1) “America’s Got Talent” opener, 8-10 p.m., NBC. Now NBC starts its annual bid for summer domination. It has other key shows, but the centerpiece is “AGT” (shown here with Eric Chien auditioning), a perpetual ratings leader. Simon Cowell and Howie Mandel remain, but Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough replace Heidi Klum and Mel B; Terry Crews replaces Tyra Banks as host. Read more…
1) “Glory” (1989), 5:45 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. Here’s a Memorial Day military marathon, with moments of greatness. That starts strong at 6 a.m. ET with “From Here to Eternity” (1953); it won eight Academy Awards, including best picture. Another highlight is “Glory,” a powerful story of black Civil War soldiers; it won three Oscars, including Denzel Washington (shown here with Morgan Freeman) as best supporting actor. That’s followed by “Men in War” (1957) at 8 p.m., “The Steel Helmet” (1961) at 10 and more. Read more…
1) “National Memorial Day Concert,” 8 and 9:30 p.m., PBS (check local listings). It was 30 years ago that producers moved the “Capitol Fourth” approach to the eve of Memorial Day: Mix a rich collection of music and some emotional words. This time, the music is from Patti LaBelle, Gavin DeGraw, Alison Krauss, Justin Moore, Christopher Jackson and Amber Riley. Sam Elliott, Dennis Haysbert and Jaina Lee Ortiz tell the true stories; Joe Mantegna and Mary McCormack (a late addition) host, Read more…
) “Ransom” season-finale, 9 p.m., CBS. With Saturdays awash in reruns and sports, this has been an exception — a four-nation co-production, based loosely on some real-life police negotiators. Tonight, things again get personal: Cynthia, a member of the team, has been kidnapped with her brother, who has steep gambling debts. Now Eric and Kate (Luke Roberts and Natalie Brown, shown here) and others break the rules, in an attempt to save them. Read more…
1) “Live From Lincoln Center,” 9 p.m., PBS. A three-week spree of personal concerts concludes with the terrific Megan Hilty touring her far-flung career. She does songs from NBC’s “Smash” (“Don’t Forget Me,” “Let Me Be Your Star”) and from Broadway’s Wicked (“For Good,” with Shoshana Bean, her friend from their standby days; they’re shown here) and “9 to 5.” She’ll also do pop and more. At 10, PBS reruns last year’s hour with another top talent, two-time Tony-winner Sutton Foster. Read more…
1) “Red Nose Day,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. Screenwriter Richard Curtis started this in England, as an annual fundraiser for kids’ causes, then nudged it to the U.S. For this one, he’s written a mini-sequel to his “Four Weddings and a Funeral” movie, with Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell (shown here) and more. There’s music by Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton; comedy with Kate McKinnon, Rob Gronkowski and more; plus a serious film with Milo Ventimiglia (“This Is Us”) seeing overseas projects. Read more…
1) “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” 8-9:30 p.m., ABC. TV’s first golden age of comedy was propelled by these Norman Lear shows, in 1971 and ’75. Lear, 96, co-produces and co-hosts these live shows, using old scripts. Woody Harrelson and Marisa Tomei play Archie and Edith Bunker, with Ellie Kemper and Ike Barinholtz as their daughter and son-in-law. (The original series, shown here, reruns from 7-10 p.m. ET on digital channel GetTV.) Then Jamie Foxx and Wanda Sykes are George and Louise Jefferson. Read more…
1) “The Voice” finale, 9-11 p.m., NBC. Blake Shelton’s dominance finally seemed to be slipping. In the first 13 editions, he had six champions and seven runners-up; but then Kelly Clarkson had the winner in her first season … and again in her second. Now, however, Shelton is back on top, with three people in the final four. The lone exception is Maelyn Jarmon, on John Legend’s team; she’s shown here with Shelton’s guys — from left: Andrew Sevener, Gythy Rigdon and Dexter Roberts. Read more…
1) “The Big Bang Theory” finale rerun, 8 and 8:30 p.m., CBS. TV’s best current comedy departed with one of the best finales ever. It did it all – big laughs, key plot developments and surprising bursts of sentiment … none of it false or forced. Everything was built on a deep understanding of the characters – via the writers and the actors. These characters have learned to love each other, flaws and all; viewers feel the same way, so we’re glad to have this rerun belatedly added. Read more…
1) “Game of Thrones” finale, 9-10:20 p.m., HBO, rerunning at 11:30 p.m. and 2 a.m. This has been epic television, complete with angry dragons, naked people and toppling empires. It’s managed to mix spectacle, character drama and political intrigue. Now it concludes after 73 episodes over eight seasons. Read more…
