1) “America’s Got Talent,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. The callbacks began last week, with Simon Cowell and Mel B each re-seeing six acts. He sent five (three singing, one dancing, one comedy) to the live shows that will start Aug. 18; she sent three (two singing, plus a mentalist duo). Now Howie Mandel and Sofia Vergara (shown here, left and with arms raised, in a previous season) have their turns. Read more…
Some actors may grow up dreaming of Broadway or Hollywood or film-festival fame.
Not as many, perhaps, dream of Hallmark Channel movies. “I had no idea that Hallmark was more than a greeting-card store,” Andrew Walker (shown here with Rachel Boston) said.
But when they do start landing Hallmark roles, it can transform their careers. Just ask Niall Matter.
“It was at a time in my life when I had actually lost everything,” Matter told the Television Critics Association. “I was driving for Lyft because I couldn’t drive for Uber, because of my driving record.” Read more…
1) “All American,” 8 p.m., CW. It’s a sudden, stark turn for this story about friends and rivals at opposite high schools. At Crenshaw (shown here), an ICE raid affects Amina, Preach and Khalil deeply; at Beverly Hills, KJ and his football teammates try to help, soon facing consequences. And a press-conference moment threatens the friendship of the two coaches. Read more…
1) “House of the Dragon” season-finale, 9 p.m., HBO, rerunning at 10:15. The epic series (shown here) wraps its third season; if you haven’t been keeping up, there’s still time: The previous seven episodes start rerunning at 1:32 p.m., with last week’s episode at 7:50. Read more…
1) “The Americas,” 8 and 9 p.m. Thursday, NBC. The first rerun (with “fun facts” added) visits the Caribbean (shown here), with 7,000 islands sprawling over a million square miles; the second tells how the series was filmed. Both are superb; both include two compelling glimpses: Whales sleep vertically, then plunge to hunt; red crabs march to the sea, across a lethal road. Read more…
1) Steve McQueen marathon, Turner Classic Movies. McQueen was a great, raw talent who worked for top directors. Today has three John Sturges films — “Never So Few,” 6 a.m., ET; “The Magnificent Seven,” 12:45 p.m.; “The Great Escape,” 3 p.m. Norman Jewison’s “The Thomas Crown Affair is at 6, with (oddly) the low-budget “The Blob” (its poster is shown here) at 8. Read more…
As the Hallmark Channel celebrates its 25th birthday, it’s planning a lot of the same. A lot.
The cable network started on April 5, 2001, as an unlikely merger of three H’s — Henson (Jim, the Muppet man), Halmi (Robert, a movie/mini-series guy) and Hallmark, the greeting-card folks.
The others soon departed, but Hallmark kept growing. It has Christmas movies — roughly a zillion of them — and more, sometimes with tie-ins.
It’s again linking with pro-football (the Bears, this year) and with the Biltmore estate. It has also set a movie linking with Disney … which makes historical sense: Long ago, we’re told, Hallmark was one of the first businesses to license Mickey Mouse.
There’s also has a streaming service, Hallmark+ (currently with a Lacey Chabert mini-series, shown here). We’ll start there: Read more…
1) “Anna Pigeon” debut, 10 p.m. Friday, USA Network. Anna (Tracy Spiridakos of “Chicago P.D.”) has big-city roots and an arts degree. But after her husband was killed, she became a detective park ranger in Montana; now she finds life-and-death crises, including one (shown here) tonight. Despite flaws (dense boss, absurd failure to address injuries), it’s a strong story with solid, likable people. Read more…
1) “The Bear” series finale, 9-10:20 p.m., FX. The restaurant has just survived its roughest night — overbooked, undersupplied and belted by a fierce storm. Now life changes, especially for Carmy (Emmy-winner Jeremy Allen White, shown here in a previous episode). In a quietly compelling finale, he has an emotional scene with Syd and, later, a remarkable, five-minute monolog. Read more…
1) “The Shards” openers, 9 and 10:11 p.m., FX. In “beautiful, empty houses,” Bret says, teens with absent parents cavort. Bret (whom writer Bret Easton Ellis based partly on himself) is a closeted bisexual with a hot girlfriend (they’re shown here) and an obsession for the new guy (played by Homer Gere, Richard’s son). A killer looms, in a story as smart, gorgeous and hollow as its characters. Read more…
Best-bets for Aug. 11: “Talent” nears its live shows 
Best-bets for Aug. 10: ICE crisis; “Ninja” nationals 
Best-bets for Aug. 9: dragons, zombies, cute critters 
