1) “Dutton Ranch,” Paramount+. Here’s a pivotal episode in what has quickly become a great series. Last week, a tragedy shattered the cattle ranch. Now Rip (shown here) and Beth take surprising steps to rebuild their life. Also, their adopted son had found a hot lover and a chatty friend; now he, too, confronts tragedy. Read more…
When soccer ends and the world goes home, Fox will have Part II of its summer line-up.
In mid-July, it will debut one show, start new seasons of two (including Gordon Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares,” shown here in a previous episode) and resume three more.
For now, Fox is obsessing on the World Cub, which brings soccer teams to the U.S., Mexico and Canada, from June 11 to July 19. Every game will be on Fox or Fox Sports1, in addition to Telemundo and streaming on Peacock and Fox One.
To clear the way, the network started many of its summer shows early and will finish three of them early. “Farmer Wants a Wife” and “Bear Grylls is Running Wild” end on June 9, “The Floor” on June 10.
But some others will be back. The plan,announced today (Tuesday) includes: Read more…
For the geographically disadvantaged (that’s most of us), the annual Tony telecast is important.
It shows us the joy of Broadway. It shows what we’d savor if we had the time … and the money … and a proximity to New York.
We don’t, of course, so we catch the Tonys, at 8 p.m. ET Sunday (June 7) on CBS. In a three-hour stretch, we’ll see lots of awards, get a few laughs … and see production numbers from at least nine musicals.
And this year, there’s a bonus: We can stream (via Apple) “Schmigadoon” (shown here)m which a front-runner is based on, Read more…
1) “The Americas” return, 8 and 9 p.m. NBC. Next week, NBC starts filling Thursdays with big, British-American documentaries — the new “Surviving Earth” at 8 p.m. and reruns of the splendid “Americas” at 9. Filling those spots this week are “fun facts” variations of two hours: We visit the warmth of Mexico (shown here), then reach the frozen Arctic. Read more…
1) “Brilliant Minds,” 8 p.m., NBC. For its final six episodes, this wades into heavy turf. Sofia seems real to Dr. Wolf, but others feel he’s imagining her. Now he’s admitted himself into a psych institution, while his colleagues (shown here) handle a tough case at the hospital. Pivotal and emotional events follow. Read more…
As June arrives, we start scrambling around the TV universe.
Broadcast networks are sinking into a summer of reruns and reality. If we want more … well, that’s why the world invented streaming and cable.
Some shows, listed below, offer the full range. One (“Little House on the Prairie”) takes us back to the frontier; others — including new “Simpsons” episodes and a “Big Bang Theory” spin-off (shown here) — fling us into alternate worlds.
There are shows produced by Barack Obama (who was elected president) and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (who was arrested, as a teen, for drug-dealing) and Mindy Kaling (who was Kelly in “The Office”).
In short, there’s a lot. This sampling leans heavily on the start of the summer, with more announcements expected. Read more…
1) “America’s Got Talent” season-opener, 8-10 p.m., NBC. A Nigerian-born engineer dances without music; a Chinese engineer (shown here) dances without humans; Canadians dance with dogs. There’s much more, including a Cuban-born rapper, a French comedian and also some Americans who, like the others, have talent. It’s an impressive (and sometimes emotional) start. Read more…
1) “Bring Me the Beauties” opener, 9 p.m., HBO. Hoyt Richards is a Princeton grad who was called the first male supermodel. He worked for elite brands (Versace, Lauren, Cartier, etc), made a fortune … and gave it to a cult. This three-parter starts on a busy documentary day: At 8 and 9, ABC reruns films on Richard Simmons and on Kennedy conspiracy theories. Read more…
1) “The Audacity” season-finale, 9-10:29 p.m., AMC, repeating at 11:06. At a tech showcase, Duncan (shown here) plans to unveil his data-mining scheme, PINATA (Privacy Is Not A Thing Anymore). At the same time, his wife and daughter have a big school event. There are pivotal moments here, especially after a school stunt goes bad. It adds up to a great (but incomplete) finish. Read more…
1) “America’s Got Talent” season-opener, 8-10 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. The ratings leader is back, ready to spend most of the summer on auditions. The panel — Simon Cowell (shown here), Sofia Vergara, Howie Mandel and Mel B — will see lots of acts, some of them weird and most of them talented. On Aug. 18, they’ll finally shift to live shows, with viewers voting, Read more…
Best-bets for June 5: crises for ranchers, cops, more 
Best-bets for June 4: hockey, soccer and Americas 
Best-bets for June 3: brilliance & basketball 
