Best-bets for June 27: Great night for music, “Monday,” “Masterpiece”

1) BET Awards, 8-11:30 p.m., BET, MTV and VH1; BET also has a preview at 7 and a rerun at midnight. Taraji Henson hosts, Queen Latifah gets a lifetime award and there’s a barrage of performers. They included Andra Day (shown here in her Billie Holiday movies), H.E.R., DJ Khaled, City Girls, Migos and gospel’s Kirk Franklin. Others range from Lil Baby and Lil Durk to Roddy Ricch and Moneybagg Yo! They include Bree Runway, Tone Stith, Jazmine SuIlivan and Rapsody. Read more…

(These are the best-bets for Sunday, June 27. However, I found to my chagrin that I failed to post the ones for the previousw Sunday, June 20. Just for the record, I’m putting them at the end here.)

1) BET Awards, 8-11:30 p.m., BET, MTV and VH1; BET also has a preview at 7 and a rerun at midnight. Taraji Henson hosts, Queen Latifah gets a lifetime award and there’s a barrage of performers. They included Andra Day (shown here in her Billie Holiday movies), H.E.R., DJ Khaled, City Girls, Migos and gospel’s Kirk Franklin. Others range from Lil Baby and Lil Durk to Roddy Ricch and Moneybagg Yo! They include Bree Runway, Tone Stith, Jazmine SuIlivan and Rapsody.

2) “Masterpiece Theatre: Us” conclusion, 9-11 p.m., PBS. This started last week with Connie (Saskia Reeves) suddenly telling Douglas (Tom Hollander) she wants a divorce. That put a crimp on their plan to take their son Albie on a grand European vacation before college. But they decided to go anyway, spurring a rich blend of humor and despair. Now we’re in the latter; Albie has left and Douglas is searching. The result, beautifully written and acted, finds warmth and fun in even the dark moments.

3) “Black Monday,” 10 p.m., Showtime. From “Lifeboat” to “12 Angry Men” to modern variations, we’ve learned this: Great drama (and/or comedy) happens when characters are confined together; emotions bounce around, pinball-style. Here’s a superb example: After a clever opening scenes (phone calls zipping around), five characters are suddenly packed together. They don’t know why, but words and revelations start flying. It’s brilliant writing, perfectly played, with an explosive finish.

4) U.S. Olympic trials, 7-11 p.m., NBC. It’s a crowded sports day for NBC. First is golf, with the finals of an LPGA tournament, from 3-6 p.m. Then the track & field finals are at 8 p.m., followed by the big ratings draw – the women’s gymnastics finals, from 8:30 to 11 p.m.

5) “Batwoman” season-finale, 9 p.m., CW. Ryan stepped into this duty by accident. An ex-con, homeless and unable to get a job as a martial-arts instructor, she found the Batwoman suit and took over. Now she’s doubting herself, just as an epic battle begins, with Black Mask bringing chaos.

(And now here are those missing best-bets for June 20.)

1) “Masterpiece: Us” opener, 9 p.m., PBS. For Douglas and Connie (Tom Hollander and Saskia Reeves) this will be the vacation of a lifetime. They have ample money (he’s a top scientist) and a son who’s college-bound. Now they’re taking him to Paris, Venice, Amsterdam and Barcelona. The only complication: She’s just decided she wants a divorce. Over the next two Sundays, we’ll get a witty ride through Europe, with skilled actors handling dialog filled with humor and human drama.

2) “Kevin Can (bleep) Himself” debut, 9-11:07 p.m., AMC. At first, this is an old-time situation comedy, large and loud. Kevin is obese and oafish, his wife Allison is slender and smart, their friends are dolts. But stick around, when Allison leaves the room. The laughtrack stops, the filming style changes and we see her view of a harsh life. Annie Murphy (“Schitt’s Creek”) is great in almost a double role. It’s an interesting show … except when the bad-sitcom parts simply become too awful.

3) “The Moodys” series finale, 9:30 p.m., Fox. Now for a sitcom that’s subtle, smart and, alas, a ratings failure. Denis Leary and Elizabeth Perkins have three kids, in a blue-collar family that has constant chaos. Tonight, they head to a wedding; their daughter finally gets a burst of romance and their older son patches things up with Marco, his partner in an iffy business.

4) “The Chi,” 9 p.m., Showtime. This has the turning-point moment the show flashed to in the season-opener. It’s quick and jolting … but doesn’t come until the final minute. Before then, there’s Kiesha’s at-home childbirth; there’s Emmett, devastated by his mother’s illness. And there’s the mayor’s gala, an emotional moment for Kevin and Jada, the girl he’s known since his first day of school.

5) Movies. Wrapping up a busy Juneteenth weekend, CBS has set aside three drama series and inserted “Selma” (2014), from 8-11 p.m. The potent story of Martin Luther King’s march won an Academy Award for the song “Glory” and was nominated for best picture. But this is also Father’s Day and at 8 p.m. the TV One channel has “Bad Dad Rehab: The Next Session.” It’s a sequel (with new characters) to a movie that saw dads working through various parenting issues.

Leave a Reply

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