TV Best Bets

Saturday, May 23: A Litter of Piglets Arrives on ‘Saved by the Barn’

Animal Planet

All Times Eastern.

Saturday, May 23

Saved by the Barn: “Baby Fever”
Animal Planet, 10pm

Onetime tech worker Dan McKernan and his Michigan-based Barn Sanctuary team always have their hands full on this new unscripted series. This week, a recently rescued potbellied pig births a litter of piglets earlier than expected; Dan’s twin brother, Chris, is tasked with building a goat playground; and four calves arrive in need of re-homing. But one particularly cute freckle-less calf, Whitney, quickly steals some hearts. “The plan was to have her go to Iowa Farm Sanctuary [with the other calves], but then literally everyone fell in love,” Dan says. “It wasn’t that hard to convince me to keep her.”

Memorial Day Marathon
TCM, beginning at 6am
Catch a Classic!

All day today, and again over the next two days, Turner Classic Movies honors Memorial Day with a schedule of films chronicling the various aspects of war — from battles to the impact on veterans and their loved ones following the conflicts and more. Today’s films include classics like Glory (1989), Sergeant York (1941), D-Day the Sixth of June (1956), The Steel Helmet (1951), The Green Berets (1968), Casablanca (1942) and others. The Memorial Day marathon will pick up again on Sunday, May 24, and Monday, May 25 (Memorial Day itself).

Grilling Weekend
Food Network, 7am

Get some Memorial Day barbecue inspiration. Today’s six-hour roundup features new episodes of The Pioneer Woman, Trisha’s Southern Kitchen and Barefoot Contessa: Cook Like a Pro, while Sunday’s seven-hour marathon includes a fresh installment of Valerie’s Home Cooking.

Home Made Simple With Laila Ali: “Everhart: From House to Home With Farmhouse Flair!”
OWN, 9am

The boxer turned lifestyle maven helps an exhausted duo with two young kids decorate their new great room with farmhouse flair.

’80s Saturday
IFC, beginning at 8pm

More comedies are featured in tonight’s ’80s movie lineup, beginning with Caddyshack (1980) and followed by National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989).

Jungle Animal Rescue
Nat Geo Wild, 10pm
Season Finale!

Catch the season finale of the series that followed a dedicated team of conservationists and vets in India on a mission to rescue animals in distress and find a way for India’s people and wildlife to coexist.

Sunday, May 24

Memorial Day Marathon
TCM, beginning at 6am
Catch a Classic!

Turner Classic Movies’ Memorial Day observance continues all day today with a lineup of movies including Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), The Sand Pebbles (1966), Pride of the Marines (1945), the silent movie classic (and very first Best Picture Oscar winner) Wings (1927) and more.

Golf: Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Charity
TNT, TBS, truTV & HLN, 3pm Live

The stars align for this blockbuster charity golf event as Tiger Woods teams up with retired NFL great Peyton Manning and Phil Mickelson is paired with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady in an 18-hole team match-play competition at Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Fla. The organizers and players are collectively contributing $10 million for COVID-19 relief, and the players will have additional on-course competitive challenges for charity.

NASCAR Cup Series: Coca-Cola 600
FOX, 6pm Live

NASCAR’s revised schedule of races continues this week with four events at Charlotte Motor Speedway, kicking off with the traditional Memorial Day weekend Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 Sunday evening on FOX. There will be no fans in attendance, and teams, officials and track personnel will have added safety measures.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta: “Reunion Part 3”
Bravo, 8pm

The ladies clear the air surrounding the Cookie Lady, and Cynthia and Eva each speak their mind on the situation. Cynthia and Kenya examine their friendship and decide if they can move past the misunderstanding surrounding their relationship. Yovanna makes an appearance to clear her name and makes a shocking claim that leaves the ladies speechless.

Naked and Afraid XL
Discovery Channel, 8pm
Season Premiere!
This new season of the survival competition series kicks off with a two-hour premiere. The challenge is taken to the next level as individuals work to prove their worth to the group or risk being banished. It is a true survival of the fittest as a new crop of survivalists, including some seeking redemption, look to make their mark on this competition, all while battling unbearable heat and a harsh environment.

Tiger Slam
Golf Channel, 8pm

Twenty years ago, Tiger Woods was on a tear. In an awe-inspiring 10-month span from June 2000 through April 2001, Woods won all four major tournaments — the U.S. Open, the British Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters — in what became known as the Tiger Slam. Golf Channel and Golf Films chronicle Woods’ unprecedented feat in this documentary presented with limited commercial interruption.

Little Big Shots
NBC, 8pm
Season Finale!

The fourth season of the hilarious kids talent series, the first season presided over by new host Melissa McCarthy, ends tonight.

National Memorial Day Concert
PBS, 8pm

Tune in to the 31st annual broadcast of America’s national night of remembrance, honoring the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, their families at home, and all those who gave their lives for our country.

Killing Eve: “Beautiful Monster”
BBC America & AMC, 9pm

Eve (Sandra Oh) finds a clue to former MI6 colleague Kenny’s murder, while chic assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer) and her mentor Dasha (Harriet Walter) partner to take down a target.

Carnival Eats: “You’ve Got Ale”
Cooking Channel, 9pm

Noah Cappe hits the Wisconsin State Fair, where a local brewery is serving the ultimate deep-fried combo of beer, brats and cheese curds. For dessert, milk and cookies are inverted in a crazy new form. At the Southern California Fair, a killer combination of onion rings and a grilled hot dog gets Noah’s attention, and cold brew coffee is the star of a sweet treat to round out the day.

