Best-bets for April 5: War looms, music soars

1) “Masterpiece: World on Fire” debut, 9 p.m., PBS. This seven-week epic (continuing next year) sweeps across Europe and across class lines, focusing on three likable young people as World War II looms. Harry is a translator, rich, romantic and terribly handsome. Lois is an English factory worker and singer, Kasia (shown here with Harry) is a Polish waitress; both women have a steely resolve that he (at first) lacks. Helen Hunt is so-so as a radio reporter, but Sean Bean is superb as Lois’ dad, a shell-shocked veteran. Read more…

1) “Masterpiece: World on Fire” debut, 9 p.m., PBS. This seven-week epic (continuing next year) sweeps across Europe and across class lines, focusing on three likable young people as World War II looms. Harry is a translator, rich, romantic and terribly handsome. Lois is an English factory worker and singer, Kasia (shown here with Harry) is a Polish waitress; both women have a steely resolve that he (at first) lacks. Helen Hunt is so-so as a radio reporter, but Sean Bean is superb as Lois’ dad, a shell-shocked veteran.

2) “ACM Presents: Our Country,” 8-10 p.m., CBS. The Academy of Country Music awards were pushed back to Sept. 16, but the void will be filled with stars performing and chatting from home. It will be Blake Shelton with Gwen Stefani, Kane Brown with John Legend, Luke Brian linking with Brad Paisley and Darius Rucker for a Kenny Rogers tribute. Also: Carrie Underwood, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Luke Combs, Thomas Rhett, Shania Twain, more. And that’s followed at 10 p.m. by a rerun of Wednesday’s terrific “Garth & Trisha Live,” with Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood soaring in their home studio.

3) “Kim Karsashian West: The Justice Project,” 7-9 p.m., Oxygen, rerunning at 9. Yes, Kardashian West is a glitzy pop-culture figure, married to a superstar. But she’s also a lawyer’s daughter who has been examining charges of disproportionate sentencing. She convinced President Trump to commute the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, who became a great-grandmother during her 22 years in prison for cocaine trafficking. In this special, she and her lawyers look into four cases, with some success.

4) “America Together,” 9 p.m. ET, Fox. Yes, we definitely need some good news now. This hour will over stories of strength and hope, from around the country. Pete Hegseth anchors, with reports fdrom Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Ainsley Earhardt and more.

5) Palm Sunday shows, cable. With people at home during the Easter season, cable channels are stepping in. UpTV has a religious-movie marathon, from “Courageous” (2011) at 11:30 a.m. ET to “The Passion of The Christ” (2004) at 7 p.m. ET. The Oprah Winfrey Network reruns Winfrey’s past “Super Soul Sunday” chats with clergymen, from 6-10 a.m. and at noon. Winfrey also talks to Buddhist author Pema Chodron in a Maui flower garden at 10 a.m. and has a video chat with Alicia Keys at 11.

ALSO) We usually stop at five, but there’s a lor during daytime: The Beverly Hills Dog Show will be 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC … but not the one that was taped on Feb. 29. Post-production was shut down by the virus, so this is last year’s show. Other shows range from Philip Glass’ “Akhnaten” opera (noon on some PBS stations) to a shark marathon on Discovery. It goes from “Monster Hammerhead” at 9 a.m. to “Naked and Afraid of Sharks” from 6-8 p.m.

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