1) “The Lion” opener, 9 and 10 p.m., National Geographic. Brilliantly crafted, this is an epic two-week, four-hour documentary. Jon Favreau, who directed the non-cartoon “Lion King,” produced it; Hans Zimmer — who won an Oscar for the animated “Lion King” — did the music. (The photo here is not from the film, however.) For four years, a crew got great footage of a young cub’s rise to power. Read more…
The Disney+ people plan to stuff autumn with fantasy and science-fiction,
That starts Sept. 2, with the Mandalorian movie (shown here). It will be followed by series with Vision (Oct. 14), Percy Jackson (Nov. 20) and Ahsoka (Jan. 20).
All will be on the streaming channel, which already has one season of “Ahsoka,” two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” and three of “The Mandalorian,” plus the “WandaVision” series and its spin-off. Read more…
1) “America’s Got Talent,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. The live shows finally begin, with 11 acts performing on the next four Tuesdays (with results Wednesday). Today has four music acts (Ashford Sanders, Brook Lynn, Luke Taleno, ComUNITY Choir), comedian Cris Sosa, two magic acts, two dance acts, a dog act and (shown here in an outdoor performance) the Jesse White Tumbling Team. Read more…
After 11 weeks of whoops and buzzers and such, “America’s Got Talent” finally has the line-up for its live shows.
Beginning Aug. 18, acts will perform on four Tuesdays — 11 per week, but 10 on Sept. 8. Viewers will vote, then will learn the next day who made it to the semi-finals, Sept. 15.
Almost half the acts –19 of 43 — are musicians, but the rest are scattered.
There are six dance acts, including dancing dogs, dancing robots and light-up dancers. There are five magic acts, four comedians and a contortionist, plus aerialists (shown here is Veronica Goroshkova, who performs Aug. 25), acrobats and more, including two guys who swallow swords. Read more…
1) “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” season-openers, 9 and 9:32 p.m., FX and FXX. The 18th season begins, for the longest-running American sitcom ever. That’s due to short seasons (10 episodes this time) and wildly weird stories. Tonight’s first episode is on the wedding day for Frank (Danny DeVito, shown here at the right in a previous episode).It’s bizarre and sometimes hilarious; the second is fairly funny. Read more…
For their entire careers, writer-producers Damon Lindelof and Chris Mundy occupied opposite corners.
Lindelof has been in whimsyland — “Lost,” “Watchmen,” “The Leftovers” and fantasy films. Mundy has been in on gritty, crime-strewn turf — “Ozark,” “Criminal Minds,” the Jodie Foster season of “True Detective.”
What could nudge these writer-producers together? “Lanterns” (shown here) debuts at 9 p.m. Sunday, for an eight-week season on HBO and HBO Max.
Yes, Lindeloff said, it has the Green Lantern guys, with their magic rings. But “it has een described as a ‘True Detective’ story on Earth.” Read more…
1) “The Walking Dead: Dead City,” 9 p.m., AMC, rerunning at 10:01. More than other shows, this covers the full range. It’s sometimes gory and brutal, sometimes surprisingly warm and deep. This hour leans toward the latter, with quietly moving moments for Maggie and Luis (Lauren Cohan, shown here, and Raul Castillo). Then the final minutes are sensational. Read more…
1) “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” season-openers, 9 and 9:32 p.m. today, FX and FXX. Starting its 18th season, this is the longest-running American sitcom ever. That’s due to short seasons (10 episodes this time) and wildly weird stories. Tonight’s first episode — wedding day for Frank (Danny DeVito, second from right in a previous episode) is bizarre and sometimes hilarious; the second is fairly funny. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. This reruns the May 2 episode, with Olivia Rodrigo (shown here at a concert) doubling as host and music guest — something only two other people (Harry Styles and Sabrina Carpenter) did this year. At 23, she’s one of the youngest people to double up; Britney Spears set the record, at 18. Read more…
1) “The Front Page” (1974), 9:45 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. A great, three-day stretch begins for TCM. Natalie Wood and Cary Grant marathons are Friday and Saturday, but first is Jack Lemmon. He links with Walter Matthau (shown here, left) for two terrific comedies, thi one and “The Fortune Cookie”) at 3:30. The tender “The Apartment” is 5:45, with “Some Like It Hot” at 11:45. Read more…
Best-bets for Aug. 19: burps, beavers and regal lions 
Best-bets for Aug. 18: Dick, Bob and lotsa talent 
Best-bets for Aug. 17: “Sunny” starts; “Club” ends 
