ESPN, 7:00 p.m. ET
This has been quite an exciting, and exhausting, tournament so far – and yesterday’s games, particularly the tough loss by Andy Murray and, later, the intense win by Roger Federer that ended just before midnight, were long, grueling cappers to a wonderful tennis weekend at Flushing Meadows. And while today offers several matches, none is as anticipated as the quarterfinal match, at 7 p.m. ET, between Venus and Serena Williams (seen here at Wimbledon 2015). You know the stakes, and the hype, and the drama. Now watch one of the biggest sibling rivalries in sports history.
PBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
Last week’s installment in this new PBS series profiled Queen Elizabeth II. Tonight’s presents a close-up profile of another type of royalty: Muhammad Ali, one of the biggest global superstars ever. And using his own words, in this case, is sheer poetry – often literally. Check local listings.
PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET
Parts 2 and 3. We’re up to 1862 in this stunningly informative and involving narrative of the Civil War – and the texture of the show, though not the war, changes tonight, as Mathew Brady begins taking military and battlefield photographs. For full stories on this series and fresh interviews with filmmaker Ken Burns, see
Noel Holston’s The Grassy Noel and
my own Bianculli’s Blog. Check local listings.
Destination America, 10:00 p.m. ET
Here’s a new story about 9/11, delivered just days before the anniversary of that tragic event. Just after the second tower collapsed at the World Trade Center, a former Marine Sgt. Thomas joined other rescuers, and extricated two cops buried under the rubble. He kept working at the site for weeks, then vanished – only to surface, 14 years later, to identify himself and tell his story. Here it is – and here he is.
CBS, 11:35 p.m. ET
SERIES PREMIERE: Simply put, this is the most eagerly anticipated, expertly promoted TV premiere of 2015. The opening night guests are George Clooney and Jeb Bush – but it’s Stephen Colbert that viewers will be coming to see, especially to watch the man underneath the former Colbert Report fake-conservative mask. My prediction? He’ll be terrific – and instantly successful.