1) Basketball, 8:30 p.m., ABC. In their combined 107 NBA seasons, the Oklahoma City Thunder (shown here) and Indiana Pacers have had one championship. The Thunder won in 1979 (when they were in Seattle) and have lost three times. This time, they had the top regular-season record, plus 12-4 in the playoffs. Now they host the Pacers, who are in their second finals. Read more…
1) “Sherlock & Daughter,” 9 p.m., CW. Throughout this first season (a good one), Holmes (David Thewlis, shown here) has been limited: The Red Thread group kidnapped his friend Watson and threatens to kill him. Now Holmes has cracked the group’s code; a week from the season-finale, he follows clues all the way to the vaults of the Bank of England. Read more…
1) “The Cleaning Lady,” 8-10 p.m., Fox. This ends the season … and possibly the entire series. If so, it’s a terrific finale, reaching fierce extremes. It starts with Thony in prison (shown here), where Ramona — the raging sister of Thony’s pseudo-husband — wants to kill her. Then things get much worse. It’s a fast-paced and violent end to a strong season (and, maybe, series) Read more…
It’s really not that hard to steal food from a lion during its meal. Simply:
1) Ask a friend to bite the lion’s tail; and
2) While the lion is distracted, take the food.
One other thought: Suggest to the friend that he run very, very fast.
“As far as I know, the lions never get wise to it,” said Dan Rees, one of the producers of “The Underdogs” (shown here), which debuts June 15 on the National Geographic Channel and ABC. “It’s a fairly well-documented behavior.” Read more…
1) “The Quiz With Balls” season-opener, 9 p.m., Fox. Like “Family Feud,” this takes a clever game and adds lots of less-clever hype and noise. This opener is noisier than usual, pitting families from New Jersey and New York. The questions are wildly uneven and the show sometimes fails to show which answers were right, Still, Jay Pharoah (shown here) keeps it fun. Read more…
“Jaws” — the film that changed beach-going (a little) and movie-going (a lot) is about to turn 50.
And yes, TV will celebrate. The movie (shown here) debuted on June 20, 1975; now:
— On June 7, the AMC network will show “Jaws” and its sequel (1978) at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m., repeating them at 7 and 10. The less-regarded “Jaws 3” (1983) will be at 12:30 a.m., with “Jaws the Revenge” (1987) at 2:45.
— At 9 p.m. July 10, the National Geographic Channel debuts “Jaws@50: The Definitive Insider Story.” It’s produced by Amblin, the company run by “Jaws” director Steven Spielberg. He’s in the film; so are actor-screenwriter Carl Gottlieb. composer John Williams and the family of novelist Peter Benchley. Also included are other filmmakers (George Lucas, James Cameron, J.J. Abrams, etc.), plus maritime experts Read more…
1) Cartoons. This summer, Fox has bumped its animation to Thursdays. That leaves a void, which can be filled today by trying “Phineas and Ferb” (shown here, see No. 2) or catching a marathon on Freeform: The gorgeous “Frozen” films are at 12:45 (2013) and 3:15 p.m. (2019), with “Ratatouille” (2007) at 5:25, “Elemental” (2023) at 8:05 and “Up” (2009) at 10:15. Read more…
1) Tony Awards, 5 p.m. PT Sunday, CBS, repeating at 8. Cynthia Erivo hosts a night packed with big-deal musical numbers. We can expect the nominated musicals — five new ones and four revivals, including Audra McDonald’s “Gypsy” and Nicole Scherzinger’s “Sunset Boulevard.” And there will be a 10th-anniversary performance by the origial “Hamilton” cast (shown here). Read more…
1) “Destination X” and “Yes, Chef,” 8 and 9 p.m., NBC. As summer starts, it’s hard to keep up with all the reality shows. Here are second chances: “X” reruns its Tuesday debut; Jeffrey Dean Morgan hosts, with contestants trying to figure out where, in Europe, they are. (The photo here shows next week’s episode.) “Chef” reruns Monday’s hour; at a family-style dinner, chefs assess each other’s work. Read more…
1) “Kiss Me, Kate,” 9 p.m., PBS. After airing two grim, modern musicals, PBS goes the opposite way. Written in 1948, this ripples with great Cole Porter songs– some of them wildly unrelated to the story. (The second act begins with a “Too Darn Hot,” shown here, that’s long, vibrant and totally random.) Adrian Dunbar and Stephanie J. Block are strong leads; the songs — “Too Darn Hot,” “So In Love,” “In My Fashion,” etc. — are delightful. Read more…
Best-bets for June 5: Basketball leads a busy night 
Best-bets for June 4: new hours from CW and Apple 
Best-bets for June 3: a strong finish, maybe forever 
