The Week Ahead – Emmy nominees and the All-Star Game

by Jason Hughes

Highlights of the Week

In my house, baseball is still the American pastime, and this year the All-Star Game is in my backyard. (FOX, Tue. 8pm ET).
HBO offers up Teddy: In His Own Words, proving that there’s more to Ted Kennedy than booze … or there isn’t. Really, it could go either way. (Mon. 9pm).
Jerry Bruckheimer takes us deep undercover with his new cop series Dark Blue, featuring Dylan McDermott. (TNT, Wed. 10pm).
Comedy Central takes another stab at stand-up comedy with Michael & Michael Have Issues, featuring Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter, putting on a fake comedy sketch series and having issues. Obviously. (Wed. 10pm)
Call in sick if you have to and get up early for the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations (E!, Thu. 8:30am). Other awards include the 2009 ESPYs (ESPN, Sun. 9pm) and the AFI Life Achievement Award awarded to Michael Douglas (TV Land, Sun. 9pm).
Graham Norton brings his British humor and charm to WE’s first foray into game show territory. Most Popular is based on first impressions with the audience voting people off; the first before any of the contestants can even speak. (Sun. 10pm).
To try and capture a piece of Harry Potter magic, ABC gives us J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life.

Premieres & Finales

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations returns with more culinary world travel, this week to Chile. (Travel, Mon. 10pm).
Getting into reality dreck is Bravo, with their new entry: Miami Social. It promises to follow hot young professionals as they work and party. And get wild and naughty! Oh yeah … it’s hot. (Tue. 10pm).
Blue-collar situation comedy series that’s made it to a third season! Huzzah! It’s the return of The Bill Engvall Show on TBS. (Sat. 9pm).
ABC rolls out the last of the “burn ‘em if you got ‘em” summer run-offs with the return of Dirty Sexy Money (Sat. 10pm).
Valentine ends. You remember. The one series on The CW Saturdays. With the … no? Well, that’s okay. No one else does either. (7pm).
It’s the finale of Meteor, which is nothing like ABC’s mini-series about the moon crashing into the Earth from a few weeks ago. This NBC mini-series is about a meteor. So different. (9pm).
Also leaving us are the reality entries Here Come the Newlyweds (ABC, Mon. 10pm), Run’s House (MTV, 10:30pm), The Apprentice UK (BBC America, Tue. 9pm), Jail (MyNetwork TV, Tue. 9pm), Is Your House Killing You? (Sundance, Tue. 9:30pm), Welcome to Dreamland (BET, Tue. 10:30pm), 16 & Pregnant (MTV, Thu. 10pm), Raising Sextuplets (WE, Thu. 10pm), and Man vs. Cartoon (TruTV, Sat. 10pm).
Cartoon Network, less cartoon and more kid reality now on Wednesday, offers up new installments of roller coast quiz show Brainrush, Destroy Build Story where contestants … well read the title, Ghosthunters with kids The Outsiders and Survive This, where kids work with Les Stroudman (Survivorman) to hone their survival skills. (8-10pm).