Day: June 30, 2021

1) “America Masters: Norman Lear,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. It was a hard-scrabble start for Lear (shown here): His dad, full of dreams and schemes, spent three years in prison for selling phony stocks; Lear left college to fight in World War II, worked as a publicist … then did TV comedy. Two networks balked at “All in the Family,” but it became No. 1 for five straight years. At one point, Lear had five shows in the top nine, while nudging TV into topical turf. This excellent rerun profiles a strong talent who’s now 98. Read more…

1) “Good Girls,” 9 p.m. NBC. This won’t be back next year, but we can catch new episodes on the next four Thursdays. Desperate to dump their counterfeit cash, the women lost it all in Las Vegas. They were delighted; Rio, the gang leader who leads the counterfeit scheme, wasn’t. Now he takes a hostage; there are great moments for Mae Whitman (center) and Christina Hendricks (left), as Annie and her sister Beth. Read more…