The TV Column

Escape millennial madness with Girlfriends' Guide

Lisa Edelstein and James Lesure star as Abby McCarthy and Coach Mike Brady in Bravo’s Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce. The final season begins today.
Lisa Edelstein and James Lesure star as Abby McCarthy and Coach Mike Brady in Bravo’s Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce. The final season begins today.

Those a bit bored with the hackneyed, angst-filled tales of love and romance among the pretty young things on most channels can find new drama among the more experienced folks in Bravo's Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce.

There's still plenty of angst to go around, even if the chickens are no longer of the spring variety.

The fifth and final season of the comedy/drama about midlife rebound romances arrives at 9 p.m. today and continues the search for a meaningful life after divorce for those who are no longer ingenues.

Girlfriends' Guide was Bravo's first original scripted series and was created and produced by Marti Noxon. Noxon has already gone on to her next project, the instantly compelling Dietland on AMC. Noxon is 53 and has a special affinity for women who've got some hard-earned experience with life.

Girlfriends' Guide follows the close friendship of Abby McCarthy (Lisa Edelstein, 52), Phoebe Conte (Beau Garrett, 35), Jo Hernandez-Frumpkis (Alanna Ubach, 42), Delia Benai (Necar Zadegan, 35) and Barbara Sawyer (Retta, 48).

Fans will know Edelstein from her long-running role as Dr. Lisa Cuddy on Fox's House*.

Abby is a divorced self-help author. Phoebe is also divorced and a former model. Jo is Abby's best friend from college who left her husband when she discovered he had a second family. Delia is a divorce attorney, and Barbara is Abby's co-worker.

What's ahead?

In the coming season, Abby looks to take her relationship with Mike (James Lesure) to the next level by blending their families, but there are respective exes with which to contend. Barbara get flirty with a former flame and that jeopardizes her future with Darrell (Malcolm-Jamal Warner).

Meanwhile, Phoebe's estranged brother, Tony (Steve Talley), gets out of prison early and life suddenly gets more complicated. And after taking a pregnancy test, Delia re-evaluates her relationship with Paul (Ignacio Serrichio).

Finally, Jo's ex-husband (Maury Sterling) gets out of rehab and that tests the strength of her relationship with Albert (Brian Markinson).

Does all that sound juicy enough? Watch it while you still can.

Marlon, 8 p.m. today on NBC. It's the second season of Marlon Wayans' family comedy about a divorced couple who try to stay friends for the sake of the kids. The series, created by Wayans, is inspired by his real life.

In tonight's episode, "Model Parent, "Marlon convinces his ex-wife Ashley (Essence Atkins) to let their son, Zack (Notlim Taylor) model for a kids' athletic line after he is approached in a mall. The resulting altered photos horrify the family and hilarity ensues.

A second episode follows at 8:30.

Alone returns for Season 5 at 9 p.m. today on History Channel. Unlike other survival-theme reality series such as Naked and Afraid and Man vs. Wild, this one claims to have "no gimmicks." Each contestant has no camera crew, no nearby production team and is completely on his own in total isolation.

This season, 10 past "fan favorites" are separated and plopped down in a remote region of northern Mongolia. Armed with nothing but the stuff in a small backpack, each must construct shelter, find food, overcome harsh terrain and "contend with a host of deadly predators."

Last one standing wins $500,000.

Goliath. Season 2 of the Amazon Prime original series streams Friday. The series stars Arkansas native Billy Bob Thornton as lawyer Billy McBride, who is the "David" taking on cases against giant odds.

In this season, Billy and his team investigate the apparently open and shut double homicide case against a friend's 16-year-old son. In the process, they "untangle a deadly conspiracy in the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, where drugs, real estate and politics intermingle."

Thornton won the 2017 Golden Globe for best actor in a drama series for Goliath's first season.

12 Monkeys. The fourth and final season debuts at 7 p.m. Friday on Syfy. The series, rated TV-14, is based on the 1995 movie that starred Bruce Willis as James Cole.

The series features Aaron Stanford as Cole and Amanda Schull as Dr. Cassandra Railly. The time travelers from 2043 are attempting to stop a plague and prevent the Army of the 12 Monkeys from destroying humanity.

Note: The 11-episode season will air over only four weeks, with three episodes on Fridays from 7-10 p.m. for the first three weeks, then a two-part finale on July 6 from 8-10 p.m.

The first three seasons are available on Hulu.

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Weekend on 06/14/2018

*CORRECTION: The medical drama House (2004-2012) was on Fox. A reference in a previous version of this column said it was on another network.

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