PBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
Next month, it will have been 25 years since Ken Burns unveiled his massive historical miniseries The Civil War, launching his career, and the TV documentary, to a new level. PBS will honor the occasion by repeating the entire program in newly remastered form – but first, as a preamble and appetizer, PBS presents this scene-setting retrospective, on Burns and company as well as the exceptional miniseries they produced. Check local listings.
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
Today’s “Summer Under the Stars” actor is Rex Ingram, less of a household name than most – but this actor managed to snag many of the rare starring and co-starring roles for African-American actors in the decades before Sidney Poitier became a major star in the 1950s and 1960s. Ingram’s more controversial films are saved for prime time, beginning at 8 p.m. ET with a showing of 1936’s rarely televised The Green Pastures. It’s a retelling of several biblical stories with an all-black cast, and, ostensibly, perspective. What’s it like? Well, Ingram plays several roles here, including Adam (to Myrtle Anderson’s Eve) and the most top-billed character of all, “De Lawd.” (Don’t blame me: That’s what they call God in De Credits.)
Syfy, 9:00 p.m. ET
This show, a sci-fi special-effects makeup version of Project Runway, sometimes hits the same sweet spot that makes Runway still entertaining after all these cycles: You get to see actual creativity in action. Only here, it’s not fashion, but transformation, that is the beating heart – and with tonight’s episode, devoted to bridal outfits of the unearthly kind, Face Off marks episode No. 100.
HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET
SEASON PREMIERE: Every year, Hard Knocks shows up at training camp at a different pro football team. This season, it’s the Houston Texans.
TCM, 10:00 p.m. ET
Talk about range. In The Green Pastures, which TCM shows at 8 p.m. ET, Rex Ingram plays “De Lawd.” In this 1943 all-black musical, Cabin in the Sky, he plays Lucifer Jr. – and this heaven-hell-and-earthbound musical also features Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, and, as the temptress known as “sweet” Georgia Brown, Lena Horne. Lots of music, lots of audacious good vs. evil sparring – and lots of fun.