Day: June 21, 2020

PBS offers masterful documentaries

Two documentaries arrive Tuesday, with nothing in common … except for first-rate craftsmanship.
One is a joyous profile of Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison (shown here); the other is an angry look at convicted drug entrepreneur John Kapoor. Together, they show how good PBS’ non-fiction can be.
The network had already planned to make this the summer of women’s history, leading to the 100th anniversary (Aug. 26) of the women’s vote; it had also planned gay-rights specials linked to Pride Month. Then it quickly added black-history and coronavirus reports.
The Morrison profile straddles both the black and women’s themes; the Kapoor one is prime “Frontline” – deep, dark and angry. A look at both: Read more…

Best-bets for June 23: Dancers, docs and teen superheroes

1) “World of Dance,” 10 p.m., NBC. The bad news is that Fox’s first-rate “So You Think You Can Dance” has made it official: It will have to skip this summer. Fortunately, this show is a solid substitute, with smart judges and gifted dancers. Tonight, the callbacks have 10 teams competing for four spots. Our only complaint is a lack of variety: With a few exceptions – including Latin rhythms from Showstoppers (shown here) – there’s a sameness to the numbers. Read more…