Month: June 2021

Best-bets for June 13: Swimmers, dogs and dramas

1) Olympic trials, 5:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network; 7 p.m., NBC. For five years (including a COVID delay), these people have waited for their Olympic shot. Now the games begin July 21 and the U.S. team is filling its spots. Tonight, diving concludes and swimming (shown here) starts; it will continue through Wednesday, with track-and-field starting Friday. Sports alternatives today include baseball (Cards-Cubs, 7:10 p.m. ET, ESPN) and basketball – Nets-Bucks, 3 p.m. ET, ABC , Suns-Nuggets, 8 p.m., TNT. Read more…

Week’s top-10 for June 14: Strong dramas begin, end

1) “The Republic of Sarah” debut, 9 p.m. today, CW. In this New Hampshire town, nestled against the Canadian border, life is quiet and autumn is gorgeous. Then heavy equipment rolls in; everything will change. The real plot doesn’t click in until the second half of this hour; “Republic” toys with our first assumptions about Sarah and others. We won’t spoil any surprises; just expect some neat twists. The villains here are absurdly overdrawn, but Sarah (newcomer Stella Baker, shown here) is immensely likable. Read more…

Best-bets for June 11: Fun films, new and old

1) “In the Heights” (shown here), any time, HBO Max. The Broadway musical – which Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote before “Hamilton” – starts streaming on the same day it reaches movie theaters. That’s in a huge streak for streamers: Earlier, two overseas delights returned – “Line of Duty” on Britbox” and “Miss Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries” on Acorn –and the ambitious “Loki” debuted on Disney+. Arriving today are new seasons of “Love, Victor” (Hulu) and “Lupin” (Netflix). Read more…

Best-bets for June 10: finales for “Manifest,” “Rebel”

1) “Manifest” (shown here in a previous episode) season-finale, 8-10 p.m, NBC. It’s always something, you know. Ben and Grace Stone are finally re-united with their daughter Olive; then Cal (Olive’s twin) runs away. In the second hour, Ben tries a dangerous mission with Saanvi, a researcher. And Michaela (Ben’s sister) races to stop a deadly event; also, she finds her relationship with Jared souring over mistrust. Read more…

Best-bets for June 9: Country stars, drama crises

1) “CMT Awards,” 8 p.m. , CMT, MTV, Paramount, more, rerunning at 10:30 on CMT. There will be lots of stars in lots of places. Kelsea Ballerini (shown here) and Kane Brown perform and host, introducing acts scattered around Nashville. That includes Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett, Maren Morris, Luke Combs, Mickey Guyton, Chris Young, Lauren Alaina, Dierks Bientley, Gabby Barrett and more, including Brothers Osborne, Lady Antebellum and rock great Gladys Knight. Read more…

“Loki”: fantasy fun from an odd god

In the sprawling Marvel universe, Loki (shown here) has always been an anomaly.
This is a world of good intentions and great physiques. It’s a place where superpowers (plus super suits and shields and hammers and such) can save us from fierce villains.
Then there’s Loki, the “God of Mischief.” He’s a trickster who uses his tricks mainly to help himself. He’s sly and selfish and scheming; he’s perfect for a TV series.
So now “Loki” has its quick run on the Disney+ streaming service. Two episodes arrive Wednesday (June 9), with weekly ones for four more Wednesdays. Read more…

Best-bets for June 8: “New Amsterdam” ends a brutal season

1) “New Amsterdam” season-finale, 10 p.m., NBC. This has been a brutal year for Max (shown here in an earlier episode). While his hospital faces constant crises, he’s been battling his late wife’s parents for custody of his daughter. Now, an object that’s important to him is missing; he scours the hospital. Iggy, the psychiatrist, has also had a rough time. Last week, an angry patient broke into his home; now Iggy re-thinks his own life. Read more…

Best-bets for June 7: “Bachelorette” sheds its habits

1) “The Bachelorette” opener, 8-10 p.m., ABC. Many of the show’s habits are being broken here. Usually, the show centers on someone almost chosen on “The Bachelor”; instead, we have Katie Thurston (shown here), who finished 11th but was popular for standing up to bullies. Usually, there’s just one “Bachelorette” a year; now they’re back-to-back – Thurston now, Michelle Young in September. Usually, the guys are older; now Thurston, 30, is older than at least 20 of the 30 men she’ll meet. Read more…

“Pose” ends with flash, flair … and some speeches

In its brief, brash life, “Pose” (shown here) has done important things.
It introduced viewers to a world most of us hadn’t heard of – the flash and flair of ballroom competitions in 1990s New York. It also re-introduced us to something we wanted to forget – the peak of the AIDS crisis.
Now it’s ending, sort of abruptly. The third and final season — ending Sunday (June 6) is only seven episodes long; we’d grumble about that, except: Read more…