"We Know Drama" is TNT's latest tagline, but as a cable network unveiling new shows during the quiet summer season, they also know how to time their programming. While most Americans would prefer a CSI or NCIS to a Timothy Hutton or Dylan McDermott criminal-cop-broodfest, there's nothing else on the set to fill our insatiable appetite for dark justice. It's time to knock some evildoers down a peg, Turner Network style.
Leverage & Dark Blue [9 & 10 PM, TNT]
Only seven months have elapsed since Leverage premiered last December, and Nate (Hutton) and crew get right back to it in a scheme involving the Irish mob and a banker. In the next hour, the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced undercover cop drama rolls out its first episode, combining darkness (crime, evil, lying) and blueness (cops, justice, McDermott's eyes) into a sorta intense, sorta character-driven maverick cop show. Thankfully, it doesn't have as much science as CSI, but it's doubtful these cops paid attention in any class other than weapons training.
Extreme Bar Hopping [8 PM, Travel]
For those of you who don't have time for annual Esquire or GQ features, this is a rundown of cool and crazy bars that you probably will never visit. From an automated wine bar in NYC to a former speakeasy, these are gin joints that make for excellent Travel Channel fodder but not great places to get drunk and forget your problems.
Late Show with David Letterman [11:35 PM, CBS]
Guest: Paul McCartney. This is one of those nights when Conan should probably just air a midweek rerun. The Late Show put out a press release for tonight's appearance by the former Beatle, but this pairing of cultural giants would've brought big numbers for CBS even if they relied on word of mouth to get the word out. Conan has Dana Carvey, but it's a safe bet that the Tonight Show press people haven't been fielding calls about the master impressionist's visit.
Volver [8 PM, Sundance]
If you read Movieline, you are probably a responsible cinéaste and thus saw Volver in late 2006. Unless you picked up the DVD or sweat Pedro Almodóvar, it's been a long time since you checked out this story of female empowerment. Penélope Cruz is as radiant and Spanish as ever, leading the mostly female cast in various meditations on death, specifically the way it confronts the living on a daily basis.