TV Best Bets

Wednesday, Aug. 12: ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’ Two-Part Series Finale on ABC

ABC/Jessica Brooks

Wednesday, Aug. 12

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: “The End Is at Hand/What We’re Fighting For”
ABC, 9pm
Series Finale!

After seven seasons, the action-packed series concludes tonight with a two-hour finale.

Summer Under the Stars: “Lana Turner”
TCM, beginning at 6am
Catch a Classic!

One of the most glamorous and iconic symbols of Old Hollywood, legendary actress Lana Turner is celebrated in today’s SUTS film lineup. The day begins with one of her earlier roles, when she was still a teenager, in 1938’s Love Finds Andy Hardy. There are also plenty of her more famous roles, including her Best Actress Oscar-nominated turn in the classic 1957 melodrama Peyton Place; her starring role alongside Kirk Douglas in 1952’s The Bad and the Beautiful; and her portrayal of a quintessential movie femme fatale in the 1946 film noir The Postman Always Rings Twice.

NBA Basketball
ESPN, beginning at 6:30pm Live

ESPN’s NBA doubleheader has the Toronto Raptors vs. the Philadelphia 76ers and the L.A. Clippers vs. the Denver Nuggets.

Shark Week 2020
Discovery Channel, beginning at 8pm

Tonight’s premiere Shark Week 2020 specials are: Monsters Under the Bridge, which seeks what may be the largest hammerhead shark on the planet; Adam Devine’s Secret Shark Lair, which seeks out what may be a massive gathering ground for tiger sharks; and Great White Double Trouble, which looks at two populations of great whites that may be part of an increase in shark attacks off Australia.

Married at First Sight: “The Honeymoon Begins”
Lifetime, 8pm

In tonight’s new episode, couples wake up in paradise and start to learn about the person they just married. Some find the path to love natural while others find it difficult to push past their comfort zones. One wife believes her husband may not be ready for marriage — can he convince her that he is?

America’s Got Talent: “Results Show 1”
NBC, 8pm

Five acts from the previous night’s show will move on to the semifinals round of the competition. Viewers will have one last chance to send their favorite performer of the night into the next round by participating in the Dunkin’ Save by using the America’s Got Talent official app or going to nbc.com.

Final 24: “John Belushi”
AXS TV, 9pm

Before his death from a drug overdose in 1982 at age 33, John Belushi had already left a memorable legacy of comedy through his work on Saturday Night Live and in feature films like National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978) and The Blues Brothers (1980). This episode of Final 24 uses dramatizations and archival footage to help detail the final hours of the artist whose passing so young still leaves many wondering what else could have been.

Tough as Nails: “Trash Day”
CBS, 9pm

In the new episode “Trash Day,” two crews each look for an important win in the team competition when tasked with packing a moving van, and competitors look to avoid elimination during the individual competition by collecting and loading trash into a moving garbage truck.

Impact of Hate: Charlottesville
Investigation Discovery, 9pm

When the college town of Charlottesville, Va., decides to remove its Confederate statues, white nationalists and their supporters descend for a series of protests that culminate in the now-infamous “Unite the Right” rally. Concerned citizens protest the influx of hate, including paralegal Heather Heyer. When a man deliberately drives his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, dozens are injured, and Heather is killed. On the third anniversary of her death, this emotionally gripping two-hour special allows viewers to hear directly from the victims about how the hateful actions of that fateful day left collateral damage for a lifetime.

World of Dance: “The World Final”
NBC, 9pm
Season Finale!

In the Season 4 finale, the top four acts take the stage for the last time in the World Final with judges Jennifer Lopez, Derek Hough, Ne-Yo and host Scott Evans. Competing for the title of Best in the World, competitors’ performances will be scored based on their artistry, technique, choreography, creativity and presentation. The top overall scoring act will be crowned this season’s champion and win the grand prize of $1 million.

Paranormal Nightshift
Travel Channel, 10pm
New Series!

Each episode of this series recounts three terrifying stories of paranormal experiences encountered by people working the night shift. In the series premiere episode, a radio host’s dream job is threatened by the presence of two terrifying entities; a restaurant owner is confronted by the spirit of a lovelorn woman on Valentine’s Day; and ghostly footsteps and disembodied voices haunt an empty bowling alley at night.

Thursday, Aug. 13

Summer Under the Stars: “John Barrymore”
TCM, beginning at 6am
Catch a Classic!

