1) Olympics final week. This is when track-and-field (shown here in a previous year) — the original core of any Olympics – starts piling up medals. There are finals live at 1:30 p.m. ET today, 1:35 Tuesday, 1 Wednesday, 11:35 Thursday, 1:30 Friday and 10 Saturday, Others include swimming, diving and more, with a recap each day, 8-11 p.m. Read more…
1) Olympics: gymnastics team finals, NBC. This sport (shown here) reaches gold-medal peaks early – then re-sets and goes again. First are the team finals. You can catch them live – men starting at 8:30 a.m. ET today, women at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday — or wait for the recap, 8-11 p.m. nightly. Starting Wednesday, the individual medals begin. Read more…
1) Olympics begin, Saturday and Sunday. In a bold change, every event will be shown live (via NBC, USA, Peacock, etc.), despite a difference of six hours ET, nine PT. NBC also repackages the day, from 8-11 p.m. Track and field wait until Aug. 1, but others start now, including gymnastics, basketball and medals in swimming (shown here) and diving. Read more…
1) “Big Brother” opener, 9 p.m. Wednesday, CBS. This began in 2000 with a high-tech, futuristic notion: Strangers shared a house filled with cameras; the world could peek in at any time. Now life is even higher-tech and this edition is being dubbed “BB:AI.” Julie Chen Moonves (shown here) hosts, as always, with new hours also at 9 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays. Read more…
1) “The Bachelorette” opener, 8-10 p.m. today, ABC. A big, busy week for ABC starts with the first Asian-American as a “Bachelor” show’s star. Jenn Tran (shown here) is the daughter of Vietnam immigrants, she’s 26 and near her 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. Read more…
1) “A Capitol Fourth,” 8 p.m. Thursday, PBS; repeats, 9:30-11. Each year, a vibrant concert closes with fireworks (shown here). This time, the show has Motown great Smokey Robinson and Broadway’s Fantasia, Darren Criss and the “Heart of Rock and Roll” cast. Also: Loren Allred, Chloe Flower, Sheila E and – after PBS’ disco series – ‘70s stars Sister Sledge. Read more…
1) CMA Fest,” 8-11 p.m. Tuesday,. ABC. An annual summer highlight,, this is culled from four nights of Nashville concetss. Jelly Roll and Ashley McBryde host, with music from Lainey Wilson (shown here), Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Kelsea Ballerini, Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett, Clint Black, Carly Pearce, Cody Johnson, Post Malone, Big & Rich and more. Read more…
1) Orphan Black: Echo,” 10 p.m. Sunday, AMC and BBC America. The 9-minute opeing is an intense, two-person drama. One woman (Krysten Ritter) doen’t know who she is; the other (the always-great Keeley Hawes) is reluctant to tell her. Then this sequel series becomes a brisk adventure, with Ritter (shown here) running from and toward unknown forces. Read more…
1) Tony Awards, 8-11 p.m. Sunday, CBS. In the midst of last year’s writers’ strike, Ariana DeBose hosted a vibrant (and scriptless) ceremony, rippling with music. Now she’s back and has a script. We can expect large-scale numbers from the five best-musical nominees (led by Alicia Keys’ “Hell’s Kitchen,” shown here, with 13 nominations), four best-musical-revival nominees and more. Read more…
1) Basketball and hockey finals, ABC. This month, ABC turns into Sports Central, with the best-of-seven finals for two pro sports. Basketball — including the Celtics, show here — starts Thursday; hockey’s Stanley Cup finals start Saturday. Other basketball games are Sunday, then June 12, 14 and (if needed) 17, 20 and 23. Hockey continues on June 10, 13, 15 and (if needed) 18, 21 and 24. Most start at 8:30 p.m. ET, with Sundays at 8. Read more…
