1) Olympics. There are medals today in swimming (2:15 p.m. ET, NBC) and individual gymnastics. Team events for the U.S. include women’s beach volleyball, 9 a.m., NBC; and men’s basketball (shown here in the opening win over Serbia), 1 p.m., USA. Also, triathlon on NBC; archery, women’s BMX, more on USA. Then it’s all repackaged, from 8-11 p.m. on NBC. Read more…
Right now, good scripted shows are hard to find.
Sure, it’s fun to have Olympics and game shows and such, but we still need good stories to slip into. “Signora Volpe” (shown here) has returned, just in time.
For its second season, the show has three movie-length tales. They debut on Mondays (starting July 29) at 6 p.m. on BBC America and on the Acorn streaming service … providing a clear upgrade. Read more…
1) Olympics: women’s gymnastics (shown here) team finals, NBC. One of the peak points in the Olympics comes early. The team title always brings a stir. (Remember 1996, with a hobbled Kerri Strug sticking her landing in a narrow U.S. win?) You can catch it live at 12:15 p.m. ET or as part of the nightly wrap-up, from 8-11. Then things re-start, with all the individual events.
Read more…
1) Olympics: men’s team gymnastics, NBC. Unlike other events, gymnastics starts fast, hands out team medals, then starts all over.. The team finals are today for men (shown here) and Tuesday for women; individuals medals start Wednesday, You can catch this live – 11:30 a.m. ET today, 12:15 p.m. Tuesday – or wait for the evening wrap-ups, from 8-11 p.m. Read more…
One of the summer’s underappreciated gems will begin streaming soon.
“The Fall Guy” (shown here) is one of the rare movies that has it all – action, humor, a clever plot and the sort of romance that crackles with sharp dialog. It’s drew moderately favorable reviews and made $177 million worldwide … not nearly enough for a film that reportedly cost close to $150 million.
Now it gets a second chance to draw attention, reaching Peacock on Aug. 30. Read more…
(One final note to this story, which was written after the first hour: The opening ceremony ran four hours, with moments of magnificence. Two of the greatest came late, involving solo singers: Juliette Armanet gave a softly moving performance of “Imagine,” emphasizing John Lennon’s eternal lyrics. And, for the finale, Celine Dion — long sidelined by illness — with a powerhouse French anthem. Don’t miss those. Now the original story.)
Yes, you’ll want to see the Olympic opening ceremony tonight.
You’ll quickly see Gaga, dancers on scaffolding, ladies on sway poles and young lovers trashing a gorgeous library. And that’s in the first hour.
The telecast is from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 or so today (Friday, July 26) on NBC and Peacock. And it’s actually the second time through.
It started live at 1:30 p.m. ET (which was 7:30 in Paris) and will rerun – with an “enhanced” edition – in prime time. By watching the afternoon version, I can promise you’ll see: Read more…
It seemed like one of those weird Hollywood mismatches.
Blake Edwards was a writer-director, fresh from movies with big, goofy sight gags. Julie Andrews was a singer-actress, fresh from mega-musicals.
He was Hollywood; she was London and Broadway. They were miles apart … and then, after their marriage in 1969, constantly together, sometimes making fluff and other times creating serious comedy/dramas like “Victor/Victoria” (shown here), which is the centerpiece of an Aug. 4 cable marathon..
“Seeing the shift in her career, when Blake … urged her to take on very different roles, I found was fascinating,” said producer Michael Kantor. And now, by coincidence, each gets a separate focus in August: Read more…
1) Olympics. The first weekend concludes with medals today in swimming, skateboarding (shown here) and more, plus early rounds in everything from basketball and soccer to volleyball (indoor and outdoor) and gymnastics. During the day, everything’s live on NBC, USA, CNBC, Peacock and beyond. Then NBC repackages the day, from 8-11 p.m. Read more…
Cedric the Entertainer will turn into Cedric the journalist, for a CBS special.
He’ll offer a personal perspective on the unrest (shown here) in Ferguson, Mo. That will air at 10 p.m. Aug. 9, the 10th anniversary of a shooting that spurred national debate. 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…
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 
