1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. A familiar face shows up in this rerun, this time as host. Maya Rudolph (show here) pent seven years on the show and has returned occasionally – especially to portray Kamala Harris. This is just her second turn as host, with Jack Harlow as music guest. Read more…
1) “The Bachelorette” opener, 8-10 p.m. today, ABC. Now the annual summer leaders are in place – “Bachelorette” on Mondays, “America’s Got Talent” on Tuesdays. Last year, “Bachelorette” was delayed until fall and did well; this year, it gets both – Katie Thurston (shown here) now, Michelle Young in September. Thurston, 30, is older than at least 20 of the 30 men she’ll meet. They range from a deputy district attorney to two athletes and a zipper sales manager. Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristow host. Read more…
1) “The Blacklist” season-finale, 8 p.m., NBC. For much of the year, Liz and her former mentor Red (they’re shown here in a previous season) have been after each other. Now they must work together (along with Dembe) to survive an attack from Townsend. Meanwhile, Cooper and the task force try to de-escalate the situation. Read more…
1) “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” season-finale, 9 p.m., NBC. The longest-running primetime drama in TV history wraps its 22nd season with a surprising touch. At first, the “Law & Order” shows stridently avoided anything personal. Now, however, “SVU” goes the opposite way: Barring a late mishap, Fin (Ice-T, a regular since the second season) will marry Phoebe (Jennifer Esposito); they’re shown here in an earlier episode. Read more…
(Here are the five TV best-bets for Wednesday, June 2; feel free to use in any form – all or some, print and/or web)
1) “MasterChef” opener, 8 p.m., Fox. On Monday, Gordon Ramsay opened “Hell’s Kitchen,” which has professional chefs and lots of yelling. Now here’s his “MasterChef,” with home chefs, a feel-good mood and even some kitchen heroes: Emeril Lagasse (shown here with Ramsay and one of the contestants, a construction worker) is the guest judge tonight; Paula Deen and others are coming up. Tonight starts the try-out phase. It’s a bumpy road, because acceptances come one at a time, arbitrarily stopping at 15. Still, these are appealing chefs we’re soon rooting for. Read more…
1) “America’s Got Talent” opener, 8-10 p.m., NBC. Each summer, this has ruled the ratings, while viewing a wide and weird range of talent. At first, the results were mainstream; five of the first six champions were singers, alongside one ventriloquist. Since then, winners have included only two singers, plus two more ventriloquists, a magician, a dancer, a dog act and, last year, spoken-word poet Brandon Leake (shown here). Last year, ratings dropped a bit when COVID forced remote performances; now, however, auditioners are back on the main stage. Read more…
1) “Housebroken” debut, 9 p.m., Fox. When the humans are gone, it seems, the pets have group therapy sessions (shown here). They range from a pokey turtle to a prideful pig, from feral cats to Honey (voiced by Lisa Kudrow), the wise poodle in charge. Honey’s housemate is a St. Bernard whose enthusiasm far exceeds his wisdom; others include a fat cat (literally) and a turtle whose love life has been on a 15-year pause. This animated show gets a bit too adult for some kids, but grown-ups will find it thoroughly clever Read more…
1) “National Memorial Day Concert” (shown here in a previous year), 8 p.m., PBS, rerunning at 9:30. Last year forced a change for this TV tradition: Live events were banned; the music and tributes were shot in advance, sometimes using reruns. The result was beautifully crafted; this year has the same approach, but with no reruns. In key settings, we’ll hear the greats of country (Alan Jackson, Vince Gill and, singing the National Anthem, Mickey Guyton), pop (Gladys Knight, Sara Bareilles, the Four Tops) and opera (Denyce Graves). Read more…
NBC has finally announced its plans for summer – a season that has already started.
That’s a time the network has dominated in the ratings for 10 straight years, with strong prospects to do it again. It has “America’s Got Talent” and “American Ninja Warrior” and more now, pauses for the Olympics in July, then adds some goofier shows in August.
Unlike other networks, NBC waited until Wednesday (May 26) – the last day of the official TV seasons – to announce its full summer plans. “Making It” (shown here), for instance, has been listed by some sources as starting June 3; instead, it will wait until June 24. Plans include: Read more…
1) “America’s Got Talent” opener, 8-10 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. We’re in the summer season now – a time when “AGT” dominates the ratings. It slipped a bit last year, with remote performances; now it returns to onstage auditions … and Simon Cowell (shown here) returns after an injury. At first, traditional acts kept winning; five of the first six champions were singers, alongside one ventriloquist. Since then, however, the winners have included only two singers, plus two more ventriloquists, a magician, a dancer, a dog act and, last year, a spoken-word poet. Read more…
