Year: 2020

1) “Lovecraft Country” debut, 9 p.m., HBO. Some of science-fiction’s favorite names are linked here. J.J. Abrams (“Lost”) and Jordan Peele (the “Twilight Zone” reboot) are among the producers. Like Peele’s “Get Out,” this blends racism with other horror. On a road trip to find his father and his legacy, a black man confronts racists and the sort of monsters envisioned by long-ago author H.P. Lovecraft. Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollett-Bell (shown in this poster) star with Courtney Vance. Read more…

1) “The Godfather” (1972), 5 p.m., AMC. It’s a slow night for TV series, but a great one for movies. Topping the list is Francis Coppola’s richly crafted mobster epic (shown here with Marlon Brando. It’s No. 2 on the American Film Institute’s all-time list, trailing only “Citizen Kane” … and “Godfather, Part II” (1974) – which follows at 9 p.m. – is No. 32, the only sequel on the 100-movie list. Read more…

1) “Greatest #At Home Videos,” 8 p.m., CBS. As CBS tells it, this is the end – wrapping up a four-week run of videos people made at home, often while isolated. Still, we’ll be surprised if there aren’t more. So far, (a previous moment is shown here), there’s been an endless cascade of bits – sometimes funny, usually fun, occasionally warm – involving people and pets and sheer imagination. And host Cedric the Entertainer keeps asking viewers to send more; we hope this keeps going. Read more…

1) Cake” (FXX) or “Tacoma FD” (truTV), both 10 p.m.. Thursday is supposed to be TV’s funniest night, but not this summer. NBC and Fox shelved their Thursday situation comedies; now CBS has cut its Thursday sitcoms in half (from four to two), to make room for “Big Brother.” At 10 p.m., however, there’s quirky fun: “Cake” has short bits, mostly animated and moslty funny. “Tacoma” is a standard sitcom, with occasional laughs. This week is the OK start of a two-parter, as two long-time friends (shown here) have a dispute that peaks at the Fireman’s Ball. Read more…

1) “Agents of SHIELD” series finale, 9 and 10 p.m., ABC. A hugely ambitious effort – seven seasons and 136 episodes, leaping across planets and across time – concludes. Sybil – who got inside the computer system – and Nathanial are close to eliminating SHIELD from ever existing. Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker, shown here in a previous episode), who was killed in one timeline, is back. So are Piper, Davis, Enoch and Flint, in battles to save the world. Read more…