Here’s what’s up in the world of television for Wednesday, July 2. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
So You Think You Can Dance (Fox, 8 p.m.): We’re still getting to know the most recent batch of contestants who think they can dance, but after 10 seasons and 199 episodes, So You Think You Can Dance feels like an old friend. And like an old friend, we’ll gladly celebrate its latest milestone, as Oliver Sava drops in on season 11’s first live performance episode, which also happens to be the show’s big two-oh-oh. What do you get for the show that has that many episodes and nine Emmys on the mantle? Maybe Nigel Lythgoe would appreciate a nice tea cozy?
ALSO NOTED
Total Ariana Live (MTV, 7 p.m.): It’s still undetermined whether or not Ariana Grande recorded the song of the summer, but MTV’s temporarily reviving TRL for her anyway. It’s a version of TRL, at least, minus Carson Daly (Sway’s stepping in for Daly, who’s currently trapped in an orange box at 30 Rock), the philosophical war between boy-band boosters and nü-metal mooks, and, well, anything else that defined TRL.
Hot In Cleveland (TV Land, 10:30 p.m.): Under ordinary circumstances, and episode of Hot In Cleveland airing at a special time would not be notable. But these are not ordinary circumstances, because this Hot In Cleveland is title “Murder House,” which can only mean one thing: Betty White trading bitchy insults with Rubber Man. (“I wouldn’t have let Dylan McDermott unzip my mask, if you know what I mean,” she’ll say.)
REGULAR COVERAGE
Wilfred (FXX, 10 p.m.)
TV CLUB CLASSIC
Lost (1 p.m.): Turns out the character referred to as “Todd VanDerWerff” was a first-season MacGuffin, a brief proxy for a new hero, Myles McNutt, who emerges to discuss “The Moth” and “Confidence Man.”
Six Feet Under (3 p.m.): John Teti apologizes for the unpredictable publishing pattern for his Six Feet Under reviews of late. To show how sincerely sorry he is, he’ll be picking up plenty of items at the Fishers’ yard sale this week. (How much do you think a half-used bottle of embalming fluid is going for these days?)
WHAT ELSE IN ON
Play Misty For Me (Flix, 8 p.m.): Long before Jersey Boys was even a dimly lit glimmer in Clint Eastwood’s eye, he made his directorial debut with this film, another take on how getting professionally involved with recorded music might get you killed.
Francis (TCM, 8 p.m.): And on the lighter side of tonight’s film picks, a talking mule helps win World War II. (You won’t read about this in any so-called history book because of the academy’s well-known anti-mule bias.)
MLB Baseball: Cubs at Red Sox (ESPN, 7 p.m.): The Cubbies travel to Boston, where they hope they can learn a thing or two about ending a decades-long World Series drought. (Step one to breaking that curse: Beards. Step two: A much-maligned Jimmy Fallon rom-com based on a novel about insane soccer fandom.)
AND NOW, IN LIEU OF THE REST OF WHAT’S ON TONIGHT, SOME TRL CLIPS
Total Request Live (1998): Featuring Chris Kirkpatrick’s tiny dreads, Justin Timberlake’s ramen curls, and a completely egregious pan past the Times Square Sbarro.
Total Request Live (1999): As a reminder that TRL was an equal-opportunity programming, here’s 11 minutes with Korn, which begins with the band being mobbed by fans who seem just as rabid as the ’N Sync fans in the previous clip.
Total Request Live (2002): One decade later, both of the stars of this video would give up trading compliments for starring in competing singing competitions.
Total Request Live (1999): From an apparent “Canadians Only” episode featuring teenybopper favorite/hot-dog enthusiast Celine Dione and Jim Carrey.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Nathan For You: John Teti begins his journey to the depths of awkwardness with Nathan Fielder. If the phrase “ghost realtor” doesn’t have you excited about Nathan For You’s return, then we’re afraid you and John no longer have anything to talk about.