The Tonys usually provide a good showcase of the best of Broadway. George Clooney, who has broken records on the Great White Way this season, goes one better by presenting the entirety of the closing night of his “Good Night, and Good Luck Live: CNN Special Event” (CNN, 8 p.m.) the night before the awards.
It sort of fits on the news channel, since it’s a valentine to the strength and courage of bygone newsman Edward R. Murrow as he railed against the reckless demagogue. of his day, Sen. Joseph McCarthy. This has been on TV before— in the form of Clooney’s original 2005 film that starred David Strathairn in the central role.
This time it’s Clooney himself in the role he wrote and directed, and the filming tonight of the last live performance brings the event to the days of early television, when live theatrical productions represented prestige TV. CNN follows the event with Anderson Cooper discussing the show’s implications for today in “Good Night, and Good Luck Live: Truth and Power” (CNN, 9 p.m.).
Sir David Attenborough teams up with National Geographic for a new film meant to herald Sunday’s World Oceans Day, “Oceans with David Attenborough” (National Geographic, 9 p.m.).
Alison Sweeney, Ashley Williams and Alejandroro Tous star in the made-for-TV romance “To Barcelona, with Love” (Hallmark, 8 p.m.), about an American novelist who comes to Spain to meet her translator and meets a bookstore owner.
U.S,. Tennis star Coco Gauff faces Anna Sabalenka of Belarus in the women’s singles final of the French Open (TNT, 9 a.m.). The men’s doubles final is at noon.
Rachel Stubington stars as a 15-year-old who leaned at 15 that she had been abducted by a baby and raised by the family of the man she knew as her uncle, a serial killer convicted of murdering her biological mother. Best of all, Steve Guttenberg plays the serial killer in “Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story” (Lifetime, 8 p.m.) — on a night when he also stars in “Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment” (IFC, 7:15 p.m.).
An odd thing amid the sports on broadcast primetime is AVP Beach VolleyBall (CW, 8 p.m.) from San Diego.
“Family or Fiancé” (OWN, 8 p.m.) has a couple moving a little too fast to the aisle.
Rock climbing turns competitive on “Somebody’s Son” (OWN, 9 p.m.).
“The Alto Knights” (HBO, 8 p.m.), the mob drama from Barry Levinson and Nicholas Pileggi with Robert De Niro in two roles and Debra Messing from earlier this year, makes its premium cable debut.
Paul Giamatti picks the double feature on Turner Classic Movies tonight and chooses two from the 1960s, “Carnival of Souls” (8 p.m.) and “Rosemary’s Baby” (9:30 p.m.). The 12 o’clock noir is “The Undercover Man” (midnight), followed by a pair of rock documentaries, “The Song Remains the Same” (1:45 a.m.) and “Monterey Pop” (4:15 a.m.). The midday musical is “Easy to Love” (noon).
Baseball includes Cubs at Detroit (MLB, 1 p.m.), Atlanta at San Francisco (MLB, 4 p.m.), Boston at Yankees (Fox, 7:30 p.m.) and Mets at Colorado (MLB, 10:30 p.m.).
WNBA action has Las Vegas at Golden State (ABC, 3 p.m.) and Indiana at Chicago (CBS, 8 p.m.).
There is third round play in the Canadian Open (Golf, 1 p.m.; CBS, 3 p.m.).
Motor sports include the Aragon Grand Prix Sprint (Fox Sports 1, 9 a.m.), the DQS Solutions and Staffing 250 (Fox, noon), and the motocross Thunder Valley Nationals (NBC, 4 p.m.).
Soccer includes San Marino at Bosnia and Herzegovina (Fox Sports 2, 8:45 a.m.), England at Andorra (Fox Sports 2, 11:45 a.m.), Romania at Austraia (Fox Sports 2, 2:30 p.m.), Turkey at United States (TNT, Universe, 3:30 pm.) in a men’s international friendly.
Canadian football has Edmonton at British Columbia (CBS Sports, 10 p.m.).
The third big horse rase of the season is the Belmont Stakes (FOX, 6:30 p.m.), with a post time of 7:04 p.m.
Professional lacrosse has Utah vs. Boston (ABC, 1 p.m.).
Always a bad sign when your president chooses, out of all the sports to see, the UFC 316 preliminaries (Fox, 8 p.m.). (Another bad sign: on broadcast in primetime).
College baseball has Louisville at Miami (ESPN, 11 a.m.), North Carolina at Arizona (ESPN2, noon), Murray State at Duke (ESPNU, 1 p.m.), West Virginia at LSU (ESPN, 2 p.m.), Auburn vs. Coastal Carolina (ESPN2, 3 p.m.), Tennessee at Arkansas (ESPN, 5 p.m.), Texas San Antonio at UCLA (ESPNU, 7 p.m.) and Oregon State vs. Florida State (ESPNU, 9 p.m.).
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 11:30 p.m.) has a rerun of the March episode with Mikey Madison and Morgan Wallen.