1) “Kiss Me, Kate,” 9 p.m., PBS. After airing two grim, modern musicals, PBS goes the opposite way. Written in 1948, this ripples with great Cole Porter songs– some of them wildly unrelated to the story. (The second act begins with a “Too Darn Hot,” shown here, that’s long, vibrant and totally random.) Adrian Dunbar and Stephanie J. Block are strong leads; the songs — “Too Darn Hot,” “So In Love,” “Always True to You,” etc. — are delightful.
2) “An Evening With Elton John and Brandi Carlisle,” 9-10:30 p.m., CBS. Here’s more music, old and new, via rerun. In London’s Palladium Theatre, the friends sing new songs and John’s old hits; they also have a chat. That nudges the “Fire Country” rerun (heat-wave crisis) to 8 p.m.
3) “Happy’s Place,” 8:30 p.m., NBC. This finds a way to isolate its two best characters (Reba McEntire and Rex Linn, a real-life couple) in a fishing cabin. They’re moments are excellent; the rest is overwrought. The 8 p.m. rerun is the same — great bits from McEntire, Linn and Tokala Black Elk, noisy ones from the others.
4) “Bono: Stories of Surrender,” Apple TV+. The U2 star offers a one-man show, with stories and intimate versions of his hits. That follows a packed Thursday for streamers: Netfliix’s “Dept. Q” (a cop show from the “Queen’s Gambit” creator); Max’s season-opener of “And Just Like That …”; Amazon Prime’s “The Better Sister”; and Peacock’s “Poker Face.”
5) Sports. At 8 p.m. ET, fans can try United Football League on ABC … basketball and hockey playoff games (if needed) on ESPN and TNT … and a great baseball film (“Field of Dreams”) on Turner Classic Movies.
Mike Hughes, TV America