1) “BET Awards,” 8 p.m., BET, MTV, TV Land, Nickelodeon and more; repeats at 11:04 on BET. There are lots of music awards (plus a few for acting, sports and fashion) and lots of performances. That includes Cardi B (shown here), Queen Latifah, Common, MC Lyte, Jill Scott, Doechi and The War and Treaty. Druski, a mono-named comedian, hosts. Read more…
After a way-too-long pause, NBC has decided there will be a second season of “The Americas.”
It has also added a surprise: A new hour — “The Americas: A Wild 250th — will air at 9 p.m. July 2, two days before the U.S. turns 250.
The series (shwon heree) is a lush British-American co-production, viewing the natural world in all three continents. Some critics (including me) raved, some had restrained approval.
Award voters were also restrained. The show drew nominations for narrator Tom Hanks and composer Hans Zimmer, but not for the show itself. Read more…
1) “Disney Celebrates America,” all week, ABC. This start from 8-10 p.m. today, ranging from Disney parks to Jon Batiste in New Orleans and Savannah Bananas baseball. That repeats at 8 Friday, launching a marathon that reaches Nashville at 8 Saturday, with Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Clint Black, Nick Jonas and Fourth of July fireworks. Read more…
1) “I Am Patrick Swayze” (2019), 8-10 p.m., CW. Growing up in Houston, Swayze (shown here) jumped from football to theater to his mom’s dance studio. All served him well, in a strong movie career. Here’s a profile of Swayze, who died of cancer at 57, in 2009. Also, IFC is showing two of his films — “Red Dawn” (1984) ar4:40 p.m. and “Point Break” (1991) at 7:30. Read more…
1) “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness” debut, 9 p.m., HBO; also 9:34 and 11:08. There are a lot of serious celebrations of the country’s 250th birthday, but here’s a chance for fun. Sub-titled “An Almost History of America,” it’s a six-week sketch-comedy series produced by Barack Obama, who was president, and Larry David (shown here with the Wright Brothers, sort of), who wasn’t. Read more…
1) CMA Fest, 8-11 p.m., ABC. Country’s top stars perform in Nashville. There are long-familiar names — Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Lainey Wilson, Keith Urban, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw. And there are relatively fresh forces, including Riley Green (who co-hosts), Ella Langley (shown here), Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson, Molly Tuttle and Shaboozey. Read more…
1) “Brilliant Minds,” 8 p.m., NBC. There’s a new case (there always is) that’s excellent, seen through the mind of a teen fantasy-fiction writer. But there are other things to resolve — some tonight and some in next week’s oddly sub-par series finale. That includes a fascinating closing twist in the story of “Sofia” (shown here) the imaginary person conjured in Dr. Wolf’s mind. Read more…
James Burrows (shown here), who died Friday at 85, was the master of TV comedy.
His work sprawled from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” to the”Big Bang Theory” pilot and beyond. He propelled the “must-see” age of “Friends” and “Frasier” and such. He did it all.
Well, almost all. “I passed on both ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Designing Women,'” he wrote. “I didn’t see the potential of either at the time. It happens.”
But mostly, he saw potential and expanded it. He was “one of the great comedy directors in television,” wrote Brandon Tartikoff, the former NBC chief. He was “the most successful director in television comedy — ever,” wrote Warren Littlefield, Tartikoff’s successor. Read more…
1) “The Sting” (1973) and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969), 8 and 10:15 p.m. ET., Turner Classic Movies. Thiswas the perfect blend — top stars (Paul Newman and Robert Redford), talented director (George Roy Hill), jaunty music and fresh takes on cowboys and con men. Both won Oscars for their scripts and music; “Sting” (shown here) won for best picture. Read more…
1) “Sullivan’s Crossing” season-finale, 8 p.m., CW. For four seasons, we’ve seen good-hearted people — Maggie, a former surgeon, and Cal, a former lawyer — fall in love amid Nova Scotian beauty. (They’re shown here in a previous episode.) Then came her long-ago husband Liam, whose divorce papers were misfiled. As a land ceremony nears, she must make a choice. Read more…
Best-bets for June 28: music, young comic, old Mel 
Best-bets for June 27: Swayze, spies, soccer 
Best-bets for June 26: fun with Larry & Taylor 
