Act your age. I guess if you’re looking for an audience of a certain age, it’s best to bake the demography into the storyline, or even the show’s title. “Grown & Sexy” (9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., VH1, TV-14) asks comedians and celebrities to discuss the difficulties of navigating their 30s.
Performers engage in sketches about the need to grow up and the awkwardness of “de-friending” people who were never really friends. Look for appearances by Joe Budden, Remy Ma, Papoose, Adrienne Bailon, Blac Chyna and Sarunas J. Jackson.
This is hardly the first show to take this approach. “Thirtysomething” debuted in 1987. Come to think of it, children born to that show’s viewers are now pretty much 30-something themselves.
Nobody’s dreamed up “Sixtysomething,” but that’s probably the audience CBS has, and Fox News covets. Judd Apatow, who helped Lena Dunham create her 20-something “Girls” for HBO, also directed a movie called “This Is 40.”
You have to hand it to Fox for boldly going right to a senior center with its comedy “The Cool Kids” (8 p.m., TV-14), which hearkens back to “The Golden Girls,” a comedy that was airing when “Thirtysomething” arrived.
In tonight’s “Cool” episode, Hank (David Alan Grier) encounters his ex-wife at a funeral for a mutual friend. How would the gang on “Grown & Sexy” handle that?
— Dean Cain hosts “The Hollywood Walk of Fame Honors” (9 p.m., CW, TV-PG), a look back at the bold-faced names who have been immortalized in pavement over the past 365 days.
The list of recipients is as arbitrary as they come. You’d think Michael Douglas, Mark Hamill, Lynda Carter and Jeff Goldblum would have been given their stars some time back. But 2018 was their year, as it was RuPaul’s, Sarah Silverman, Lin-Manuel Miranda and so many more. It’s only fitting that in a year dominated by talk of gender equality that Minnie Mouse finally got a star of her own!
— For the second night in a row, ABC’s “News” division dredges up an item from the 1990s. “20/20” presents “The Bobbitts: Love Hurts” (10 p.m., ABC), revisiting the 1993 story about Lorena Bobbitt, who unmanned and dismembered her husband, John, with the unkindest cut of all.
The special makes use of vintage ABC footage as well as interviews with both parties and a brand-new sit-down with John Bobbitt, who reflects on events over the past quarter-century.
— A far more pleasant memory from the end of the last century, the 1999 comedy “10 Things I Hate About You” (7 p.m., POP) was based on William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” and starred Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger.
It was an era for blending popular culture and literature. The 1998 comedy “Shakespeare in Love” was a critical hit, and the 1995 comedy “Clueless” managed to update Jane Austen’s “Emma” for the “as if” generation.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— On two episodes of “The Blacklist” (NBC, TV-14), a new face (8 p.m., r), a race against time to stop a mad bomber (9 p.m.).
— Fishing and diplomacy on “Last Man Standing” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG).
— Reality show participants share insights, secrets and gossip on “Gold Rush: The Dirt” (8 p.m., Discovery).
— Time for a blind taste test on “Hell’s Kitchen” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— “Great Performances” repeats “From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2019” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-G, check local listings), hosted by Hugh Bonneville.
— Frank wonders if a controversial confrontation was staged on “Blue Bloods” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
For 16 years, the 1983 adventure “Return of the Jedi” (8 p.m., TBS) was considered the last “Star Wars” movie. When Jar Jar Binks showed up in “The Phantom Menace” in 1999, many faithful fans wished it had remained so.
SERIES NOTES
Locked in a bunker on “MacGyver” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … Just for two on “Fresh Off the Boat” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … On two episodes of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” (CW, r, TV-14), Cornelius Smith Jr. (8 p.m.), Greg Proops (8:30 p.m.) … One leg at a time on “Speechless” (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
After a murder hits close to home, the gang hunts down a killer on “Hawaii Five-0” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … “Dateline” (10 p.m., NBC).
LATE NIGHT
Julia Roberts and Patrick Wilson are booked on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS, r) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Benedict Cumberbatch, Minka Kelly and Orlando Leyba on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC, r).
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Colin Quinn and Richard Danielson visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC, r) … Zachary Levi and Jake Johnson appear on “The Late Late Show With James Corden” (12:35 a.m., CBS, r).
(Kevin McDonough can be reached at [email protected].)
