Live in Front of a Studio Audience Is the TV Event of the '70s

When a particular talent holds a lot of sway at a network, that can manifest in quite a few ways. The result can be anything from tense contract negotiations to vanity projects to consequence-free bad behavior. (Or almost consequence-free: Hey, Roseanne.) But someone like Jimmy Kimmel, who has been one of the prominent faces on ABC for over 15 years, has largely wielded his power for good. His outspoken turn to politics in 2017 to advocate for children's health care was one instance where a man with a platform and a lot of power was fearless in a good way. Tonight, Kimmel turns that fearlessness in an artistic direction, with a star-studded LIVE TV production of two of the most formative and fearless TV series of their own era: All in the Family and The Jeffersons.

Putting a spotlight on the TV contributions of Norman Lear is never the wrong thing to do. Lear was and is a giant in the industry, and All in the Family and The Jeffersons confronted the American TV-viewing audience with the truths of a changing America. Kimmel choosing to re-create these shows ought to be telling. Lear has already had a hand in the revival of one of his series, One Day at a Time on Netflix. That show updated its characters and premise to be more relevant in the current day. For this re-staging, the producers say they'll stick to the original scripts, promising they're as relevant and controversial today as they were 40 years ago.

As far as Kimmel is concerned, he told Howard Sterns doesn't care if the audience will be too sensitive for these shows today. Which feels like a recipe for morning-after controversy. But there's no doubt that there's some timeless wisdom of Lear's to be tapped into if a producer like Kimmel so desires to find it.

SPECIAL PRESENTATION: The talent lineup for Live in Front of a Studio Audience is incredibly strong. This re-creation of two episodes of All in the Family and The Jeffersons — performed live — will include Woody Harrelson (as Archie Bunker), Marisa Tomei (as his wife, Edith), Jamie Foxx and Wanda Sykes (George and Weezy Jefferson), Ellie Kemper (as Gloria Stivic), Will Ferrell (as Tom Willis), and Justina Machado (as Florence Johnston). That's still not everybody in the universe of these two shows, so tune in to see who else shows up. 8:00 PM ET on ABC

SEASON FINALE: The first season of Whiskey Cavalier draws to a close with Will and Frankie's relationship as uncertain as ever. In a "tough decision," ABC cancelled Whiskey Cavalier last week, so despite the show's flashy post-Oscars debut time slot, it wasn't able to make the spy shenanigans of Scott Foley and Lauren Cohan sing. 10:00 PM ET on ABC

SEASON PREMIERE: Season 3 of My Last Days premieres tonight, bringing back the show created by Jane the Virgin star Justin Baldoni about real-life people with terminal illnesses who show tremendous bravery. It's a rewarding and moving experience. 8:00 PM ET on The CW

SEASON FINALE: It should come as no surprise to anyone following Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists that the season finale sees Alison and Mona reeling from the revelations of last week. Did Jeremy really kill Nolan? Um, maybe? Is everything wrapped up? Not by a long shot. 8:00 PM ET on Freeform

ALSO TONIGHT

• Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago PD all wrap up their seasons tonight, so good luck to you if you care about literally any other city in America. 8:00 PM ET on NBC
• All About All in the Family and The Jeffersons after Jimmy Kimmel's star-studded live television event, the network will air a special that spotlights the two original Norman Lear-produced shows and why they were so important. 9:30 PM ET on ABC
• Brockmire puts a bow on Season 3 with an episode titled "Opening Day," which gives Brockmire and Gabby the chance to call their first Major League Baseball game … if only protesters don't get in the way. Which is all well and good, but we still think Amanda Peet is the best thing Brockmire has going for it. 10:00 PM ET on IFC
• SEAL Team ends its second season with Jason's team having one last mission to prove they should stick together. 10:00 PM ET on CBS

Joe Reid is the senior writer at Primetimer and co-host of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. His work has appeared in Decider, NPR, HuffPost, The Atlantic, Slate, Polygon, Vanity Fair, Vulture, The A.V. Club and more.