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TV TODAY

Big Brother Kicks off a Camp-Themed Season 21

ALSO: Pose, Chopped Junior, Animal Kingdom, Drunk History, Mike Epps and more
  • Julie Chen Moonves hosts Season 21 of Big Brother (CBS)
    Julie Chen Moonves hosts Season 21 of Big Brother (CBS)

    At this point there's no defending why we continue to watch Big Brother. The show reliably casts some of the most irritating people in reality TV, it airs multiple times a week, it lasts forever, and more often than not, the winner is a disappointment. Yet, the new season starts tonight, and that's where we'll be. We'll be there for the Zingbot, and for all of the new rules. We'll be there for the Head of Household competitions, the increasingly Byzantine twists, and the challenges (last year they had someone compete as a robot for a week). This year's 16 new players include a Broadway dancer, a plus-size model, a 53-year-old petroleum engineer (ancient by the show's standards), and a "wine safari guide" (who should prove popular in the Big Brother house).

    SEASON PREMIERE: Big Brother returns for its 21st season with a new outdoorsy camp theme and a twist that CBS promises will "force houseguests to rethink how they play the game."  8:00 PM ET on CBS

    NEW EPISODE: In a new episode of Pose, a fatal mishap with a client leads Elektra to seek out the counsel of Blanca and Candy. Meanwhile, moving from friends to lovers proves to be a challenge for Angel and Lil Papi. 10:00 PM ET on FX

    SPECIAL PRESENTATION: The horrific events in China's Tiananmen Square were some of the most striking historical events ever televised. Thirty years later, Tiananmen: The People Versus the Party, investigates the stand-offs most endelible images, like the man standing in defiance before a row of approaching tanks. 9:00 PM ET on PBS

    NEW EPISODE: Shawn Hatosy's Pope keeps rising in our weekly Animal Kingdom Power Rankings. Tonight, he learns some disturbing details about where Smurf (Ellen Barkin) has been, and the revelation puts Angela's (Emily Deschanel) spot in the house in jeopardy. 9:00 PM ET on TNT

    ALSO TONIGHT

    • Mike Epps: Only One Mike sees Epps in Washington D.C. for his latest one-hour stand-up comedy special. Streaming on Netflix
    • Chopped Junior returns for an eighth season of precocious young chefs crafting compelling meals from eclectic ingredients. 9:00 PM ET on Food Network
    • Drunk History boozily re-creates music-industry legends involving John and Yoko, Sam Cooke, and Lead Belly. 10:00 PM ET on Comedy Central

    Joe Reid is the senior writer at Primetimer and co-host of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. His work has appeared in Decider, NPR, HuffPost, The Atlantic, Slate, Polygon, Vanity Fair, Vulture, The A.V. Club and more.

    TOPICS: Big Brother, CBS, Reality TV