Julie Chen-Moonves, Host of the CBS Original Series BIG BROTHER, Season 27, scheduled to air on the CBS Television Network. Pictured: Julie Chen Moonves. Photo: Matthew Taplinger ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Week’s top-10 for July 7: “Big Brother,” “Paradise” arrive

1) “Big Brother” opener, 8 p.m. Thursday, CBS. This 27th season is the largest yet. Its opener is 90 minutes, to introduce the housemates. After that, it will have an hour each Sunday and Thursday and 90 minutes each Wednesday; Julie Chen Moonves (shown here in the redesigned house) hosts. And starting July 25, there will be “Big Brother Unlocked” hours on alternate Fridays. Read more…

1) “Big Brother” opener, 8 p.m. Thursday, CBS. This 27th season is the largest yet. Its opener is 90 minutes, to introduce the housemates. After that, it will have an hour each Sunday and Thursday and 90 minutes each Wednesday; Julie Chen Moonves (shown here in the redesigned house) hosts. And starting July 25, there will be “Big Brother Unlocked” hours on alternate Fridays.

2) “Bachelor in Paradise” opener, 8-10 p.m. today, ABC. There’s no “Bachelorette” this year, so “Paradise” gets the prime summer spot. It has seven people from last year’s “Bachelorette,” three (Alexa Godin, Bailey Brown, Zoe McGrady) from the recent “Bachelor” and more, including nine from “Golden Bachelor” and “Golden Bachelorette.”

3) “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” season-openers, 9 and 9:33 p.m. Wednesday, FX and FXX. Last season, the “Sunny” people did an “Abbott Elementary” episode, “helping” at the school. Now the “Abbott” people show extra (R-rated) footage of their misdeeds. It’s darkly funny … as is the second episode, which sputters, then ends hilariously.

4) Reruns, ABC. The “Sunny” people are also on ABC. Kaitlan Olson, who has great moments in Wednesday’s second “Sunny,” also stars in “High Potential.” It reruns at 8 p.m. Tuesday (a missing-child case), followed by two “Will Trent” hours. At 9 Wednesday, ABC has the “Abbott” episode with the “Sunny” crew; that’s in a comedy-rerun block, 8-10 p.m.

5) “Survival Mode” debut, 10 p.m. today, NBC. In 2022, Hurricane Ian was the deadliest Florida storm in 87 years, killing 149 in that state and causing $110 billion damage. This hour focuses on three groups that tried to ride it out. It starts a series that will include a flood, a tornado, wildfires, a mudslide, a ship sinking and more.

6) “Renaissance: The Blood and the Beauty” opener, 9 p.m. Tuesday, PBS. The glorious image of the Renaissance crumbles here. Charles Dance (“Game of Thrones”) plays Michelangelo, who lived to 88. Through his words (plus re-enactments and modern scholars) this three-week film offers beauty, violence, tyranny and despair.

7) “Jaws@50,” 9-11 p.m. Thursday, National Geographic Channel. As his film dragged100 days over schedule, Steven Spielberg says, “I was terrified I was going to be fired.” Everything went wrong — but, amid constant changes, then went right. This documentary (also on Peacock, with the “Jaws” films) is a great “SharkFest” centerpiece.

8) “The ’90s Boy Band Boom,” 8-10 pm. Friday, CW. As the ’90s began, A.J. McLean recalled, “It was grunge or rap.” His group (Backstreet Boys) sputtered … then soared in Europe. It sold 130 million records, while drawing mixed reactions; one rocker called boy bands “the spawn of Satan.” This reruns a documentary that’s busy and fun.

9) “The 1% Club,” 8 p.m. Tuesday, and “Animal Control,” 9 p.m. Sunday, Fox. Joel McHale gives Fox a lively boost. His game show has a vibrant hour; contestants include Lego and roller-coaster buffs and all four guys from the first “Farmer Wants a Wife.” Then Sunday has a rerun of the funny season-opener of his sitcom, including a “zoo break.”

10) ALSO: Streamers have sequels to “Dexter” (Friday on Paramount+) and “Bosch” (“Ballard,” Wednesday on Amazon Prime). Also new: Lena Dunham’s “Too Much” (Thursday, Netflix) and the “The Wild Ones” nature series (Friday, Apple TV+). And “Grantchester” (9 p.m. Sunday, PBS) has a great scene for two of its supporting players .

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *