America's Got Talent, on NBC
America's most talented singers, dancers, magicians and more strive for their shot at the big time in this competition show's 16th season. In this episode, Simon Cowell joins Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel on the judging panel once again.
A summer treat: Competitors launch new flavors of Ben & Jerry’s
Molly Yeh, Chris Rivard and Ali and Jet Tila sample a competitor's dish in "Ben & Jerry’s Clash of the Cones"
Back for 'Life': Another 'Fabulous' season dances onto TLC
Ashley Baynes, Heather Sykes and Whitney Thore react to a flirty call from her French teacher in "My Big Fat Fabulous Life"
Pixels, on AMC
Adam Sandler, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Monaghan and Josh Gad star in this out-of-this-world comedy. When aliens misinterpret the footage of classic arcade games, four childhood friends join forces against massive versions of Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and more.
New Releases for the week of Aug. 15 - 21
The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard
Following the events of the first film, Michael Bryce (Reynolds) still finds himself longing for his lost triple-A bodyguard status, and on the advice of his therapist (Goodall), takes a relaxing trip to Italy. However, once in Italy, it becomes clear Bryce's vacation will be brief when Sonia Kincaid (Hayek), Darius's (Jackson) wife, enlists him to rescue Darius. With the trio soon reunited, they are enlisted by Interpol agent Bobby (Grillo) to track down a nefarious criminal craving to plunge Europe into a blackout. "Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard" is a sequel to the 2017 film "The Hitman's Bodyguard."
Director: Patrick Hughes. Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek, Antonio Banderas, Gary Oldman, Brian Caspe, Morgan Freeman, Richard E. Grant, Frank Grillo, Caroline Goodall. 2021. 100 mins. Action.
Riders of Justice
Forced to return home from deployment and care for his teenage daughter, Mathilde (Heick Gadeberg), after the death of his wife, Emma (Lind), in a tragic train crash, Markus (Mikkelsen) learns that another surviving passenger, Otto (Kaas), believes the crash was an assassination against a person on the train meant to testify against a dangerous gang, Riders of Justice, and Emma was collateral damage. Looking for evidence that the blast was more than a tragic accident, Markus sets his sights on vengeance.
Director: Anders Thomas Jensen. Stars: Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Andrea Heick Gadeberg, Lars Brygmann, Nicolas Bro, Gustav Lindh, Roland Møller, Albert Rudbeck Lindhardt, Anne Birgitte Lind. 2020. 116 mins. Action.
The Truffle Hunters
In the picturesque Piedmont region of northern Italy, a group of elderly and standoffish foragers search for the incredibly prized, exorbitantly expensive and elusive Alba white truffles with the help of their fungi-sniffing dogs. As the demand for these exclusive truffles, which are resistant to science's cultivation efforts, grows every year, the men find themselves unable to keep up with demand due to climate change, competition and the lack of younger people willing to invest in the age-old practice.
Directors: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw. Stars: Piero Botto, Sergio Cauda, Maria Cicciù, Aurelio Conterno, Enrico Crippa, Gianfranco Curti, Angelo Gagliardi, Egidio Gagliardi. 2020. 84 mins. Documentary.
Life's a beach for reality stars: 'Bachelor in Paradise' returns to ABC
The Season 7 cast of "Bachelor in Paradise"
Love is in the air, at least in prime time. After a yearlong hiatus, one reality TV show is about to put the sizzle back in summer with some serious guilty-pleasure TV.
Q: How did "The Big Bang Theory" do the Season 6 scenes where Howard is in space? He's actually weightless several times.
Actually, he isn't. He's just good. (Did I sound like Howard there? I was trying to sound like Howard.)
By Season 6, CBS's "The Big Bang Theory" was one of the biggest shows on TV, but even it couldn't afford to send a man to space. So, they recreated it with some creative set design, a rental, a platform and the magic of acting.
The appearance of weightlessness was achieved by putting Howard on an invisible (to the camera) platform.
Shark Tank, on ABC
Kevin O'Leary, Daymond John, Robert Herjavec, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner and Mark Cuban are some of the world's most successful investors. This hit series gives everyday inventors and budding businesspeople the opportunity to work with them.
Making It, on NBC
Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman share their enthusiasm for handmade crafts and other projects as they co-host this unique series. Simon Doonan and Dayna Isom Johnson serve as the judges to whom the "maker" contestants show off their crafting skills.
Q: Do any of the stars of TV from the '60s have any opinion of the large salaries of today's stars?
"Acting is the most wildly overpaid position imaginable," said Robert Downey Jr. ("Iron Man," 2008), an actor whose debut happened decades ago, and he was including himself in that statement.
I couldn't find any actors going on the record to complain about today's salaries versus what they got "back in the day," but there are plenty of actors who think they themselves are getting too much.