Tonight marks the return of Justified to the television airwaves. It's hard to believe it's been somewhere even close to a year since we last saw Timothy Olyphant don the cowboy hat and take care of some Harlan County bad guys, but lo and behold it has. For my money, there simply isn't a better pure crime show on TV right now. Breaking Bad has spun off into something that I think defies the notion of pure genre classification, and Boardwalk Empire, good as it generally is, hasn't consistently kept my attention the way Justified has. Olyphant and Walton Goggins are as good together as any two actors have ever been on a TV series, and the additions this year of Neal McDonough and Mykelti Williamson in the villain roles might not top Margo Martindale's singular performance last season, but still ought to be pretty great.
If for some insane reason Justified just isn't your thing, we have myriad other 10PM watching options tonight. Brace yourself.
 | American Experience: George Armstrong Custer 8PM - PBS - Before you delve into an evening of dramatic TV watching, I highly suggest a bit of educational fare. Specifically, this documentary on notoriously bullheaded and murderous American general George Custer, who famously got himself and a bunch of his men killed during his campaign against the Cheyenne. Such hubris! |
 | Justified 10PM - FX - I know precious little about the direction this season is taking, and that's largely been on purpose, as I'm aiming to remain surprised. All I do know is that McDonough plays a Detroit gangster come to Kentucky to do some ill business. You know Raylan and Boyd aren't going to take kindly to that kind of nonsense. |
 | Southland 10PM - TNT - Season premiere! One of the best cop shows on TV is back, and now it has...Lucy Liu? As a hard-edged LA cop? Uh. Wait, what? |
 | Body of Proof 10PM - ABC - Supposing Justified and Southland aren't your thing (jerks), how about tonight's episode of Body of Proof, which features Marcia Gay Harden as a Nancy Grace-esque tabloid journalist? Who doesn't love Marcia Gay Harden? |
 | White Collar 10PM - USA - Okay, okay, if none of the above work for you, my guess is that you're one of those "types" that's been waiting around for White Collar to kick back into gear. Well, here you go, with a whole kidnapping plot and other nefarious shit going on. Are you happy now? |
 | Ink Master 10PM - Spike TV - Still not satisfied with your 10PM options? Maybe it's because you're one of those reality TV junkies. If so, here's a brand-new series about tattoo artists competing to...uh...become...tattoo artists? I don't know. I just know Dave Navarro is hosting, and everyone thinks we're related, so there you go. Good luck on the show, cousin. |
 | Storage Wars 10PM - A&E - Still not happy? Fine, here's some fucking Storage Wars, where they go to fucking storage lockers and bid on the crap inside. And this is even preceded by an hour of Shipping Wars episodes, because fuck you, American viewing public. |
 | The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 11PM - Comedy Central - Liam Neeson is tonight's guest. I can only assume this interview will end with him punching Jon Stewart in the neck with a makeshift shiv made of green room booze bottles. That should be fun! |
