FRIDAY
JULY 6
2018

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Netflix, 3:00 a.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: The first season of Anne with an E, a new extended examination of the Anne of Green Gables series of novels, was a delight – in no small part because of the effervescent yet touching quality of its young leading lady, Amybeth McNulty. Amybeth is back for Season 2 – picking up exactly where last season left off.

 
  
 
 

Netflix, 3:00 a.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: A whole new batch of episodes are dropped today by Netflix – but rush right to the final one in this new series, because it’s a tiny little treasure. Host Jerry Seinfeld goes to Las Vegas and visits, drives around and eats breakfast with Jerry Lewis, in that other iconic comedian’s final screen appearance before he died. Lewis is frail, and less than verbose, but it’s sweet as well as somewhat funny to watch Seinfeld try, try and keep trying to pull stories and insights out of Lewis, who mostly smiles and nods. (Best of all is the post-credits outtake, which has Lewis being so responsive for so long that Seinfeld just laughs.) Oh, and check out which vintage sports car Seinfeld uses to chauffeur Lewis around – it’s the same model, and even the same color, Lewis owned in his superstar heyday.

 
  
 
 

Netflix, 3:00 a.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: There are two TV shows right now that make me feel really good, and a little calmer and happier, after watching them, and they’re both on TV tonight. One is The Great British Baking Show on PBS, and the other is this travel and food show, hosted by Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal. The opener to this new season of visits to wonderful places and restaurants is “Italy” (pictured), where Rosenthal spends the first half in Venice, and most of the second half in Modena. Then jump to the Season 2 closer, which returns Phil to New York, and makes room for some very sweet time with Elaine May (what an unexpected joy, seeing her on camera sharing laughs and ice cream!) and a closing moment in Central Park that’s a true love letter to the city. And back in Venice? Except for the gondola, I’d want to retrace Phil’s steps exactly.

 
  
 
 

Fox Sports 1, 10:00 a.m. ET

It’s quite possible the 2018 World Cup will end up with the reputation as the most exciting and unpredictable in history. Today begins the quarterfinal round, and Fox Sports 1 presents both of today’s games. First up, at 10 a.m. ET: Uruguay vs. France. Both teams are coming off amazing games – France beating Argentina, and Uruguay outlasting Portugal. Then, at 2 p.m. ET, comes Brazil vs. Begium. Brazil showed the flair and strength to beat Mexico in its most recent game, while Belgium, astoundingly, came from two goals down to beat Japan 3-2. This game has the flavor of a World Cup final, and we’re only in the quarters.

 
  
 
 

Syfy, 9:00 p.m. ET

SERIES FINALE: The final time-traveling trips on this series have been all over the place, thematically and dramatically as well as in time and place. Basically, death scenes on 12 Monkeys now mean about as much as they do on Westworld, and have the same effect of diluting the overall emotional impact. But however the narrative on this series ends, it ends tonight – and unlike in previous installments, there are no instant reboots.

 
  
 
 

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

Tonight’s episode is all about “Desserts.” How sweet. Check local listings.

 
  
 
 

CNN, 9:00 p.m. ET

Yesterday, I noted that I would selfishly be pointing out CNN’s reruns of the TV-centirc episodes of its various documentary series about specific decades – selfishly, because I appear in them. Tonight at 9 p.m. ET: the TV episode from The Eighties, which includes the massively viewed finale of M*A*S*H.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.