It’s interesting that TCM has not, to this point, given this noted member of the famed Barrymore acting family his own Summer Under the Stars day, but that changes today. The lineup features a few Barrymore classics from the silent era, including Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), Don Juan (1926) and When a Man Loves (1927), as well as beloved “talkies” like Grand Hotel (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), the network premiere of Night Club Scandal (1937) and one of Barrymore’s last films, The Great Man Votes (1939).

Major League Baseball: St. Louis vs. Chicago White Sox
FOX, 7pm Live

“If you build it, he will come.” The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox play in the MLB Field of Dreams Game in Dyersville, Iowa, adjacent to where the movie Field of Dreams was filmed.

Shark Week 2020
Discovery Channel, beginning at 8pm

Tonight’s Shark Week 2020 lineup kicks off with Air Jaws 2020, a celebration of 20 years of specials about high-flying great whites. Following that is Sharkadelic Summer, in which Snoop Dogg helps learn why great whites are taking up residence along the shores of the United States; and Mako Nation, which follows researchers in their quest to learn more about mako sharks.

The Song — Recorded Live @TGL Farms: “Rome Ramirez and Dirty Heads — ‘Lay Me Down’”
AXS TV, 8:30pm

Sublime With Rome frontman Rome Ramirez and reggae group Dirty Heads blaze through a rendition of their 2010 No. 1 hit “Lay Me Down” before performing acoustic versions of “Light On” and “Santeria.”

Don’t: “Don’t Quit Your Day Job”
ABC, 9pm
Season Finale!

Don’t miss Graham, Nathan, Leita and Reagan doing their best to win $100,000 by competing in a series of challenges — “Don’t Embarrass Yourself,” “Don’t Make Me Turn This Car Around,” “Don’t Play With Matches,” “Don’t Drink” and “Don’t Look Back” — on this season finale.

The Real Housewives of New York City: “Hitting All the Wrong Cenotes”
Bravo, 9pm

On day three in Mexico, the ladies tread carefully at breakfast when Dorinda snaps at Sonja and Leah. Luann and Leah pick up two single men while on a stroll down the beach and bring them back to the villa. While Dorinda stays in bed, the ladies enjoy a fancy dinner with their new male friends.

Mountain Men: “The Big Reckoning”
History, 9pm
Season Finale!

On the hunt for gold, Josh hits the jackpot; Tom puts his handmade dugout canoe to the test; Jake makes his last stand against a massive predator; Eustace sees his dream of keeping his new land go up in flames; and Kidd and Harry fulfill a lifelong ambition to secure their future in the mountains.

Friday, Aug. 14

The Great Heist
Netflix
New Series!

Inspired by true events, this series (also known as El robo del siglo) follows the assault on Colombia’s Bank of the Republic that was perpetrated in 1994. Dubbed the “robbery of the century,” the heist saw a band of thieves making off with $33 million in U.S. dollars and turning the country upside down.

Project Power
Netflix
Original Film!

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jamie Foxx headline this sci-fi thriller. When a pill that gives its users unpredictable superpowers for five minutes hits the streets of New Orleans, a teenage dealer and a local cop must team with an ex-soldier to take down the group responsible for its creation. Machine Gun Kelly and Courtney B. Vance also star.

Summer Under the Stars: “Steve McQueen”
TCM, beginning at 6am
Catch a Classic!

A lasting symbol of Hollywood cool, Steve McQueen exuded that charisma seemingly effortlessly in his films, many of which are featured today. Included in this SUTS lineup are The Sand Pebbles (1966), the war film featuring McQueen in a Best Actor Oscar-nominated performance; another classic war drama, 1963’s The Great Escape; the influential action classic Bullitt (1968), with its iconic chase scene; the 1968 crime film The Thomas Crown Affair; the true-life prison drama Papillon (1973); and plenty more.

Shark Week 2020
Discovery Channel, beginning at 8pm

Shark Week 2020 continues tonight with Alien Sharks: First Contact, about mysterious and bizarre sharks that live in the depths; Lair of the Great White, in which experts try to learn why one population of great whites off of western Australia is particularly aggressive; Tiger Shark King, a search for what as-yet-unknown beast was captured on film assaulting a massive tiger shark in the Caribbean; and I Was Prey, in which survivors recount their shark attack experiences.

Martha Knows Best: “Paths”
HGTV, 10pm

Trusted lifestyle expert Martha Stewart invites viewers to follow along as she completes a variety of beautiful outdoor projects at her Bedford, N.Y., farm. Tonight, Martha Stewart builds a stone pathway that leads to her peacocks, getting help from the foreman of her outdoor grounds crew. Actress Lupita Nyong’o calls Martha for advice on how to arrange fresh flowers and what flowers are good for beginner gardeners.