1) ESPYs, 8-11 p.m. ABC, The sports awards show is hosted byr Serena Williams (shown here), who has twice been female athlete of the year. Special awards are for Dawn Staley (coach of the undefeated South Carolina basketball champs), Steve Gleason (ex-football pro, helping others who have ALS) and Prince Harry (creator of Invictus Games for disabled veterans). Read more…
1) “Claim to Fame” season-opener, 9 p.m., ABC. This fun show has players guessing about family links. In the first two seasons, we’ve met the daughter of Eddie Murphy and (shown here) the son of Donny Osmond; we’ve seen grandchildren of Jimmy Carter and Whoopi Goldbrg and the identical twin of Laverne Cox. Kevin Jonas hosts with his less-famous brother, Franklin. Read more…
1) “Family Feud: Decades of Laughs,” 8 p.m., ABC. It’s been five decades, almost. “Feud” did daytime for eight years on ABC and five on CBS, was gone for a while, then did syndication and prime time. From Richard Dawson to Steve Harvey (shown here), it’s had sharp hosts and a clever concept. This hour offers some of its funnier moments. Read more…
1) “The Bachelorette” opener, 8-10 p.m., ABC. A big week for ABC — with four season-openers and two specials –starts with Jenn Tran (shown here), the first Asian-American star of a “Bachelor” show. She’s 26 and near a Master’s Degree in clinical medical studies. She’ll meet 25 men, ranging from a med student to guys who focus on wine and pet portraits.
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1) Sharks (shown here), Discovery. The 37th annual “Shark Week” begins, with reruns during the day and new hours (21 of them) at night, hosted by John Cena. . The first two are in New Zealand — a 29-foot fake whale stirs a feeding frenzy (8 p.m.), a 60-foot real one battles a shark (9).Others, in California and Australia, are at 10 and 11. Read more…
1) “Celebrity Family Feud,” 8-11 p.m., ABC. This fun show is scooting in to save ABC’s summer. A special, viewing some of the funnier moments from 48 years of “Feud,” will be 8 p.m. Tuesday, with the season-opener at 9. First, here are three reruns; contestants include the casts of “Yellowjackets” (shown here) and “Drag Me to Dinner.” Read more…
1) “Snowpiercer” marathon, noon to 9:15 p.m. AMC. A train keeps circling the frozen Earth. Inside (shown here) are survivors – the only ones, perhaps – of the eco-disaster; also inside are class-struggles and a murder probe. That’s the set-up for a richly crafted series that TNT ran for three seasons, then abandoned. AMC which starts the fourth and final one July 21, shows us the start. Read more…
1) “A Capitol Fourth,” 8 p.m., PBS; repeats, 9:30-11. Each year, this offers a zesty blend of music, followed by fireworks (shown here). This time, the music is from Motown great Smokey Robinson and Broadway’s Fantasi aand, Darren Criss, p;lus Loren Allred, Chloe Flower, Sheila E, Sister Sledge and Fitz & Noelle fom Fitz and the Tantrums. Read more…
1) “Hope in the Water,” 9 p.m., PBS. At an Asian market, we’re told, you might find 35 kinds of fish. Most Americans, however, focus on three – tuna, salmon and shrimp; others are caught here and exported. This hour views ways to stir interest in the others. Shailene Woodley (shown here), the “Divergent” star, sees people turn sea urchins into a delicacy. Read more…
1) “Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution” finale, 9 p.m., PBS. This starts in the late ‘70s, at a dsco peak (shown here); 200 radio stations had switched to disco, which had half the spots on the Billboard charts. “They oversaturated,” says music writer Vince Aletti. Then came “a lot of garbage, cash-grab music,” says singer Ana Matronic, alongside a nasty, anti-disco rage. Read more…
