1. Life & Culture

Top TV week of April 14: 'Scandal', 'Silicon Valley', 'Orphan Black'


New Girl, 9 p.m., Fox

Nick and Jess are broken up, but that's okay, because we've officially moved on to another adorable couple on Fox Tuesday nights: The Mindy Project's Danny and Mindy. Oh, wait, they broke up too? Geez.


The Americans, 10 p.m., FX

This show is having one heck of a second season, coming off a particularly strong three-episode run that expertly explored the show's most interesting themes: identity, loyalty, trust, and what happens when we're faced with questioning those ideals. Between this show and Fargo, FX is steamrolling everything else on TV when it comes to smart, sophisticated dramas. Add in Louie in a few weeks and you've got one formidable 10 p.m. timeslot.


Season Finale Scandal, 10 p.m., ABC

Real talk, Scandal: I'm getting bored. How much Olivia-Fitz back-and-forth can a viewer handle? How many more B613 agents can we keep track of? How many Russians does it take for us to actually care about the Mama Pope plot? Tonight, Scandal ends its shortened third season, and while it's been gripping for the most part, there's way too much going on. Our advice for season 4? Get back to two or three major plot lines, throw in some Case of the Week episodes, and break up Fitzlivia for good.

Season Finale Parenthood, 10 p.m., NBC

Adam and Kristina's long-forgotten daughter Haddie (Sarah Ramos) returns for tonight's season five finale. You know, the one who went off to college in season 3 and then was rarely heard from/spoken of ever again?


Orphan Black, 9 p.m., BBC America

The first season of this intricately plotted sci-fi thriller left us hungry for more. So thank goodness star Tatiana Maslany is back with her character-hopping performance as Sarah Manning (and Alison and Cosima and Rachel). Consider us a devout member of the Clone Club.

The Real History of Science Fiction, 10 p.m., BBC America

After Orphan Black, stick around for this new series that delves into just why people are so fascinated with sci-fi (how meta!). The first episode focuses on the sentient machines from The Matrix, Battlestar Galactica and 2001: A Space Odyssey. And who better to talk about that than sci-fi kings William Shatner, Richard Dreyfuss, Firefly's Nathan Fillion and X-Files creator Chris Carter!


Silicon Valley, 10 p.m., HBO

HBO's newest comedy from Mike Judge (Office Space, Beavis and Butt-Head) is a hilarious send-up of startup culture in tech hot spot Silicon Valley. Plus, we could spend hours looking at the set of the show's Google-like company Hooli. So many bright colors!