Best-bets for July 30: “Truth,” track & Ted

1) “Burden of Truth” season-opener, 8 p.m., CW. As a big-city lawyer, sleek and smart, Joanna (Kristin Kreuk, shown here) pushed herself too hard. Now life is even harder: She and Billy are back in their hometown, losing sleep with their new baby. She’s also representing a landowner who resists a mining project that this hard-scrabble town wants. There are some moments that seem contrived, to nudge the plot along. Still, this Canadian drama works well, with solid characters and neatly understated performances. Read more…

1) “Burden of Truth” season-opener, 8 p.m., CW. As a big-city lawyer, sleek and smart, Joanna (Kristin Kreuk, shown here) pushed herself too hard. Now life is even harder: She and Billy are back in their hometown, losing sleep with their new baby. She’s also representing a landowner who resists a mining project that this hard-scrabble town wants. There are some moments that seem contrived, to nudge the plot along. Still, this Canadian drama works well, with solid characters and neatly understated performances.

2) Olympics. A week into the Olympics, track-and-field finally shows up. There was a smidgen on Thursday, but now the rush begins – live on Peacock (6-11 a.m. ET), on tape (after 8 p.m. ET) on NBC and USA. NBC also has lots of swimming and women’s beach volleyball, in the afternoon and at night.

3) “Cesar Millan: Better Human Better Dog” debut, 9 and 10 p.m., National Geographic and Nat Geo Wild, rerun at midnight and 1 a.m. For 17 years, Millan has been a strong force on cable, reforming dogs and their people. The first hour has a troubled pitbull and a vicious yorkie; the second has a retiree whose dog has a fixation with bricks. They’re surrounded at 8 and 11 p.m. by reruns – Millan’s “Dog Whisperer” on Wild, the excellent “Shark Beach With Chris Hemsworth” on National Geographic.

4) “Schmigadoon” and more, Apple TV+. It’s another terrific Friday for Apple. There’s the season-finale of “Central Park” … an excellent “Ted Lasso” (Roy tries a new job, Jamie Tartt needs any job) … and a delightful Schmigadoon, with fresh distractions. Melissa (Cecily Strong) is working for the handsome doctor (Jaime Camil). Josh (Keegan-Michael Key) meets the sweet schoolmarm (Broadway’s Ariana DeBose), leading to a great number, with tap-dancing, desk-top schoolkids.

5) ALSO: Suddenly, TV is all about telling stories behind the music. There’s already a buzz for Hulu’s “McCartney 3,2,1,” in which super-producer Rick Rubin digs into the Beatles’ sound. Now another streaming series (Apple’s “Watch the Sound With Mark Ronson”) features another top producer. Meanwhile, PBS continues its terrific “Icon: Music Through the Lens,” this time looking at album-cover art. That’s at 9 p.m., followed at 10 by a “Classic Albums” look at Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours.”

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