1) Basketball, 8 p.m. ET, ABC. Indiana had its back to the wall, one loss away from being eliminated. Then it came up with a huge second quarter (36-17) and a win. Now the teams (shown here) are tied at three apiece, in the best-of-seven finals; they move back to Oklahoma City for the championship game. Read more…
1) “A Minecraft Movie” (2025), 8 p.m., HBO. A doorknob salesman (Jack Black) ends up in an alternate world. Then a game-store guy (Jason Momoa, shown here, center) finds a portal. That may sound silly, but it has helped revive movie theaters. The opening week more than doubled predictions; now close to $1 billion worldwide, the comedy has just reached Max and adds HBO. Read more…
1) “Janis Ian: Breaking Silence,” 9 p.m., PBS. Observing other people’s lives, Ian wrote and sang “Society’s Child” (about inter-racial romance) and the Grammy-winning “At Seventeen” (about a plain teen). Her own love life wasn’t a subject until later, when she discussed her now-wife. This film skillfully blends re-enactments and comments by Ian (shown here), now 74. Read more…
1) “Poker Face,” Peacock. The lure of a rent-control apartments can inspire many odd choices, including murder. That sets up an exceptionally good episode for Charlie (Natasha Lyonne, shown here in a previous episode). Awkwafina, Alia Shawkat and David Alan Grier are guest stars. Also streaming today is Netflix’s “The Waterfront,” a drama that stars Holt McCallany and Maria Bello. Read more…
1) “Shifting Gears,” 8-10 p.m., ABC. During a tough time for comedies, this has started well; two comedy pros work with fairly clever scripts. Now here are reruns of the first four episodes. Tim Allen plays an auto-shop owner, widowed and cranky; his estranged daughter (Kat Dennings) arrives with her kids. Soon, he’s at their new school (shown here) and she’s working at the shop. Read more…
1) “NCIS: Sydney,” 10 p,m., CBS. All three NCIS shows have moved to Tuesdays, which will be their night this fall. This rerun, a good one, starts explosively (shown here); then it plunges the Sydney team into the shaky world of conspiracy theories. That follows “NCIS” (a fun “ladies night” turns into work) and “NCIS Origins,” with a mourning Gibbs joining the search for a girl. Read more…
1) “Walking With Dinosaurs,” 8-10 p.m., PBS. Back in 1999, this drew praise and enthusiasm. Now it’s been rebooted beautifully, in a three-night series mixing special effects, animatronics and great filming. We see scientists finding bones … then get stories imagining those creatures. This starts (shown here) with a baby triceratops and a 13-foot-high tyrannosaurus. Read more…
1) “Underdogs” (shown here), 9 and 9:54 p.m., National Geographic. This gem offers a three-Sunday, five-hour look at lowly creatures. The first hour (also on ABC at 9:03) shows superpowers, from invisibility to superglue slime. The second has terrible parents, including one that puts her eggs on an 800-foot cliff, with no exit strategy. Ryan Reynolds narrates. Read more…
1) Football, 8 p.m. ET, ABC. There’s one more game … followed by a couple football-free months. This one wraps the second year of the United Football League. The Michigan Panthers (shown here) and D.C. Defenders had 6-4 records during the regular season, then upset the division leaders in the semi-finals. Now they collide for the championship. Read more…
1) “Resident Alien,” 11 p.m., USA and Syfy. Last week, our alien found double trouble: A shapeshifter (shown here) was disguising as Harry (his Earthly persona) … and captors had stolen his alien powers, making him a mere human. Now he’s desperate — as is the mayor … and the half-alien Joseph … and the deputy and many others. It’s a wild and funny hour. Read more…
