1) “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022), 8-11 p.m., CBS. As July 4 nears, networks give us big-budget crowd-pleasers that put Americans in fighter planes. On Thursday, ABC has “Independence Day,” which has lots of flaws and little to do with the holiday. But today, CBS gives us Tom Cruise (shown here) in a film that’s solidly written, slickly made and kind of exciting.
2) “Elle” debut, Amazon Prime. Hiding her smarts under a ditzy surface, Elle Woods has been a popular character in three movies and a Broadway musical. Now Reese Witherspoon, who starred in the films, produces this prequel, with newcomer Lexi Minetree as the teen Elle.
3) “Brilliant Minds” series finale, 8 p.m., NBC. We had high hopes for this show, which began its six-episode finish with some great hours. Alas, the finale is a major disappointment. A new case has a sorta-solution that defies believability. Also, the “Sofia” story ends blandly and there’s a cliffhanger — despite the show being canceled two months ago.
4) Soccer, 8 p.m. ET, Fox. The U.S. team thrived in the first round, winning two games and then losing one (which didn’t effect the next round) while resting eight of its 11 starters. Now the single-elimination portion begins, facing Bosnia/Herzgovina in Santa Clara. Fox also has a game at noon and Fox Sports1 has one at 4 p.m.
5) Documentaries, PBS. First are “Nova” reruns, slightly linked to July 4: at 8 p.m., Athens’ long-ago democracy; at 9, Revolutionary War weapons. At 10 is the finale of the beautifully filmed “The Kimberly: Australia’s Wild West”; it includes indigenous people’s centuries-old success with preemptive fires.
— Mike Hughes,