1) “Resident Alien” season-opener, 11 p.m., USA and Syfy. One of TV’s best shows finally returns. Last season ended 14 months ago, as aliens schemed to steal a baby and destroy Earth. (Those hours repeat at 12:02 and 1:03 a.m. on USA.) Now Harry, an alien himself, is helpless while a rude shapeshifter (shown here) takes his place. Alan Tudyk is great (as usual) in a double role. Read more…
1) Basketball, 8:30 p.m., ABC. In their combined 107 NBA seasons, the Oklahoma City Thunder (shown here) and Indiana Pacers have had one championship. The Thunder won in 1979 (when they were in Seattle) and have lost three times. This time, they had the top regular-season record, plus 12-4 in the playoffs. Now they host the Pacers, who are in their second finals. Read more…
1) “Sherlock & Daughter,” 9 p.m., CW. Throughout this first season (a good one), Holmes (David Thewlis, shown here) has been limited: The Red Thread group kidnapped his friend Watson and threatens to kill him. Now Holmes has cracked the group’s code; a week from the season-finale, he follows clues all the way to the vaults of the Bank of England. Read more…
1) “The Cleaning Lady,” 8-10 p.m., Fox. This ends the season … and possibly the entire series. If so, it’s a terrific finale, reaching fierce extremes. It starts with Thony in prison (shown here), where Ramona — the raging sister of Thony’s pseudo-husband — wants to kill her. Then things get much worse. It’s a fast-paced and violent end to a strong season (and, maybe, series) Read more…
1) “The Quiz With Balls” season-opener, 9 p.m., Fox. Like “Family Feud,” this takes a clever game and adds lots of less-clever hype and noise. This opener is noisier than usual, pitting families from New Jersey and New York. The questions are wildly uneven and the show sometimes fails to show which answers were right, Still, Jay Pharoah (shown here) keeps it fun. Read more…
1) Cartoons. This summer, Fox has bumped its animation to Thursdays. That leaves a void, which can be filled today by trying “Phineas and Ferb” (shown here, see No. 2) or catching a marathon on Freeform: The gorgeous “Frozen” films are at 12:45 (2013) and 3:15 p.m. (2019), with “Ratatouille” (2007) at 5:25, “Elemental” (2023) at 8:05 and “Up” (2009) at 10:15. Read more…
1) “Destination X” and “Yes, Chef,” 8 and 9 p.m., NBC. As summer starts, it’s hard to keep up with all the reality shows. Here are second chances: “X” reruns its Tuesday debut; Jeffrey Dean Morgan hosts, with contestants trying to figure out where, in Europe, they are. (The photo here shows next week’s episode.) “Chef” reruns Monday’s hour; at a family-style dinner, chefs assess each other’s work. Read more…
1) “Kiss Me, Kate,” 9 p.m., PBS. After airing two grim, modern musicals, PBS goes the opposite way. Written in 1948, this ripples with great Cole Porter songs– some of them wildly unrelated to the story. (The second act begins with a “Too Darn Hot,” shown here, that’s long, vibrant and totally random.) Adrian Dunbar and Stephanie J. Block are strong leads; the songs — “Too Darn Hot,” “So In Love,” “In My Fashion,” etc. — are delightful. Read more…
1) “Bob’s Burgers,” 8 p.m., Fox. With sports gobbling up summer Sundays, Fox moves its cartoons to Thursdays. Each has new episodes (3-6 of them), before needing reruns. “Bob’s” (shown here) find a conspiracy theory … “Grimsburg” has male sex workers dying … “Family Guy” has a “White Lotus” take-off … and “Great North” has Judy try dinner theater. Read more…
1) “Raid the Cage” season-opener, 9 p.m., CBS. As the summer begins, CBS’ plans are surprisingly modest. There are occasional specials (including the Tonys, June 8), lots of reruns, plus this show, starting its second season. Damon Wayans Jr. hosts with Jeannie Mai. Contestants answer questions to get extra time; then try to grab prizes (shown here) before a gate closes. Read more…
