Mike Hughes on TV

1) “Cruel Summer” season-opener, 9 and 10 p.m., Freeform. The first season was a surprise – a teen drama with subtlety and depth. Now the second one has new characters in a new setting, but the same quality. Sadie Stanley (who was Brea, Adam’s girlfriend in “The Goldbergs”) is perfect as a brainy kid in a pleasant town. Then a worldly exchange student (Lexi Underwood of “Little Fires Everywhere,” shown here, left, with Stanley) stirs her quiet world, over two summers and a winter. Read more…

1) “The Lazarus Project” debut, 9 p.m., TNT, rerunning at 10:04. George has a loving girlfriend, a strong business idea, a bright future. Then …well, we won’t spoil it, except to say this is a clever fantasy concept; it works very well in the opener, but does lose oomph after the basics are explained. It’s a British co-production, with Papa Essiedu (shown here) – who received an Emmy nomination as the best friend in “I May Destroy You” – leading a talented cast. Read more…

1) “TLC Forever,” 8-10:33 p.m., Lifetime, rerunning at midnight. Mixing pop, rap and R&B, the TLC trio (shown here) soared. It had nine top-10 hits (four at No. 1) and sold 65 million records. Lifetime made a scripted movie (“Crazysexycool: The TLC Story”) that it’s rerunning at 5:30; now at adds this documentary, in a 12-hour marathon. At 4 p.m., 10:33 p.m. and 2:39 a.m., is a rerun about the relationship of TLC’s Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and football star Andre Rison. Read more…

1) “American Masters,” 9 p.m., PBS. Before Elvis, before other rock stars … even before the phrase “rock ‘n’ roll” was popularized, there was Little Richard (shown here). He dressed like a glam-rocker, screamed in full falsetto, dazzled. Ringo Starr and Keith Richards were teen fans; they’re in this fascinating film. So is Pat Boone, 88, who covered Richard’s “Tutti Frutti,” blissfully unaware of sexual connotations. We sees Richard survive deceit, drugs and bias, emerging with joy. Read more…

1) Basketball finals, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC (with pre-game at 8) and ESPN2. At first, this hinted at a classic rematch: The Lakers and Celtics – each with 17 championships – reached the conference finals. The Lakers, however, were swept by the Denver Nuggets; the Celtics were almost swept by the Miami Heat; they bounced back with three straight wins, but lost the seventh-and-final game. Now the Nuggets (shown here) face the Heat, in the start of a best-of-seven series. Read more…