Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 13: country stars and reality finales

1) Academy of Country Music Honors, 8-10 p.m., Fox. The network is busy corralling country fans. It has already aired the “Monarch” opener twice and will run it again at 9:02 p.m. Wednesday; also, that show’s star, Trace Adkins, performs tonight. The show honors Miranda Lambert (shown here), Chris Stapleton, Shania Twain, Morgan Wallen and the “Yellowstone” series. Other performers include Carly Pearce (who hosts), Dierks Bentley, Wynonna Judd, many more. Read more…

Best-bets for Sept. 12: daytime shake-up, then the Emmys

1) Emmy awards, 8-11 p.m., NBC. Kenan Thompson (shown here in a “Saturday Night Live” sketch) hosts, with plans for a big opening number. He’s not much of a monologue guy, but other “Saturday Night Live” people (past and present) will be there. They include Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon and Vanessa Bayer. Others range from Will Arnett to Natalie Zea, plus two people from “Squid Game,” a first-year show that’s up for best drama, in a field led by “Succession.” Read more…

Best-bets for Sept. 11: musical “Monarch,” historical monarchs

1) “Monarch,” about 8 p.m. ET (after football), Fox. Eight days before the new season starts, here’s the first arrival. It links good music (often soft and subtle) and bad soap opera (sometimes loud and blunt). Trace Adkins (shown here) and Susan Sarandon play the leaders of a Nashville dynasty. They have one daughter who looks like a star (Anna Friel) and one who sings like one (Beth Ditto), plus a business-like son. Then a big event changes everything. Read more…

Best-bets for Sept. 10: from “SNL” fun to 9/11 pain

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Simu Liu, one of the newest members of the superhero universe, hosts this rerun, with Saweetie as music guest. Liu was born in China, but spent much of his childhood in Canada, where he did a TV comedy, “Kim’s Convenience.” But his fame came with the action film “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (shown here); the character is expected to return in a sequel and in an “Avengers” movie. Read more…

Best-bets for Sept. 9: Ukrainians’ musical freedom soars

1) Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. Even in wartime, Ukrainians find room for music. Canadian-Ukrainian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson leads a group that incliudes refugees plus Ukrainians who perform in their own country or abroad. The concert has Dvorak’s Ninth Symphony, the Seventh Symphony of Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov and a Chopin concerto with Ukrainian piano virtuoso Anna Fedorova (shown here). Read more…

Best-bets for Sept. 8: Football begins; Pinocchio arrives

1) Football, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC. The colleges had their week in the spotlight, but now the pros take over. The season opens with the Los Angeles Rams (shown here) at home – the same spot where they won last year’s Super Bowl. The Rams (12-5 in the regular season) host the Buffalo Bills (11-6). The pre-game show starts at 7 p.m. ET, sometimes cutting to J Balvin’s nearby concert. Read more…

Best-bets for Sept. 7: Reality shows near their finales

1) “MasterChef,” 8 and 9 p.m., Fox. A week from the finale, the show is down to five chefs. There’s Dara Yu (shown here), 20, who was runner-up in the first “MasterChef Junior,” and four people in their 30s – Emily Hallock, Shanika Patterson, Michael Silverstein and Christian Green. In the first hour, they try baked Alaska and lobster tortellini; in the second, the top four start the finals, with a studio audience. Read more…

Best-bets for Sept. 6: finales for a comedy gem and a reality show

1) “What We Do in the Shadows” season-finale, 10 p.m., FX. A terrific season ends just as we’d expect it to – with chaos, surprises and, at times, big laughs. The vampire nightclub was thriving until its boy singer (who emerged from the late Colin’s chest) kept aging quickly, while his manager (Laszlo) demanded more money. Guillermo (shown here, center) and Nadja have each hidden stacks of cash, but trouble – big and funny trouble – looms. Read more…

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…

Best-bets for Sept. 4: tough times in modern Chicago and olde England

1) “The Chi” season-finale, 9 p.m., Showtime. Otis Perry, the ex-mayor, keeps messing with other people’s lives. As this strong hour opens, he startles Victor, the earnest council candidate. Later, he ranges from tough-guy Bakari to Emmett, a good soul trying to run a business and to co-parent with his estranged wife Tiff. (Emmett’s shown here with her new boyfriend Rob.) The rough moments are early, but stick around for bits of season-ending joy. Read more…