1) “Islam’s Greatest Stories of Love,” 9 p.m., PBS. Shattered by her father’s death, a Harvard grad student (shown here) visits five epic stories involving her faith. The first three are gorgeously filmed, but are sometimes grim and violent, told in a clumsy, stop-and-start way. The fourth is a passionate story of a sister’s love for a troubled boy who became the towering Malcolm X. Read more…
1) “Peacemaker” season-opener, HBO Max. James Gunn and John Cena are a perfect match. Gunn is the writer-director of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “Superman” and “Peacemaker,” with Cena as a jingoistic superhero (shown here) and/or supervillain. Both men blend action and humor neatly. Now, three-and-a-half years later, the second season finally begins. Read more…
Scattered through the English countryside, it seems, are villages suitable for rest, relaxation and murder mysteries.
Cara Horgan (shown here) can verify that. She grew up in one and now works in another, she’s one of the stars of “The Marlow Murder Club,” which starts its second season at 9 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 24) on PBS.
“These small towns exist all over the UK,” Horgan said by Zoom. “And Marlow is quintessentially British.”
It’s a real town of 14,000 that’s been around for about 10 centuries. T.S. Eliot and Percy Shelley wrote poems there; Mary Shelley wrote “Frankenstein” there and (appropriately) Robert Thorogood is writing his “Marlow Murder Club” novels there. Read more…
1) “Elsbeth,” 10 p.m., CBS. This was one of the best episodes in a smart season: A video installation lets people in Manhattan commune with a tiny town in seaside Scotland. Elsbeth is soon drawn to a handsome Scottish musician (Ioan Gruffudd, who has portrayed Horatio Hornblower, Lancelot and Mr. Fantastic) who — from 3,000 miles away — is a witness. She confers (shown here) by long-distance phone. Read more…
1) “Alien: Earth,” 8 p.m., FX, rerunning at 9:17, 10:34, 11:52. Awesome visually and intense emotionally, this ratchets up the impact. The minds of dying kids were inserted into synthetic bodies; now one synth tries to save her brother, in a crashed ship with creatures. Adult synths loom, for bad (shown here) or good, plus a young genius obsessed with discovery. Read more…
Americans are used to seeing Sanjeev Bhaskar draped in angst and agony.
He plays an earnest cop in “Unforgotten” (shown here) which starts its sixth season at 10 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 24) on PBS. Dealing with years-ago murders, it’s a smart show that feels the pain of friends, family, suspects and cops.
So this is a surprise: Bhaskar is a fun and funny guy. He’s done lots of comedies, met lots of Beatles. He once had the No. 1 song in England … a fact that he apologized for. Also, he married his fictional grandmother.
And he’s definitely surprised to be in a dead-serious show. “I thought, ‘Who’s going to cast me as a detective?'” Bhaskar said by Zoom. “I wouldn’t cast me as a detective.” Read more…
1) “Lego Masters Jr.” debut, 8 p.m., Fox. Kids finally get to play with the toys. After five seasons with grown-ups, there’s a new age group (9-14) and host (Kelly Osbourne, right). For this four-week tournament, each kid duo gets a sorta-celebrity. The talent is huge; so is the hype. After a 10-minute intro, we see likable kids do great work. Read more…
1) “Nautilus” (shown here) season-finale, 9 p.m., AMC, rerunning at 11:07. Two large — and very different — episodes are back-to-back. First, Nemo and friends finally find the treasure land … and big trouble. Then, surprisingly, we get a corporate battle. Both hours strain credibility (especially the second). Still, this tends to be an oddly entertaining romp. Read more…
1) “America’s Got Talent,” 8-10 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. The quarter-finals will sprawl over four Tuesdays, with 11 acts each time. This opener has five music acts (including Tom Sandoval, of “Vanderpump Rules” and Jessica Sanchez, shown here) and three dance acts — B Unique, LightWire and Loco Pop Familia — plus magic, a trapeze duo and comedian Shuler King. Read more…
1) “Match Game,” 8-11 p.m., ABC. This show (shown here), hosted by Martin Short, is getting a big push. It has only had four hours (9 p.m. Wednesdays), but now three of them rerun here. Caroline Rhea and Constance Zimmer repeat as panelists at 8 and 10 p.m.; Triumph the Comedy Insult Dog is at 9. Read more…
Best-bets for June 27: Swayze, spies, soccer 
Best-bets for June 26: fun with Larry & Taylor 
Best-bets for June 25: “Bear” is back; country soars 
