reminiscent of Chandler Bing. I don’t mean that in a bad way: Perry’s good in that role, and I like Allison Janney, who plays Perry’s boss. I think this might be good.
Human Target (Fox) — Season finale. Season 2 reportedly ends with a cliffhanger, which is kind of presumptuous for such a middling show.


Yup, it still looks badass. Can’t wait to meet Jeremy Davies as this season’s new bad guy.

There aren’t many women on television who can wear heels and tight high-wasted skirts quite like Natalie Zea. She single-handedly makes “The Defenders” almost watchable. Almost.

This is a great example of how “Justified” seamlessly brings pop culture into its scenes. Here, under fire from a sniper, Raylan Givens and Roland Pike (Alan Ruck) discuss the stop-motion classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. “Oh, the little gay dude!”

“Justified” is one of the few series where I watch the opening credits every time. Here’s the full-length song that plays over the credits, intercut with scenes from the show.
What he said.