If you get tired of a summer of reruns and reality shows, don’t fret.
Two networks have beefed up their late-summer plans for new, scripted episodes. PBS will start “Grantchester” on July 10, with a second season of “Guilt” on Aug. 28; CW has an Australian comedy (“Bump) and two Italian dramas – “Leonardo”(shown here) and “Devils” – that include British or American stars. Read more…
1) MTV Movie & TV Awards, 8 p.m., MTV, plus CW, BET, VH1, Comedy Central, Pop, TV Land, more. As the summer movie scene heats up (and the “Top Gun” sequel makes a kajillion dollars), we honor recent hits. “Spiderman: No Way Home” (shown here) leads with seven nominations, including best movie, facing “”Dune,” “Scream,” “The Batman,” “The Adam Project” and “Shang-Chi.” “Euphoria” has six, including best TV show, facing “Loki,” “Squid Game,” “Ted Lasso,” “Yellowstone” and “Inventing Anna.” Vanessa Hudgens hosts; MTV has a follow-up at 10 . Read more…
There are life lessons we can learn from the stars of upcoming Lifetime movies:
1) It’s surprisingly easy to squeeze a guy inside a dog crate. However, it’s difficult to hoist a suitcase over a wall, it there’s a body inside.
2) The effects of a gory day can be cleansed easily. “Shaving cream gets out fake blood,” Candice King (shown here) said, adding in jest: “And tequila at night.”
There are also some more-important things, involving diversity. We’ll get to them in a moment. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. It was a hectic stretch for John Mulaney: He went into a drug-rehab program in September of 2020 … hosted “SNL” on Halloween (shown here) …then relapsed. Friends – many from “SNL” – had an intervention and he returned to rehab in December. Here’s a rerun of the show he hosted 14 months later, with LCD Soundsystem as music guest. And yes, Mulaney managed to turn that intervention into a long and funny monolog. Read more…
There are two key things to know about Dr. Adam Kay (the fictional version).
First, he says “I’m sorry” a lot. Second, he has good reason to.
And there are many things to know about former-doctor Adam Kay (the real one), starting with this: He’s a brilliant writer, one who can toss off funny asides, while building a deeply moving moment.
Now the two combine for “This Is Going to Hurt,” a terrific series streaming on AMC+. We meet a character – sharply written by Kay, perfectly played by Ben Whishaw (shown here) – a lot like the real Kay. Read more…
1) Tony Awards, 8-11 p.m. Sunday, CBS. For the first time in three years, here’s a full-scale Tonycast. Ariana DeBose (the “West Side Story” Oscar-winner) hosts and we can expect numbers from the nominated musicals – six new and three revivals. Even if you’ll never reach Broadway, you may like the music of Michael Jackson (“MJ”), Bob Dylan (“Girl From the North Country”) or Stephen Sondheim (“Company”). Or the performances of Billy Crystal (“Mr. Saturday Night”) or Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster (“Music Man,” shown here). Or “A Strange Loop” or “Six” or more. Read more…
1) “American Masters: Joe Papp in Five Acts,” 9 p.m., PBS. Papp had an audacious plan, bringing free Shakespeare to New York’s parks. He fought the city’s parks chief, won and built a permanent Central Park theater. (He’s shown here during construction.). Then he added indoor shows, launching “Hair,” “A Chorus Line,” “A Normal Heart,” “For Colored Girls (etc.)” and more. This “new” film (which reached film festivals a decade ago) offers a fascinating view of a strong public figure who kept much of his life – including four marriages and a hard-scrabble childhood – semi-hidden. Read more…
The final pieces of the summer-TV picture are set:
CBS’ “Big Brother” (shown here) and “The Challenge: USA” will fill prime time on July 6. They’ll continue to be back-to-back on Wednesdays, while “Big Brother” also sprawls to Thursdays and Sundays. Read more…
1) Basketball finals, 9 p.m. ET, ABC. For the next couple weeks, the pros will dominate ABC and beyond. That starts with the Golden State Warriors (shown here) hosting the Boston Celtics. It happens again Sunday, then moves to Boston on June 8 and 10. The other games, if necessary, are June 13, 16 and 19. Games are at 9 p.m. ET (except 8 p.m. Sundays). The preceding hour (today, that’s 8 and 8:30 pm.) has a Jimmy Kimmel special and a pre-game show. Read more…
1) “Abbott Elementary,” 9 p.m., ABC. At a time when most new shows stumble, this has been an exception. It arrived at mid-season, with just 13 episodes and a little-known star; praise (and solid ratings) followed. Now “Abbott” has been promoted to the central spot in the comedy line-up (nudging “Conners” to 8 p.m.) this summer and next fall. Here’s the pilot film, written by Quinta Brunson (shown here); she plays a new elementary teacher, with earnest colleagues and a clueless principal. Read more…
Best-bets for July 11: a Messi moment for Cup 
Best-bets for July 10: perspectives on “BB,” JFK 
Best-bets for July 9: It’s the summer’s busiest night 
