Seven Days of Television: June 16 to June 22
A select viewing guide to the next seven days of television
MONDAY JUNE 16 Antiques Roadshow (PBS, 8 p.m.) Why suffer through another summer of repeats and reality fare when there are fresh episodes of PBS’s genteel scavenger hunt? Still going strong in its 18th season, the show’s no-frills format still features people bringing in their cherished items and objets d’art for appraisal by the experts. Tonight’s new outing takes host Mark Walberg and the Roadshow team to Providence, Rhode Island, where the precious offerings include a mint color monotype by American post-Impressionist artist Maurice Brazil Prendergast – valued at upwards of $250,000. So what’s in your attic?
TUESDAY JUNE 17 I Wanna Marry Harry (Fox, 9 p.m.) Television doesn’t get much more duplicitous than this new reality series. Launched last month, the unscripted show’s format transports a dozen young American women to a sumptuous estate in the English countryside. Upon arrival, they meet a bloke they believe to be Prince Harry (but is really a working-class stiff named Matthew Hicks). Much jostling for his affections ensues with the watch-factor stemming from the single ladies desperately competing to curry favour with the (fake) heir to the British throne. You just can’t fake this level of gullibility, friends.
WEDNESDAY JUNE 18 Dance Moms (Slice, 9 p.m.) If most reality shows qualify as guilty pleasures, this series could very well be the guiltiest. Back tonight for its fourth season, the premise takes viewers behind the scenes at Pittsburgh’s Abby Lee Dance Company, where owner and lead coach Abby Lee Miller rules over her young charges with an iron tap shoe. As in seasons past, most of Miller’s hoofers are young girls 12 and under, which invariably leads to a screaming match between Abby and a high-strung stage mom in every episode. Sparks fly in tonight's new episode when Abby announces she will be holding open auditions for new dancers – and that nobody’s position on the current competition squad is safe.
THURSDAY JUNE 19 Kate Plus 8: Sextuplets Turn 10 (TLC, 10 p.m.) Hey, remember Kate Plus Eight? The reality spinoff from Jon & Kate Plus Eight aired its last episode more than three years ago, but since reality mom Kate Gosselin’s sextuplets are turning ten, TLC has suddenly decreed them worthy of a followup special. Airing in two segments, the special doesn’t exactly depict Kate as a model single mom (she and Jon divorced several years ago). In one creepy clip she explains her method for disciplining her two daughters: “I got those girls cell phones and iPads so that I could take them away.” Part two airs on June 26.
FRIDAY JUNE 20 Crossbones (NBC, Global, 10 p.m.) If you’re a fan of the film work of John Malkovich, treat yourself to this cheeky new summer adventure series. As per his creative wont, Malkovich chews up the scenery as the infamous Edward “Blackbeard” Teach, who is scarier than any of the salty seadogs in the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise, yet still lovable in his own endearing way. In tonight’s new episode, the scoundrel is forced to join forces with his nemesis Lowe (Richard Coyle) to rescue a fair maiden before she reveals the location of Blackbeard’s secret island.
SATURDAY JUNE 21 Kevin Hart: I’m a Grown Little Man (Comedy Network, 10 p.m.) By anyone’s measure, Kevin Hart is currently the hottest name in comedy. Sharper than Louis CK and quicker than Chris Rock, the diminutive Philadelphia native has built a solid comic following in recent years by touring constantly and stealing scenes in Hollywood films like Soul Plane and This Is the End. In this acclaimed special, Hart takes sharp aim at a wide range of typical standup topics – marriage, parents, race inequality, et al – but somehow he’s funniest when he’s making jokes about himself.
SUNDAY JUNE 22 True Blood (HBO Canada, 9 p.m.) Still adhering faithfully to the novels of Charlaine Harris, HBO’s moody supernatural drama series returns for a seventh – and final – season. As the new season opens, the precognitive waitress Sookie (Anna Paquin) is forced to take refuge from the growing wave of accusations blaming her for a recent slaughter of Bon Temps citizens, while her vampire beau Bill (Stephen Moyer) receives unexpected help from a former enemy. And yes, there will be blood.