Weekly Previews

1) “America’s Got Talent” opener, 8-10 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. This is the week NBC tries to dominate the summer. The key is “AGT,” the perpetual ratings champ. Simon Cowell and Howie Mandell remain, but Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough replace Heidi Klum and Mel B; also, Terry Crews replaces Tyra Banks as host. (The newcomers are shown here.) And there’s a companion show: “Songland” debuts at 10, with four writers pitching to producers (including Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic), who choose one for their guest star. Read more…

1) “The Voice” finale, 9-11 p.m. today and Tuesday, NBC. For a while, Blake Shelton’s dominance was slipping. In 13 editions, he had six champions and seven runners-up; then Kelly Clarkson won two straight. Not to worry; Shelton now has three of the four finalists — Gythy Rigdon, Dexter Roberts and Andrew Sevener; John Legend has the fourth, Maelyn Jarmon. (She’s shown here with, from left, Sevener, Rigdon and Roberts.) Tonight, each does three songs; on Tuesday, one will be the winner. Read more…

1) “Game of Thrones” finale, 9-10:20 p.m. Sunday, HBO, rerunning at 11:30 p.m. and 2 a.m. In a week filled with big-deal finales, this is the biggest. Over eight seasons and 73 episodes, “Game of Thrones” has told a massive story. It’s had dragons, armies, nudity, incest and more. Rulers have been toppled; key people – some good, some not – have been killed. To prepare us, HBO reruns the previous episode often, including 7:35 p.m. today, 11:05 p.m. Thursday,11:50 p.m. Saturday and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Read more…

1) “Modern Family” season finale, 9 p.m. Wednesday, ABC. In a week stuffed with finales, this may be the big one: It wraps up the second-to-last season of a show that won the best-comedy Emmy in each of its first five seasons. (One year, everyone playing an adult was nominated, landing four of the five spots for supporting actor.) It’s almost time for Haley and Dylan (shown here in a previous episode) to have their twins; that spurs people to recall their recent birthdays. Read more…

1) “The Red Line” opener, 8 and 9 p.m. Sunday, CBS. For years, CBS has remained No. 1 by playing it safe — dependable dramas with an ending (happy, usually) for each hour, Now comes a bold risk, a story spread over eight hours on four Sundays. We see a tragic mistake and its tangled impact. There are flaws here: The incident is too clear-cut; a key admission (late in the first hour) is unmotivated. Still, this is beautifully done; in the second hour, Noah Wylie (shown here) delivers some deeply moving moments. Read more…

1) “Motown 60,” 8-10 p.m. Sunday, CBS. It was 60 years (and three months) ago that Berry Gordy borrowed $800 and created Motown Records. It soared; one week, it had eight songs in the top 10. Some of the stars – Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Martha Reeves, Thelma Houston, Smokey Robinson (shown here with Pentatonix) will perform and others (Mary Wilson, songwriters) will offer memories. Also performing: Tori Kelly, John Legend, Meghan Trainor, Fantasia, Ne-Yo, Ciara, more. Read more…

1) “Fosse/Verdon” debut, 10 p.m. Tuesday, FX. For Broadway, this was the perfect fit. Bob Read more…

1) “Abby’s” debut, 9:30 p.m. Thursday, NBC. A quarter-century after “Cheers” closed its doors, NBC has a new Thursday bar. It’s outdoors and probably illegal. Its proprietor (Natalie Morales) is a foot shorter than her best customer (Neil Flynn) or her worst obstacle (Neil Franklin), but she’s an ex-Marine and people obey her.
Be warned that many critics dislike “Abby’s”; we disagree and find two of the barflies (played by Jessica Chaffin and the massive Leonard Ouzts) hilarious. See what you think. Read more…