TV tonight: The biggest names in country make a noise in Nashville
Grand Ole Opry celebrates its centennial season with performances by Carrie Underwood, Kathy Mattea, and Suzy Bogguss. Also featuring: Border Force, Beethoven's Fifth at the Proms, The Piano, Love Island, and more.
Tonight's TV lineup offers a rich variety, starting with the Grand Ole Opry's centennial season celebration on Sky Arts at 7pm. The show, which brands itself as “the show that made country music famous,” features live performances from Nashville. Taking the stage are three outstanding artists: Carrie Underwood with her powerful voice and contemporary hits, Grammy-winner Kathy Mattea known for intimate storytelling, and Suzy Bogguss with folk and Americana influences.
On U&Dave at 7pm, ‘Border Force: America’s Gatekeepers’ offers a depressing look at customs and border protection officers on the US/Mexico border. This week's cases include a female pedestrian with an outstanding warrant for larceny returning from a day in Mexico, and two women caught in a car with illegal diet pills.
BBC Four at 9pm presents a specially curated Proms night, featuring archive performances of Beethoven's “supercharged” Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Mussorgsky's Night on a Bare Mountain, and Strauss's audacious Don Juan. Petroc Trelawny and Georgia Mann host, the BBC Symphony Orchestra performs, and the conductors are Marin Alsop and Elim Chan.
Channel 4 at 9pm continues ‘The Piano’. After last year's fire near Glasgow Central station, amateur pianists traveled to London to play for Claudia, Mika, and this week's guest judge Jamie Cullum. Among them is Paul, who lost function in his right hand after a brain tumor operation at 17—but he didn't let it stop him.
ITV2 at 9pm offers more drama on ‘Love Island’. Lola and Sean gritted their teeth as they voluntarily left the villa before being dumped, while Ellie walked after days of tears. With the final imminent, couples must present a united front.
TLC at 9pm continues ‘Unacceptable’, the panel show that dares comedians to say the unsayable in front of a live audience. Captains Richard Ayoade and Joanne McNally are accomplished provocateurs, joined this week by Alex Brooker, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Lou Sanders, and Sarah Keyworth.
For sports fans, BBC One and ITV1 broadcast the World Cup Football final between Spain and Argentina at 7pm from New York/New Jersey Stadium.
