For those who still enjoy a cable subscription, here is a selection of cable and network TV shows, movies and specials that broadcast this week, Aug. 26-Sept. 1. Details and times are subject to change.
Monday
U.S. OPEN TENNIS 7 p.m. on ESPN. It’s that time of year when there is a crisp in the air, and some of the greatest names in tennis — Coco Gauff, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz — are back on the courts in Queens, though Rafael Nadal will be noticeably missing. On Monday, the first rounds will begin, and games will continue every day through Sept. 8 for the finals. We can only hope they will be as thrilling as the scenes from Phil’s Tire Town game in “Challengers.”
Tuesday
THE BACHELORETTE: MEN TELL ALL 8 p.m. on ABC. If you are an avid watcher of this franchise, you know this is one of the best nights of the season. Directly following the fantasy suite dates, which will air the day before on Monday, the Bachelorette Jenn Tran is going to gather all of her former suitors into one room so they can bicker and throw jabs. There has been lots of fighting this season, so I wouldn’t expect this night to be any different. To get the full experience, I recommend watching it with a crowd of friends.
FIRING LINE WITH MARGARET HOOVER: COUNTING THE VOTE 9:30 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). With the presidential election now weeks away, Margaret Hoover will break down the basics of voting and emphasize the reliability of the country’s voting systems, addressing former President Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud in 2020.
Wednesday
CLAIM TO FAME 9 p.m. on ABC. The third season of this niche show is wrapping up, with just three contestants left to reveal their celebrity relative. Former contestants will return to either help or sabotage the final three as they try to uncover each other’s identities.
TOBY KEITH: AMERICAN ICON 9 p.m. on NBC. On Feb. 6, the country singer Toby Keith died, at 62, from stomach cancer. A tribute concert, which happened in Nashville earlier this year, is coming to TV, with performers including Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker and Jelly Roll performing some of Keith’s top hits.
Thursday
THE WEST COAST HUSTLE 9 p.m. on MTV. The singer Chanel West Coast (whom you might know from “Ridiculousness” and “Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory”) is wrapping up the first season of her reality show. The show has primarily focused on West Coast juggling her career while also being a new mom.
Friday
THE PRINCESS DIARIES (2001) & THE PRINCESS DIARIES 2: ROYAL ENGAGEMENT (2004) starting at 6 p.m. on Freeform. In the first movie, Anne Hathaway plays Mia Thermopolis, a regular San Francisco teen who finds out she is the princess of the fictional country Genovia. As if that’s not fun enough, the sequel gives Mia one month to find someone to marry or she has to forfeit the crown. In waltzes Chris Pine as Nicholas Devereaux in a pre-BookTok “enemies-to-lovers” arc.
INSIDE THE NFL 9 p.m. on The CW. With September on its way, it’s time to get back into football. This show is starting its 47th season, with Bill Belichick, the former general manager of the New England Patriots, as one of the panelists to give a season preview.
Saturday
MOANA (2016) 6:50 p.m. on Freeform. “I’ve been standing at the edge of the water/long as I can remember, never really knowing why” — that seminal song is one of the best parts of this Disney movie about a Polynesian princess on a quest to save her island. To prepare for the sequel, coming out in November, it’s probably a good time to revisit it. “There are some touching and amusing zigzags on the way to the film’s sweet and affirmative conclusion,” A.O. Scott wrote in his review for The New York Times. “Moana inhabits a bright world of water and sunshine, into which the filmmakers insert a handful of visual and musical showstoppers.”
Sunday
THE GREAT NORTH 9:30 p.m. on Fox. This animated series, starring Will Forte, Jenny Slate and Aparna Nancherla, is wrapping up its fourth season this week. The show centers on Beef, a loving dad to his eclectic group of children who all have different ambitions and interests. “The family patriarch, Beef, is played by Nick Offerman, who, as the gruff libertarian softy Ron Swanson, helped define ‘Parks and Recreation’ as the ur-Nice sitcom of the 2010s,” James Poniewozik wrote in a 2021 review for The Times. “Ron was simultaneously a satire of machismo and a redefinition of it; Beef, essentially, is that persona in cartoon form.”
Read More: What’s on TV This Week: ‘Inside the N.F.L.’ and ‘The Bachelorette: Men Tell All’
