The week ahead, June 22-28: (Three) Lions and Larry and 'Bear,' oh my

The final season of The Bear premieres this week, bringing an end to what has simultaneously been one of the most acclaimed and — not divisive or polarizing, exactly; let’s go with “closely scrutinized” — shows of the past decade. The week will also feature the final games of the World Cup’s opening phase and the start of the single-elimination rounds and a sketch comedy series that stars Larry David and is produced by the Obamas’ company.

Rounding up some news from late last week:

• Most notably and sadly, the greatest TV comedy director in the medium’s history, James Burrows, died at age 85. Please read a pair of great tributes to Burrows from my friends Dan Fienberg and Alan Sepinwall, and watch an episode or 10 of Cheers (or Will & Grace, or Frasier, or Friends, or his acting role on The Comeback this season) to get a sense of how great he was.

• Peacock is making a series based on the Dungeon Crawler Carl books, with Seth MacFarlane among its executive producers.

Programming note: Nielsen’s weekly on-air ratings will be delayed by a day this week following the Juneteenth holiday. Because of that, you’ll get a combined on-air and streaming ratings post on Thursday. I’ll go back to the Wednesday-Thursday ratings schedule next week.

On to the dates for this week. All times are ET/PT unless noted.

The group stage comes to a close this week, and the knockouts will start on the weekend. As I write this Sunday night, a few teams (including co-hosts Mexico and the U.S.) have clinched a spot in the knockout stage, and a couple others have been eliminated. Still very much alive: First-time participant Cape Verde, which after tying Uruguay has a pretty solid chance to move on. If Cape Verde beats Saudi Arabia Friday, it would almost certainly move on. Catch Verde fever! The listings below will show which Fox outlet has each game in the U.S.; every match is also available in Spanish on Telemundo and Peacock.

Monday
• 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT: Argentina vs. Austria (Fox)
• 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT: France vs. Iraq (Fox)
• 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT: Norway vs. Senegal (Fox)
• 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT: Jordan vs. Algeria (FS1)

Tuesday
• 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT: Portugal vs. Uzbekistan (Fox)
• 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT: England vs. Ghana (Fox)
• 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT: Panama vs. Croatia (Fox)
• 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT: Colombia vs. Congo DR (FS1)

Wednesday
• 3 p.m. ET/noon PT: Switzerland vs. Canada (Fox) AND Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Qatar (FS1)
• 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT: Scotland vs. Brazil (Fox) AND Morocco vs. Haiti (FS1)
• 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT: Czechia vs. Mexico (Fox) AND South Africa vs. South Korea (FS1)

Thursday
• 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT: Ecuador vs. Germany (Fox) AND Curacao vs. Ivory Coast (FS1)
• 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT: Tunisia vs. Netherlands (Fox) AND Japan vs. Sweden (FS1)
• 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT: U.S. vs. Turkiye (Fox) AND Paraguay vs. Australia (FS1)

Friday
• 3 p.m. ET/noon PT: Norway vs. France (Fox) AND Senegal vs. Iraq (FS1)
• 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT: Uruguay vs. Spain (Fox) AND Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia (FS1)
• 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT: New Zealand vs. Belgium (Fox) AND Egypt vs. Iran (FS1)

Saturday
• 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT: Panama vs. England AND Croatia vs. Ghana (FS1)
• 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT: Colombia vs. Portugal (Fox) AND Congo DR vs. Uzbekistan (FS1)
• 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT: Jordan vs. Argentina (Fox) AND Algeria vs. Austria (FS1)

Sunday
• 3 p.m. ET/noon PT: Round of 32 game, second-place teams from Group A and Group B (Fox)

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Monday
• Harry Wild (Acorn TV): Season five for the cozy mystery series starring Jane Seymour.
• 9 p.m.: Titanic Sinks Tonight (Nat Geo): Originally aired on the BBC late last year, this four-part documentary tells the stories of Titanic passengers through letters and testimony survivors gave after the ship’s sinking.

Wednesday
• The American Experiment (Netflix): Part of a wave of sestercentennial programming coming in the next few weeks, this five-part series features interviews with a bunch of current and former government officials, historians and other leaders on the “origins and future of American democracy.”
• A Woman of Substance (BritBox): Brenda Blethyn and Jessica Reynolds play the older and younger versions of the main character in this adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s mega-selling 1979 novel (it aired on the U.K.’s Channel 4 earlier this year to good reviews).
• Wild Cherry (Paramount+): Another British import, this one’s a thriller about a scandal in a wealthy suburb.

Thursday
• Avatar: The Last Airbender (Netflix): Season two of Netflix’s live-action take on the great Nickelodeon animated show.
• 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT: The Bear (Hulu/FX): The final season unfolds (mostly) over a single day as the restaurant makes a last-ditch effort to survive. The full season will drop on Hulu, and it will also air weekly on FX.

Friday
• 9 p.m.: Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness (HBO/HBO Max): Larry David stars in this sketch series that looks at a bunch of events in American history through his very jaundiced eye. The Obamas’ Higher Ground produced the series, and David worked with a number of Curb Your Enthusiasm alumni in front of and behind the camera.

(Any movies below that don’t have a network or streamer listed next to them are available for rental or purchase.)

Tuesday
• Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft — the Tour: The James Cameron-directed concert movie is available to rent or buy.
• I Love Boosters: Boots Riley’s latest, a pro-worker crime comedy starring Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie and Taylour Paige.
• Power Ballad: Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas star in director John Carney’s movie.
• 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT: NBA Draft (ABC/ESPN): The Washington Wizards have the No. 1 pick.
• 9 p.m.: The Welcome Table (HBO/HBO Max): A documentary following climate migrants — people who have lost their homes or livelihood due to the effects of climate change — across the world.

Wednesday
• In the Hand of Dante (Netflix): Oscar Isaac plays both the 15th century philosopher and writer and a present-day Dante expert caught up with an organized crime plot to steal an original manuscript of The Divine Comedy. Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, Jason Momoa, John Malkovich, Al Pacino and Martin Scorsese also star in director Julian Schnabel’s film.

Thursday
• 8 p.m.: CMA Fest (ABC): The annual concert special will feature a big lineup of country music stars.

Friday
• Little Brother (Netflix); Eric Andre plays the title character. John Cena is his big brother. Hijinks will ensue.
• Paul Simon: The Quiet Celebration Concert (Hulu/Disney+)
• 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT: NHL Draft (ESPN): The top pick goes to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Sunday
• 8 p.m.: BET Awards (BET): Internet star Druski hosts.

Tuesday
• Not Suitable for Work (Hulu)

Wednesday
• The Other Bennet Sister (BritBox)
• The Legend of Vox Machina (Prime Video)

Thursday
• 9 p.m.: Welcome to Wrexham (FXX)

Sunday
• 9 p.m.: From (MGM+)

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