Sensing TV’s vulnerability, theater swoops in to deal the killing Tonys blow

Here’s what’s up in the world of television for Sunday, June 8. All times are Eastern.

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The 68th Annual Tony Awards (CBS, 8 p.m.): It’s been threatening to happen for weeks now, and it looks as thought it’s finally coming to pass: Television’s tucking in for a brief summer’s nap. Game Of Thrones is about to pack up its pop-up map of Westeros; even Neil deGrasse Tyson and the Ship of Imagination are looking forward to a little hypersleep hibernation. Which means it’s the perfect time for musicals and stage dramas to rise up, and claim the Iron Throne of zeitgeist that was theirs so many generations ago. Hugh Jackman, Neil Patrick Harris, Gladys Knight, Sutton Foster, and the one and only Adele Dazeem are among the stars throwing off the shackles of film, television, movies, and music to celebrate their one true love, the one true form of American performing arts: THE THEATER! (And then, tomorrow, we’ll all go back to caring more about movies, TV, and music.)

Turn (AMC, 9 p.m.): Will Abe and friend’s cockamamie scheme to break from British rule come to fruition. Genevieve Valentine returns to the 18th century to check in on those kooky Revolutionary spies and the end of Turn’s first season.

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (Fox, 9 p.m.): John Teti’s on similar check-in duty, giving a second look to this Cosmos’ maiden voyage. John reminds you to service your Ship of the Imagination every three months, 13 episodes, or 3,000 lightyears, whichever comes first.

Veep (HBO, 10:30 p.m.): An hour-long finale sets Selina’s path to the primaries in New Hampshire—a location that Kate Kulzick recalls as being particularly rough on another cable protagonist with likability issues.

Enlisted (Fox, 7 p.m.)
Game Of Thrones (HBO, 9 p.m.)
Halt And Catch Fire (AMC, 10 p.m.)

Farscape (11 a.m.): Introducing: Joolushko Tunai Fenta Hovalis! But you can just call her Jool. Alasdair Wilkins certainly will, because, yikes—he’s not typing that whole thing out multiple times per review.

The Simpsons (Classic) (3 p.m.): Speaking of legitimate thee-ay-terr: Gwen Ihnat has a review of the scintillating new musical Stop The Planet Of The Apes: I Want To Get Off. You’ll never believe the twist ending, and you’ll never get “Help Me, Dr. Zaius” out of your head. (Dr. Zaius! Dr. Zaius, Dr. Zaius.)

The 2014 Miss USA Competition (NBC, 8 p.m.): And for the viewer with the less discriminating tastes, the beauty pageant owned by Donald “Less Discriminating Tastes” Trump.

Oprah: Where Are They Now? (OWN, 9 p.m.): Quick answer to the question posed to the former cast of The Love Boat: Not on the Pacific Princess anymore, that’s for sure.

Escape Club (E!, 10 p.m.): E! bails bored cubicle dwellers out of their workaday existence. Weirdly, none of those rescue efforts involve joining an English pop-rock act, scalpeling the verse cadence out of Elvis Costello’s “Pump It Up,” and scoring a supremely weird hit about the… American West?

Rev Run’s Sunday Suppers (Cooking, 10 p.m.): Whose Sunday Suppers? Run’s Sunday Suppers! Whose Sunday Suppers? Run’s Sunday Suppers!

Enough Said (HBO, 7:20 p.m.): Prepare for the biggest night of Selina Meyer’s political career with the big-screen comedy that could be subtitled Romance Of The HBO All-Stars. (R.I.P. James Gandolfini, R.I.P. The Sopranos being HBO’s most popular show ever.)

This Is The End (Encore, 8 p.m.): More kudos for Jonah Hill’s heartfelt apology tour: The convenient excuse of “demon possession” was one This Is The End allusion away.

2014 NBA Finals: Game 2 (ABC, 8 p.m.): The same teams that are always in the NBA Finals are in the NBA Finals. Instead of watching the Spurs and Heat vie for a trophy that looks like a wastepaper basket for, like, the 70th or 80th time, respectively, read this hysterical SB Nation article about how professional basketball could get less predictable (by destroying itself).

You’ve already had a chance to ready Myles McNutt’s thoughts on the first two episodes of Orange Is The New Black’s second season, but who are we still kidding with this episodic review business in the era of the Netflix binge? Todd VanDerWerff managed to watch all 13 episodes while also attending the ATX Television Special (what’s the secret to Todd’s unstoppable work ethic? He still thinks he’s living on and working at a Midwestern hog farm), and he has a full-season overview. Other TV Reviews rolling out tomorrow include Scott Von Doviak’s take on Brazil With Michael Palin and Todd’s look at the new TNT (BOOM!) crime drama Murder In The First (BOOM!).

Orange Is The New Black: All 13 episodes, huh? In a single sitting? Impressive, but a little bit frightening. You should try getting out of the house today. Failing that: Just apply all of that binging energy to hanging out in the comments of Myles’ first review.