Daily Best Bets

1) “American Masters: Joe Papp in Five Acts,” 9 p.m., PBS. Papp had an audacious plan, bringing free Shakespeare to New York’s parks. He fought the city’s parks chief, won and built a permanent Central Park theater. (He’s shown here during construction.). Then he added indoor shows, launching “Hair,” “A Chorus Line,” “A Normal Heart,” “For Colored Girls (etc.)” and more. This “new” film (which reached film festivals a decade ago) offers a fascinating view of a strong public figure who kept much of his life – including four marriages and a hard-scrabble childhood – semi-hidden. Read more…

1) Basketball finals, 9 p.m. ET, ABC. For the next couple weeks, the pros will dominate ABC and beyond. That starts with the Golden State Warriors (shown here) hosting the Boston Celtics. It happens again Sunday, then moves to Boston on June 8 and 10. The other games, if necessary, are June 13, 16 and 19. Games are at 9 p.m. ET (except 8 p.m. Sundays). The preceding hour (today, that’s 8 and 8:30 pm.) has a Jimmy Kimmel special and a pre-game show. Read more…

1) “Abbott Elementary,” 9 p.m., ABC. At a time when most new shows stumble, this has been an exception. It arrived at mid-season, with just 13 episodes and a little-known star; praise (and solid ratings) followed. Now “Abbott” has been promoted to the central spot in the comedy line-up (nudging “Conners” to 8 p.m.) this summer and next fall. Here’s the pilot film, written by Quinta Brunson (shown here); she plays a new elementary teacher, with earnest colleagues and a clueless principal. Read more…

1) “America’s Got Talent” season-opener, 8-10:01 p.m., NBC. For good or bad, the summer season is here. ABC already has “Holey Moley” and “The Chase” at 8 and 9 p.m. Tuesdays; now the summer ratings-leader returns. Auditions begin, with Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara as judges and Terry Crews hosting; they’re shown here. Read more…

1) “Julia,” 8 p.m., CNN; rerunning at 10. Julia Child (shown here) grew up comfortably, going to prep school and Smith. She did office work during wartime, moved to Paris with her husband … and discovered French cuisine. That changed her life; then she changed cooking, publishing and public TV. Child spent a dozen years co-writing “The French Chef,” sort of invented the book tour and, at 50, created breezy, no-script TV. Here’s a delightful documentary, from the people who profiled Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Read more…

1) “National Memorial Day Concert,” 8 p.m., PBS, rerunning at 9:30. For the first time in three years, this is back to what it does brilliantly – a live event on the Capitol lawn (shown here), on the eve of Memorial Day. Some of Broadway’s greatest voices – Brian Stokes Mitchell, Lea Salonga and Norm Lewis – will be there, plus country star Craig Morgan, old-time/blues master Rhiannon Gibbons and Pia Toscano, once a powerhouse “American Idol” singer. There will also be tributes, including one to the late Colin Powell. Read more…

1) “Yellowstone,” 10 a.m. to midnight, Paramount Network. This modern-day cowboy series with Kevin Costner (shown here) has become a ratings hit. You can catch up with it on Paramount+ or on TV. Today starts with the debut episode and ends early in the second season;; Sunday (10 a.m. to 10 p.m.) will reach midway into the third of four season; the fifth doesn’t arrive until November. Read more…

1) “Great Performances,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” reached Broadway in 1970,drawing raves and six Tonys, including best musical. It was back in 1993 and in 2006 (winning a best-revival Tony); then a gender-flip version (starring Katrina Lenk, shown here) was set for March of 2020. Instead, Broadway shut down. At a preview, 20 months later, Sondheim drew a standing ovation; he died 11 days later, at 91. This film has way too much abstract talk, but also has glimpses of a great show, now up for nine more Tonys. Read more…

1) “Grey’s Anatomy”, 8 and 9 p.m., ABC. This is the one primetime drama that seems to go on forever. Tonight’s second episode is the 400th overall; by comparison, “This Is Us” ended at 106. And Ellen Pompeo (shown here, right) has been at the core throughout, as Meredith. Now she wants to move to Minnesota for a key research job; first, she tries to help in Seattle, where the residency program is in trouble and there’s a blood shortage. Other problems pile up, including possible prison time for Owen. Read more…

1) “MasterChef” season-opener (shown here), 8 p.m., Fox. Forty contestants from past seasons get one more shot. Derrick Pelz was a drummer in 2015 … Brandi Mudd was an elementary school teacher in 2016… Lindsay Haig was a lawyer in 2018 … Wuta Onda was an English teacher in 2019. None won (although Mudd was runner-up), but all four became food professionals. In this brisk opener, they’re among 12 people competing for six spots. Read more…