1) “The Run For a Million,” 8-10 p.m., CBS. Two pieces of rodeo life overlap. On CW (7:30-10 p.m.), it’s NBR bull-riding. (An NBR event is shown here.) And on CBS, 16 horse-riders try elaborate courses, competing for $1 million, The latter is produced by Taylor Sheridan, who does both fiction (“Yellowstone,” “Dutton Ranch”) and non-fiction (“The Road,” “Pure Grit,” “The Last Cowboy”). Read more…
(NOTE: Also Aug. 21 is a National Geographic special re-uniting people from 9/11; see “Stories.))
1) “Conan O’Brien Must Go” season-opener, 9 p.m., HBO, rerunning at 11:03. After two streaming-only seasons on Max, the travel series adds HBO. First, the previous seven episodes air, starting with Norway at 4 p.m. Then comes this new one, in India, where (shown here) a 6-foot-4 redhead might stand out. The next three Fridays visit the Netherlands, Morocco and the Philippines. Read more…
1) “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951), 8 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. This may be the best-acted movie ever. It won Oscars for Vivien Leigh (shown here), Kim Hunter and Karl Malden. There were 11 nominations over all, including ones for best picture and for the searingly brilliant work of Marlon Brando (shown here), whose films are on TCM all day today. Read more…
1) “The Lion” opener, 9 and 10 p.m., National Geographic. Brilliantly crafted, this is an epic two-week, four-hour documentary. Jon Favreau, who directed the non-cartoon “Lion King,” produced it; Hans Zimmer — who won an Oscar for the animated “Lion King” — did the music. (The photo here is not from the film, however.) For four years, a crew got great footage of a young cub’s rise to power. Read more…
1) “America’s Got Talent,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. The live shows finally begin, with 11 acts performing on the next four Tuesdays (with results Wednesday). Today has four music acts (Ashford Sanders, Brook Lynn, Luke Taleno, ComUNITY Choir), comedian Cris Sosa, two magic acts, two dance acts, a dog act and (shown here in an outdoor performance) the Jesse White Tumbling Team. Read more…
1) “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” season-openers, 9 and 9:32 p.m., FX and FXX. The 18th season begins, for the longest-running American sitcom ever. That’s due to short seasons (10 episodes this time) and wildly weird stories. Tonight’s first episode is on the wedding day for Frank (Danny DeVito, shown here at the right in a previous episode).It’s bizarre and sometimes hilarious; the second is fairly funny. Read more…
1) “The Walking Dead: Dead City,” 9 p.m., AMC, rerunning at 10:01. More than other shows, this covers the full range. It’s sometimes gory and brutal, sometimes surprisingly warm and deep. This hour leans toward the latter, with quietly moving moments for Maggie and Luis (Lauren Cohan, shown here, and Raul Castillo). Then the final minutes are sensational. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. This reruns the May 2 episode, with Olivia Rodrigo (shown here at a concert) doubling as host and music guest — something only two other people (Harry Styles and Sabrina Carpenter) did this year. At 23, she’s one of the youngest people to double up; Britney Spears set the record, at 18. Read more…
1) “The Front Page” (1974), 9:45 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. A great, three-day stretch begins for TCM. Natalie Wood and Cary Grant marathons are Friday and Saturday, but first is Jack Lemmon. He links with Walter Matthau (shown here, left) for two terrific comedies, thi one and “The Fortune Cookie”) at 3:30. The tender “The Apartment” is 5:45, with “Some Like It Hot” at 11:45. Read more…
1) “The Americas,” 8 and 9 p.m., NBC. The first rerun (with “fun facts” added) visits the Caribbean, with its 7,000 island; there are compelling views of red crabs marching to sea, across a busy (and lethal) road. The second tells how this series got its great footage, including this view of flamingos in the Andes. Read more…
