1) Olympics opening ceremony, NBC. With a six-hour time difference, NBC will air this twice – live at 1:30 p.m.. ET (with a preview at noon) and again at 7:30. Mike Tirico, Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning will anchor, as the Seine River (shown here) has a parade of athletes. There are 10,500 of them from 206 countries, including 592 from the U.S. Read more…
1) “Ghosts,” 8:30 p.m., CBS. Freddie, the new assistant, has been way too eager. Now he feels the place has ghosts — it does, but (shown here) he can’t see them — and he buys ghostbusting gear. Also, he sells the car that is the only home of Sasappis’ girlfriend. Read more…
1) “Time Bandits” opener, Apple TV+. Kevin is a likable Sheldon-esque lad. He recites fun facts and is ignored by everyone, including his family. Then time-trekking outlaws arrive. Adapted from a 1981 film, this gets a great boost from the creators of “What We Do in the Shadows” and from Lisa Kudrow (shown here, center, next to Kevin) as the bandits’ sorta-leader. Read more…
1) “America’s Got Talent” (shown here), 8-10 p.m., NBC. It’s a turning point for the season, wrapping up eight weeks of auditions. After tonight, the show takes a two-week Olympic break before switching to its live episodes, with viewers voting. There will be five semi-finals (Tuesdays and Wednesdays), setting up the Sept. 18 finale. Read more…
1) “61st Street” season-opener, 9 p.m., CW. AMC filmed two seasons of this deeply layered story, with Courtney B. Vance (above) as a Chicago lawyer – but only aired the first one. More than two years later, we see the second on a different network. It’s tough, with a brutal assault and emphasis on the attacker, propelling the lawyer down a lonely road. Read more…
1) “D.I. Ray’ season-finale,, 10 p.m., PBS. Slowly and solemnly, this season has unfolded two stories. Ray (Parminder Nagra, shown here, best-known for “ER”) has probed a murder involving two crime families, plus an internal story, involving a police conspiracy. Now both end solidly. Read more…
1) “Mammals,” 8-9:23 p.m., BBC America. In Chile, sea lions stroll a marina, snacking from fish merchants. In Singapore, otters cavort in pools; in Zimbabwe, elephants walk the streets at night. These are pleasant portraits of the “new wild,” adding humans. But there are also nasty moments – dogs confront the seals (shown here), farmers drain hippos’ water holes. Read more…
1) “Lady in the Lake” opener, Apple TV+. In a 30-year career, Natalie Portman (shown hwew) has ranged from epic (three “Star Wars” films, three “Thor: ones) to artful (an Oscar for “Black Swan” and two more nominations). But except for brief visits, she’s skipped TV. Now, at 43, she stars in this seven-parter, as a housewife-turned-journalist, probing a murder. Read more…
1) Republican convention. The four-day event (shown here iin a prevous year) concludes, as always, with the acceptance speech by the presidential nominee, followed by balloons and commotion. That’s expected to be at 10 p.m., when ABC and CBS join the coverage (and when Fox stations can use the Fox News Channel feed). NBC starts at 9 p.m., PBS at 8, news channels even earlier. Read more…
1) “Big Brother” opener, 9 p.m., CBS. When “BB” (shown here in a previous year) began, strangers were in what seemed like a high-tech house, filled with cameras. But technology has expanded since then; ths edition is billed as “BB:AI.” Julie Chen Moonves hosts, episodes are also at 9 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays. Read more…
