Month: July 2022

1) “Top Gear,” 10 p.m., BBC America. The British have their own truck-driver shortage now, so the hosts switch gears. Accustomed to zippy little sports cars, they try behemoths. Paddy McGuinness (shown here), a truck-driver’s son, gets a 770- horsepower Scania, with high-tech details. He expects to visit greasy-spoon diners; instead, the truck-stop has sofas and a smiling barista. Despite trouble with accents and phrases, Americans will find this sort of fun Read more…

1) “The Green Planet,” 8 p.m., PBS. If you think you have trouble with a hot dry spell, consider the desert plants; some wait for a decade or longer for rain. Then they zoom into action; time-lapse film catches the stunning stretch when primroses and others briefly turn the desert colorful. This terrific hour with David Attenborough (shown here) shows how plants entwine, sharing their roots; and how cacti and others store water reserves. Read more…

1) “America’s Got Talent” and “Snake in the Grass,” 8 and 10 p.m., NBC. Next Monday, “Snake” (shown here) has its USA Network debut. First, it gets a bigger spotlight on NBC (USA’s corporate partner), behind “Talent,” the summer ratings-leader. “Snake” dumps four people (from “Survivor,” “Naked and Afraid,” etc.) in the wilds for 36 hours. They face challenges, while trying to figure out which one is secretly working against them. Bobby Bones hosts. Read more…

1) “The Great Giveback,” 9 p.m., HGTV. Melissa McCarthy seems to have lots of cousins, all of them taller than her. One is Jenny McCarthy, the actress and ex-Playmate; another is actress Jenna Perusich. Last year on “Celebrity IOU,” Melissa helped do a fix-up that Perusich designed for her dad (a retired Chicago cop) and mom. Now the two cousins (shown here) have their own show; tonight, they create a special room for a kindly pianist. Read more…

1) “Hotel Portofino” season-finale, 8 p.m., PBS. In 1920s Italy, Bella’s gorgeous little hotel caters to her fellow Englishfolk. Problems include a corrupt Fascist official and her scheming husband, who is learning about her far-away love. Now come key questions: Who stole the painting Cecil took from his family’s estate? Will his son Lucian choose the bland socialite or the sweet nanny (shown here)? What happens to Lucian’s closeted friend? There’s a lot here, some of it satisfying. Read more…

1) World Athletic Championships finals, 9-11 p.m., NBC (also, 2-3 p.m. ET). This massive track-and-field event (shown here) assembled more than 1,900 athlete (including 42 who had won individual Olympic gold medals) from 192 countries. It’s mostly been on the USA Network and Peacock, but jumps to NBC on weekends. Now we lead up to Sunday’s finish. Read more…

1) “Blood & Treasure,” 9 p.m., CBS. Three years after the first season aired on CBS, the second one is on Paramount+. Its season-opener debuted there Sunday, but now gets a quick rerun here. “Blood” links a mismatched duo (shown here): He’s a former FBI agent, now recovering antiquities; she’s a former art thief and con person. Their search takes them to descendants of Cleopatra and beyond. Read more…