30 for 30: “Lance”
ESPN, 9pm

This two-part 30 for 30 documentary is a fascinating, revealing, comprehensive chronicle of Lance Armstrong, one of the most inspirational — and then infamous — athletes of all time. Based around extensive interviews and conversations with Armstrong, the film tells the story of the cyclist’s rise out of Texas, his battle with cancer, his emergence as a global icon with his seven consecutive Tour de France titles, and his massive fall after he was exposed in one of the largest doping scandals in history. Part 2 airs May 31.

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels: “Children of the Royal Sun”
Showtime, 10pm

Chaos is building on the 1938-set drama: The LAPD and the Mexican American community clash, the local Nazi party plots, and the demon Magda (Natalie Dormer) tightens her control over more Angelenos, including closeted councilman Townsend (Michael Gladis).

Run
HBO, 10:30pm
Season Finale!

The raunchy comedy from Phoebe Waller-Bridge (who also guest-stars) comes to a close as traveling exes Ruby (Merritt Wever) and Billy (Domhnall Gleeson) contemplate a future together.

Monday, May 25

Memorial Day Marathon
TCM, beginning at 6am
Catch a Classic!

Turner Classic Movies has more notable films on the schedule as its Memorial Day marathon continues, and concludes, on the holiday itself. Today’s titles include Where Eagles Dare (1968), The Great Escape (1963), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Battle of the Bulge (1965), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Coming Home (1978) and more.

NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco 300
FS1, 7:30pm Live

The NASCAR Xfinity Series continues its revamped schedule with this 300-mile primetime race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina. There will be no fans in attendance, and teams, officials and track personnel will have added safety measures.

I Was Lorena Bobbitt
Lifetime, 8pm
Original Film!

Starring Dani Montalvo and Luke Humphrey as the controversial couple Lorena and John Bobbitt, the film follows Lorena’s account leading up to that fateful day when after years of abuse by her husband, she cut off his penis with a knife in 1993. Lorena also serves as executive producer and onscreen narrator.

The Andy Griffith Show
MeTV, 8pm

It’s time to celebrate “The Bee Team” with a week full of episodes featuring Aunt Bee and other sidekicks. “The Pickle Story” (5/25) always makes the list of favorite Andy Griffith episodes and many people, including Don Knotts, have considered it the best episode of the series. “Aunt Bee’s Medicine Man” (5/26), “A Date for Gomer” (5/27), “Citizen’s Arrest” (5/28) and “The Loaded Goat” (5/29) round out the week.

The Titan Games
NBC, 8pm
Season Premiere!

Host/executive producer Dwayne Johnson’s competition series returns for Season 2. Again, everyday people will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to vie in epic head-to-head challenges designed to test the mind, body and heart. This season, there are doctors, nurses, veterans and teachers set to compete in the Titan arena, where they will have to beat world-class professional athletes including Olympic gold medalists, NFL stars and UFC champions in order to become Titans.

Below Deck Sailing Yacht: “Regatta Go!”
Bravo, 9pm
Season Finale!

An uncomfortable drug search on Parsifal III casts a dark cloud over the final charter and sends the crew into panic mode. The crew scrambles to pull together a sailing regatta, but still wonders if they’ll get a tip. Tensions in the interior department finally boil over, as a heated confrontation erupts. Georgia has feelings she needs to get off her chest, even if it means possibly altering some relationships forever.

Grant
History, 9pm
New Miniseries!

To tell general and U.S. president Ulysses S. Grant’s story (airing three consecutive nights starting on Memorial Day), producers drew primarily from his memoirs. Grant’s dramatic sequences run longer than in most docs and feel more real thanks to the intense, cigar-chomping performance of Justin Salinger. Meanwhile, location shoots at actual battlefields — Shiloh, Tenn., for example — and images from the Library of Congress and the National Archives lend authenticity. Historical context comes from interviews with Grant biographer Ron Chernow, retired U.S. Army general David Petraeus and other well-chosen experts.

Jeffrey Dahmer: Mind of a Monster
Investigation Discovery, 9pm

From the transcripts of audio recordings from the extensive police interviews after serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s arrest, this two-hour special is chillingly narrated by the words of Dahmer himself. His twisted confession reveals new insights into what led the man known as the “Milwaukee Cannibal” to rape, kill and dismember 17 young men between 1978 and 1991.

To Catch a Beautician
VH1, 9pm
New Series!

Singer Tamar Braxton teams up with celebrity hairstylist Johnny Wright (he’s worked with Michelle Obama and Reese Witherspoon) to help customers who left their salons with seriously bad cuts. They confront the butchering stylists, who then sharpen their skills at a boot camp before getting the opportunity to correct the hair don’ts that they created.

The Baker and the Beauty: “Blow Out”
ABC, 10pm

Noa (Nathalie Kelley) is blindsided when an unlikely opponent attempts to take control of her company. Meanwhile, after a series of setbacks, Daniel (Victor Rasuk) is surprised when an old friend comes to his rescue; and Natalie (Belissa Escobedo) continues to defy her parents, enjoying the freedom that comes with her newfound rebellion.

Songland: “Boyz II Men”
NBC, 10pm

Four-time Grammy Award-winning R&B supergroup Boyz II Men comes to Songland to hear unknown songwriters pitch their original material. Three of the most successful and sought-after writer/producers in music, Ryan Tedder, Ester Dean and Shane McAnally, produce the songwriters to creatively adapt their songs to perfectly fit the superstar artists. One song is chosen to be recorded by Boyz II Men and released for a global audience.

Independent Lens: “Eating Up Easter”
PBS, 10pm

See how climate change and a booming tourism trade threaten the fragile economy of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, and meet the local artists, ecologists and developers balancing their strong cultural heritage with modern-day challenges.