‘America’s Got Talent’ Goes Live, HGTV’s Hotel Challenge, ‘Big Brother’ Recap, Matt Rife Works the Crowd

8/7c

The Olympics are over, but the summer’s other most popular contest returns when the talent show goes live for four weeks of quarterfinals from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Each week, 11 acts show what they’ve got for judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara, and Howie Mandel, with a variety of specialties from acrobats, dancers, comedians, magicians and singers and including a quick-change artist, a drone act and a baton act. The new twist: Each week, a judge gets to send an act straight to the finals with the return of the Golden Buzzer. The rest compete again in a semifinal round before the two-week finals decide a $1 million winner.

Series Premiere

8/7c

They won last year’s Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge and Season 2 of Rock the Block, and now it’s time for Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt (100 Day Dream Home) to compete against each other. A six-episode showdown pits the couple in a contest to decide who does the best job in renovating two 1950s-era family-owned properties in North Carolina: the Beacon Hotel (formerly the Salter Path Inn) and the William & Garland Motel. Each week, Property Brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott weigh in as judges to assess a specific space, starting with standard and double guest rooms in the expanded 90-minute premiere. Each round is worth $5,000 to their chosen charity, with the ultimate winner getting $50,000 for charity.

Special

9/8c

Who knows the game of Big Brother better than those who’ve emerged triumphant from the claustrophobic marathon? With several weeks of play to dissect in Season 26, several past winners — Jag Bains (Season 25), Taylor Hale (Season 23) and Cody Calafiore (Season 22) — head into the Big Brother AI arena for a special episode, rehashing the most memorable moments to date. AI also promises to reveal another game-changer that will affect the game going forward.

Special

“This is just me and you, guys,” comedian Matt Rife tells a rapt audience at The Comedy Zone in Charlotte, North Carolina, as he launches a first-of-its-kind stand-up comedy special for the streamer. The performance is a full hour of Rife working the crowd in spontaneous give-and-take. “I want you guys to be aware you are equally as at fault for how this goes as I am,” he warns them. Can they also take credit if the performance is a home run?

INSIDE TUESDAY TV:

• Celebrity Family Feud (8/7c, ABC): Rapper Flavor Flav takes on comedian Bobby Lee in one round, followed by Donny Osmond facing comic actor Ken Marino as they play for charity. Followed by the season finale of Judge Steve Harvey, with episodes at 9/8c and 10/9c.
• American Godfathers: The Five Families (8/7c, History Channel): The docuseries finale depicts more aggressive methods by modern law enforcement to curb the Mafia’s power. Are any dons truly Teflon anymore?
• Dark Side of the 90s (10/9c, Vice TV): The series explores the tragic legacy of Saturday Night Live comedians who didn’t survive the decade, including Phil Hartman and Chris Farley (who gets his own episode in a repeat at 11/10c).