Best-bets for Jan. 14: A funny — and sometimes topical — night

1) “Superstore,” 8:30 p.m., NBC. Racial justice, it seems, can come in unlikely areas. For the store, that includes the hair-care products: Only the Black-oriented ones are locked away. That leads to what “Superstore” does best – a mass meeting, where quirks escalate. Garrett (Colton Dunn, foreground, in a previous episode) is expected to speal for an entire race; it’s a witty episode, with subjects soon range from vending machines to “reparation pizzas.” Read more…

1) “Superstore,” 8:30 p.m., NBC. Racial justice, it seems, can come in unlikely areas. For the store, that includes the hair-care products: Only the Black-oriented ones are locked away. That leads to what “Superstore” does best – a mass meeting, where quirks escalate. Garrett (Colton Dunn, foreground, in a previous episode) is expected to speal for an entire race; it’s a witty episode, with subjects soon range from vending machines to “reparation pizzas.”

2) “Mr. Mayor,” 8 p.m., NBC. While people interview for a job on his staff, the mayor (Ted Danson) has a town-hall session that goes awry. That’s part of a busy comedy night, including good reruns on CBS: Sheldon volunteers at a train museum in “Young Sheldon” at 8 p.m., Drew plants a tracking device on Gina in “B Positive” at 8:30 and the women visit a sober retreat on “Mom,” at 9. Also, Fox has new episodes of “Call Me Kat” (mentioned next) at 9 and “Last Man Standing” at 9:30.

3) “Call Me Kat,” 9 p.m., Fox. Kat (Mayim Bialik) wins a trip for two to Puerto Rico. That brings two problems: She doesn’t have someone to bring; also, her two employees (played by Leslie Jordan and Kyla Pratt) may have trouble running the place.

4) “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” 9 p.m., NBC. The only good thing about the Broadway shutdown is that it gives great actors some extra time for TV roles. This is a nasty and painful episode about sexual role-playing on the Internet, but it has great work from its guest stars: Alex Brightman, 33, has done six Broadway shows, with Tony nominations as the star of “Beetlejuice” and “School of Rock”; Eva Noblezada, 24, has done “Miss Saigon” and “Hadestown,” with nominations in both.

5) “Star Trek: Discovery,” 10 p.m., CBS. Life is complicated enough in one reality. But now the crew finds itself in a parallel universe, where the captain faces execution. And its chief engineer, Stamets, is in a coma that has him in alternate realities, even in fervent dialog with himself. It’s a tangled hour with too much emphasis on torture, but it also has some strong moments – especially with Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz, as Stamets and his lover, the chief medical officer.

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