1) Football, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC. Most years, the season starts with a focus on HBCU (historically Black college and university) teams. This time, Florida A&M (shown here) — last year’s HBCU champion with a 12-1 record — faces Norfolk State, which was 3-8 last year. Read more…
1) “Great Performances,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. Amid the beauty of an Austrian palace (shown here), Here’s a high-octane concert by the Vienna Philharmonic. Conductor Andris Nelsons opens with Wagner, closes with waltzes and has propulsive numbers in between, led by “Sabre Dance.” Lise Davidsen, who often sings of death and despair, gets a burst of Verdi joy. Read more…
1) Baseball, 7:15 p.m. ET, Fox. While other networks cover the Democratic convention, Fox will go with (varying by region) Braves-Phillies or Astros-Orioles. And at 7 and 9:30 p.m., TruTV has “Field of Dreams” (shown here, 1989), the beautifully written gem that has Kevin Costner build a baseball diamond in his corn field. Read more…
Phil Donahue, who died Sunday at 88, reflected a time when we could find neat surprises in odd parts of the day.
There were entertaining shows – Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas, Dinah Shore, Rosie O’Donnell, Ellen DeGeneres. And there were the two masters who could do it all – Donahue (shown here) and Oprah Winfrey.
And yes, those entwined. As a kid, O’Donnell would rush home from school to watch Griffin; Winfrey has said there would be no “Oprah” show if there wasn’t a “Donahue.”
Those two might talk lightly with stars one day … do family issues the next (Donahue even had on-air DNA tests) … then tackle major issues. Read more…
Blake Edwards had this odd notion. Movies, he felt, should be fun to make and to watch.
That first always seemed true. “He would fall off his chair laughing,” Lesley Ann Warren told the Television Critics Association.
And the second? Audiences loved most of his Pink Panther movies, shrugged at some of his other films, then buzzed about “10” and “Victor/Victoria.” Edwards received an honorary Academy Award, then was semi-forgotten.
Until now. At 8 p.m. Tuesday (Aug. 27), PBS’ “American Masters” offers a jaunty journey through Edwards’ life.
This was a writer/director known for broad comedies like “The Pink Panther” (show here). But his work was different: Read more…
1) “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” 8 p.m., ABC. Last week, Ike Barinholtz established himself as an overall champion. Already the “Celebrity Jeopardy” winner, he linked with his dad (shown here) to win a million dollars for charity on this show. Today’s guests include Jeff Ross and host Jimmy Kimmel’s cousin Sal. Read more…
1) “The Conners,” 8-10 p.m., CW. As the Democratic convention continues, CW – no news division, no responsibilities – offers an alternative, with “Conners” reruns today and Thursday. Together, they provide the final six episodes of 2020: Harris struggles, Darlene changes jobs, Dan and Louise (shown here) get closer. Read more…
1) Convention (shown here in a previous year), 8 p.m. ET, PBS and news networks; 10, ABC, CBS and NBC. Democrats plan to pack presidents into the final (10 p.m.) hour. It will be Biden today; Obama, Tuesday; Clinton, Wednesday. Candidates will be Wednesday (Walz) and Thursday (Harris). Read more…
The Sept. 10 debate – which once seemed iffy – has some specifics now.
ABC today offered these details:
— It will be at the National Constitution Center (shown here) in Philadelphia, at 9 p.m. ET.
— The moderators will be David Muir and Linsey Davis. They’re the anchors of the newscasts of, respectively, ABC and its streaming service, ABC News Live. Read more…
1) “OceanXplorers” debut, 9 p.m., National Geographic. James Cameron takes a big-budget, big-ambition approach to deep-sea exploration. Cameron – the director of “Titanic,” “Terminator” and “Avatar” – has a high-tech ship (shown here), two mini-subs and a helicopter. Over six Sundays, it follows whales, sharks and more Read more…
Best-bets for July 1: TV guns for holiday mood 
Best-bets for June 30: R.J., T and soccer 
Best-bets for June 29: The July 4th build-up begins 
