Best-bets for Sept. 5: famous kin and a bad seed

1) “The Bad Seed Returns,” 8 p.m., Lifetime. At 16, McKenna Grace (shown here) has great range. She’s been geniuses (in “Young Sheldon” and the movie “Gifted”) and a vengeful victim (“Handmaid’s Tale”). She was a cunning villain in the “Bad Seed” remake (2018), which reruns at 6 and 10:03 p.m. today. Now she’s co-written, co-produced and stars in this sequel; it’s beautifully done, if a bit repetitious. Read more…

1) “The Bad Seed Returns,” 8 p.m., Lifetime. At 16, McKenna Grace (shown here) has great range. She’s been geniuses (in “Young Sheldon” and the movie “Gifted”) and a vengeful victim (“Handmaid’s Tale”). She was a cunning villain in the “Bad Seed” remake (2018), which reruns at 6 and 10:03 p.m. today. Now she’s co-written, co-produced and stars in this sequel; it’s beautifully done, if a bit repetitious.

2) “Claim to Fame,” 10 p.m., ABC. This show has already revealed and ousted lots of family members — the sisters of Simone Biles and Tiffany Haddish, daughters of Brett Favre and Al Sharpton, grandchildren of Chuck Norris and Whoopi Goldberg, cousin of Zendaya and twin of Laverne Cox. Now four remain, with the finale Tuesday. Both hours are preceded by “The Bachelorette,” with the guys invited for separate, overnightt dates/

.3) “Edge of the Unknown” debut, 9:30 and 10 p.m., National Geographic. Jimmy Chin’s “Free Solo” (2018) is a stunning, Oscar-winning documentary that follows Alex Honnold’s no-ropes climb up the sheer El Capitan cliff. Now Chin profiles various adventurers. The first half-hour has Honnold, the second has Angel Collinson, a skiier who survived a 1,000-foot fall.

4) “Kevin Can F Himself,” 9 p.m., AMC. This show deliberately juggles opposite styles – a brash comedy (complete with laughter) and a stern drama about Allison (Annie Murphy), who wants out. Tonight, the comedy part gets a large chunk of the time, but the drama packs quiet emotion: Worried that the hit man she hired will come out of his coma, Annie plans to fake her own death.

5) “Recipes for Love & Murder,” any time, www.acorn.tv. What happens when someone’s food column is canceled? She starts an advice column, adds some recpipes … and solve crimes. This South African show has all the basics — bright settings, likable characters and quirky situations. Still, it has blunt dialog that defies believability, plus a story that takes forever to unfold. Acorn — usually a dependable source for mysteries — plans to give us two episodes a week for four weeks. We’ve seen three episodes and still feel miles from a satisfying story.

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