Daily Best Bets

1) “Animal Control,” 9 and 9:30 p.m., Fox. Both reruns manage to blend big sight gags and clever dialog. In this hour, we literally see a wild goose chase and a pig in a blanket; we hear about a red herring and an elephant in the room. We also see Frank (Joel McHale, shown here in a previous episode, left) scramble to duck blame for taking a tranquilizer dart. And in some hilarious moments, two folks who had iffy student behavior must now give a school presentation. Read more…

1) “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” season-opener, 10 and 10:30 p.m., FXX. There are plenty of nice, normal situation comedies that last a few years. Then there’s “Sunny” (shown here in a previous episode), the longest-running non-cartoon sitcom ever. As its 16th season (two more than “Ozzie & Harriet”) starts, people are as cleverly abnormal as ever. The opener has a funny chat about inflation, then some wild schemes. The second is darker, with relatives, toilet gags and Frank’s pistol. Read more…

1) “The Right to Exist,” 10 p.m., ABC. On the day that his memoir (“Pageboy”) reaches book stores, here’s a profile of Elliot Page, 36. Originally known as Ellen Page, he received an Academy Awarrd nomination for best-supporting actress, playing a pregnant teen in the 2007 “Juno.” Then, in December of 2020, he came out as a transgender man. In the “Umbrella Academy” streaming series, his character (shown here) did the same, going from Vanya to Viktor. Read more…

1) “Cruel Summer” season-opener, 9 and 10 p.m., Freeform. The first season was a surprise – a teen drama with subtlety and depth. Now the second one has new characters in a new setting, but the same quality. Sadie Stanley (who was Brea, Adam’s girlfriend in “The Goldbergs”) is perfect as a brainy kid in a pleasant town. Then a worldly exchange student (Lexi Underwood of “Little Fires Everywhere,” shown here, left, with Stanley) stirs her quiet world, over two summers and a winter. Read more…

1) “The Lazarus Project” debut, 9 p.m., TNT, rerunning at 10:04. George has a loving girlfriend, a strong business idea, a bright future. Then …well, we won’t spoil it, except to say this is a clever fantasy concept; it works very well in the opener, but does lose oomph after the basics are explained. It’s a British co-production, with Papa Essiedu (shown here) – who received an Emmy nomination as the best friend in “I May Destroy You” – leading a talented cast. Read more…

1) “TLC Forever,” 8-10:33 p.m., Lifetime, rerunning at midnight. Mixing pop, rap and R&B, the TLC trio (shown here) soared. It had nine top-10 hits (four at No. 1) and sold 65 million records. Lifetime made a scripted movie (“Crazysexycool: The TLC Story”) that it’s rerunning at 5:30; now at adds this documentary, in a 12-hour marathon. At 4 p.m., 10:33 p.m. and 2:39 a.m., is a rerun about the relationship of TLC’s Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and football star Andre Rison. Read more…

1) “American Masters,” 9 p.m., PBS. Before Elvis, before other rock stars … even before the phrase “rock ‘n’ roll” was popularized, there was Little Richard (shown here). He dressed like a glam-rocker, screamed in full falsetto, dazzled. Ringo Starr and Keith Richards were teen fans; they’re in this fascinating film. So is Pat Boone, 88, who covered Richard’s “Tutti Frutti,” blissfully unaware of sexual connotations. We sees Richard survive deceit, drugs and bias, emerging with joy. Read more…

1) Basketball finals, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC (with pre-game at 8) and ESPN2. At first, this hinted at a classic rematch: The Lakers and Celtics – each with 17 championships – reached the conference finals. The Lakers, however, were swept by the Denver Nuggets; the Celtics were almost swept by the Miami Heat; they bounced back with three straight wins, but lost the seventh-and-final game. Now the Nuggets (shown here) face the Heat, in the start of a best-of-seven series. Read more…

1) “Nancy Drew” season-opener, 9 p.m., CW. A fun era is ending, but we can savor it this summer. For years, CW was stuffed with the heroes of comic books and youth novels. Now it has new owners and a new direction, but Wednesdays will be strong through August. Kennedy McMahon (shown here) has been excellent as Nancy, fresh from high school and facing young love and old haunts. Now bodies are missing. Were they dug up, or did they rise from the dead? Read more…

1) “America’s Got Talent” opener, 8-10 p.m., NBC. The annual summertime ratings champion is back, again with (from keft) Howie Mandell, Heidi Klum, host Terry Crew, Sofia Vergara and Simon Cowell. They’ll see lots of acts that prove the show’s title half-correct: There’s lots of talent, but it’s not necessarily American. Last summer, only four of the 11 finalists were from the U.S. For that matter, the judges are from England, German, Canada and Colombia.
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