CBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
Last week, Sheldon and Amy got back together as boyfriend and girlfriend. This week, CBS promos aren’t exactly being subtle about what to expect from their romantic reconciliation. To quote: “It’s the Big Bang you’ve been waiting for!” Something else I’ve been waiting for, in addition to the chance to dangle my participle, is another appearance by Bob Newhart as Sheldon’s spirit guide, former TV host Professor Proton. Newhart plays this character so well that even though Professor Proton is dead, he still kills.
Bravo, 8:00 p.m. ET
The guest this time is Steve Carell. And while there’s no reason to believe he’ll bring along and read the review he got from an early, especially vicious critic, as he did once at a Television Critics Association Awards appearance, I hope he does – because it’s a riot. But this installment of Inside the Actors Studio should be fascinating, because Carell’s journey, from early TV comedy to recent film drama, is indeed an unusual one.
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
Once again, Leonard Maltin – the perfect host for a Disney tribute, since he literally wrote the book on Disney – presides over a TCM night of Treasures from the Disney Vault. The evening begins at 8 pm. So Dear to My Heart, starring Burl Ives as a kindly uncle helping a young farm boy (Bobby Driscoll) care for a black lamb. Also on the roster tonight: 1961’s Babes in Toyland, starring Annette Funicello (pictured), at 10 p.m. ET, and others.
BBC America, 9:00 p.m. ET
Once an imported British limited series, Luther, starring Idris Elba, returns as a one-night telemovie special. Elba’s London DCI John Luther is as intense as ever – maybe more so, now that his nemesis and love, Alice Morgan (played by the equally brilliant Ruth Wilson, now of Showtime’s The Affair), no longer is around. But he can smile… on occasion. For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.
ABC, 10:00 p.m. ET
For this year’s Most Fascinating People, one of her guests is Amy Schumer (pictured). Another is Bernie Sanders. And that leaves eight….