Daily Best Bets

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…

1) “This Is Us” (shown here) series finale, 9 p.m., NBC. It’s farewell time for the best broadcast-network drama in recent years. Life has been especially tough on Rebecca, who has lost two husbands and much of her memory. But she has three excellent offspring (one adopted) who keep remaking their lives. For six seasons, this has brought richly nuanced emotion. Now the family is together for the 106th and final episode. Read more…

1) “NCIS” season-finale, 9 p.m., CBS. Parker (Gary Cole, shown here, left) has at least one thing in common with his predecessor, Gibbs – ex-wives. Gibbs has several; Parker has at least one. She’s an FBI agent (Teri Polo) who arrives to help when he’s being framed for murder. She’ll stick around this fall, for the show’s 20th.season. Read more…

1) “American Idol” finale, 8-11 p.m., ABC. Three young singers remain. Noah Thompson (shown here) and HunterGirl are from small-town South; Leah Marlene is from Illinois, but spent two college years in Nashville. Now they’ll each do two songs (one from Bruce Springsteen) and viewers will pick a champ. The judges will also perform; so will Carrie Underwood, Sara Bareilles, Michael Buble, Melissa Etheridge, Flo Rida, Thomas Rhett, Gabby Barrett, Tai Verdes, and more, including Earth, Wind and Fire. Read more…

1) “Saturday Night Live” season-finale, 11:29 p.m., NBC. Natasha Lyonne (shown here) – a streaming star via “Orange is the New Black” and “Russian Doll” – gets her first chance to host. The music guest is Japanese Breakfast, led by Korean-American musician-author Michelle Zauner. Also, “Weekend Update” anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che have a season-finale tradition of making each other read rude jokes. Read more…

1) “George Carlin’s American Dream,” 8-9:55 p.m., HBO; concludes Saturday. Carlin (shown here) seemed to be performing forever. He was the first host of “Saturday Night Live” … and then the first host of its competitor, “Fridays.” He had 14 HBO specials and 130 “Tonight Show” appearances. His style went from button-down to shaggy; he struggled with addiction and with police, but remained sharply organized. Now Judd Apatow has co-directed a profile that includes Carlin’s family and comedians Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Jon Stewart and more. Read more…