Best bets for May 12: The end for “Veep” and (almost) “Thrones”

1) All night, HB0. It’s a time of departing greatness at HBO. “Game of Thrones” has its finale next week; tonight, we get a new episode at 9 p.m. and a rerun of the previous one at 7:30. Then (after a 10:20 “Barry”), “Veep” has is finale at 10:50. “Veep” has won the best-comedy-series Emmy for three straight years … and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (shown here) has won the comedy-actress Emmy in each of the show’s six seasons. Tonight, we see if Selina (Louis-Dreyfus) gets her party’s nomination for president. Read more…

1) All night, HB0. It’s a time of departing greatness at HBO. “Game of Thrones” has its finale next week; tonight, we get a new episode at 9 p.m. and a rerun of the previous one at 7:30. Then (after a 10:20 “Barry”), “Veep” has is finale at 10:50. “Veep” has won the best-comedy-series Emmy for three straight years … and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (shown here) has won the comedy-actress Emmy in each of the show’s six seasons. Tonight, we see if Selina (Louis-Dreyfus) gets her party’s nomination for president.

2) The Red Line,” 8-10 p.m., CBS. This has the ingredients for a great mini-series – richly layered characters in complicated crises. It’s so good that we almost overlook a flaw: To propel the plot, those characters defy logic and believability. The most absurd moments have involved the handling of a damning videotape. Also, people blurt out secrets; that happens again tonight, alongside some great moments, especially two for Daniel (Noah Wyle) – with a bartender and in a school office.

3) “The Spanish Princess,” 8 p.m., Starz. Last week’s opener saw Catherine of Aragon move to England and marry Prince Arthur. She was enamored with his love letters … then found they were actually written by Arthur’s brother, the future King Henry VIII. Tonight, the marriage starts shakily; so does this hour, but stick with it. It ends with rich waves of emotion.

4) “Masterpiece: Les Miserables,” 9 p.m., PBS. Obsessed with catching Jean Valjean, this cop seems to ignore all other problems … including the revolution brewing in the streets of Paris. Like the previous episodes, this one (the fifth of six) is beautifully crafted, but relentlessly one-note.

5) Much more. A week from its finale, “American Idol” is down to its final five singers. That’s 8-10 p.m. on ABC … letting you switch to CBS at 10 for “NCIS: Los Angeles,” with David James Elliott in his old “JAG” role. Prefer animation? At 7 p.m., NBC has the mostly clever “Secret Life of Pets” (2016); at 8:30, Fox has the so-so season-finale of “Bob’s Burgers.”

— Mike Hughes, TV America

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *