The NBA playoff finals begin with a bit more hubbub than Wednesday’s Stanley Cup start. Every game will be on prime time, by contrast, starting with tonight’s inaugural session of Cleveland at Golden State (ABC, 9 p.m.).
As in the past few seasons, it comes with a prime time entertainment pre-show of “Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night” (ABC, 8 p.m.), tonight with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. It will ease the pain of having his actual late night show bumped back to near its original start time past midnight.
And if you’re staying up really late, ESPN replays Game 1 of the finals in its entirety at 3 a.m..
Broadcast TV’s oddest entry, “Hannibal” (NBC, 10 p.m.) returns for its third season, this time in Paris. Bryan Fuller’s adaptation of the creepy character is full of a lot of visual flair and guest stars that include Gillian Anderson and (british comic guy) but has a little too much fun with its cannibalism as gourmet food ploy.
David Duchovny is pretty good at playing the gumshoe on “Aquarius” (NBC, 9 p.m.), which stops just short of the “Dragnet” hippie episode.
“Bones” (Fox, 8 p.m.) is one of the few network shows still going. Tonight, the deaths of an ex-con and yoga instructor who used to be a biker are investigated.
“Wayward Pines” (Fox, 9 p.m.) the lead character gets an unexpected promotion, Not that there’s never been a sheriff on TV named Matt Dillon (though the one on “Gunsmoke” I guess was marshal).
Marc gets Bruce Bruce to co-host his podcast on “Maron” (IFC, 10 pm.).
A Catholic teacher is charged with having an illegal relationship with a student on “Dateline” (NBC, 8 p.m.).
Hadn’t realized that the Saturday night “Animation Domination” (FXX, midnight) had migrated to the sister cable network. “Axe Cop,” “Major Lazer” and “Stone Quackers” are all here.
Something very big must have happened to justify the spinoff series “The Real Housewives of Atlanta Kandi’s Ski Trip” (Bravo, 9 p.m.).
It’s the 40th anniversary of “Jaws” (AMC, 7 p.m.), which is followed by “Jaws 2” (AMC, 10 p.m.).
Other movies with numbers in the title include “22 Jump Street” (Starz, 7:05 p.m.), “Rambo 4” (IFC, 8 p.m.), “Sixteen Candles” (Sundance, 9 p.m.) and “13 Going on 30” (Oxygen Pop, 9 p.m.)
The British detective from the 1930s — I’ll let you guess his name — gets the spotlight on Turner Classic Movies with “Bulldog Drummond Escapes” (8 p.m.), “Bulldog Drummond at Bay” (9:15 p.m.), “Bulldog Drummond Comes Back” (10:45 p.m.), “Bulldog Drummond’s Revenge” (midnight), “Bulldog Drummond’s Peril” (1:15 a.m.), “Bulldog Drummond in Africa” (2:30 a.m.), “Bulldog Drummond’s Secret Police” (3:45 a.m.) and “Bulldog Drummond’s Bride” (5 a.m.).
Baseball tonight includes Oakland at Detroit (MLB, 1 p.m.), Minnesota at Boston (MLB, 4 p.m.), Cincinnati at Philadelphia (MLB, 7 p.m.) and St. Louis at Dodgers (MLB, 10 p.m.).
The French Open (Tennis Channel, 6 p.m.) reaches the mixed doubles final; the women’s semifinals play later this morning on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. and NBC at 11 a.m.
Daytime Talk
Kelly & Michael: Jude Law, Jeff Gordon, Lifehouse. The View: Kunal Nayyar, Cat Deeley, Andre Ward. The Talk: Robert Duvall, Big Boy, Carnie Wilson. Ellen DeGeneres: Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, Kelly Clarkson. Wendy Williams: Rebekah George. Meredith Vieira: Julianne Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba, Barbara Corcoran (rerun). Queen Latifah: Jane Seymour, Sheila E. (rerun).
Late Talk
Jimmy Fallon: John Cusack, Chita Rivera, Ricky Martin. Jimmy Kimmel: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Wiz Khalifa. Seth Meyers: Elisabeth Moss, Cat Deely Gina Brillon, Jon Theodore. James Corden: Elizabeth Banks, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin. Carson Daly: Paul Feig, White Fence, Rodney Ascher. Tavis Smiley: Phillip Klinkner, Cassandra Wilson. Jon Stewart: Steve Buscemi. Conan O’Brien: Nick Offerman, Jen Kirkman, My Morning Jacket.