Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for June 11: Fun films, new and old

1) “In the Heights” (shown here), any time, HBO Max. The Broadway musical – which Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote before “Hamilton” – starts streaming on the same day it reaches movie theaters. That’s in a huge streak for streamers: Earlier, two overseas delights returned – “Line of Duty” on Britbox” and “Miss Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries” on Acorn –and the ambitious “Loki” debuted on Disney+. Arriving today are new seasons of “Love, Victor” (Hulu) and “Lupin” (Netflix). Read more…

Best-bets for June 10: finales for “Manifest,” “Rebel”

1) “Manifest” (shown here in a previous episode) season-finale, 8-10 p.m, NBC. It’s always something, you know. Ben and Grace Stone are finally re-united with their daughter Olive; then Cal (Olive’s twin) runs away. In the second hour, Ben tries a dangerous mission with Saanvi, a researcher. And Michaela (Ben’s sister) races to stop a deadly event; also, she finds her relationship with Jared souring over mistrust. Read more…

Best-bets for June 9: Country stars, drama crises

1) “CMT Awards,” 8 p.m. , CMT, MTV, Paramount, more, rerunning at 10:30 on CMT. There will be lots of stars in lots of places. Kelsea Ballerini (shown here) and Kane Brown perform and host, introducing acts scattered around Nashville. That includes Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett, Maren Morris, Luke Combs, Mickey Guyton, Chris Young, Lauren Alaina, Dierks Bientley, Gabby Barrett and more, including Brothers Osborne, Lady Antebellum and rock great Gladys Knight. Read more…

Best-bets for June 8: “New Amsterdam” ends a brutal season

1) “New Amsterdam” season-finale, 10 p.m., NBC. This has been a brutal year for Max (shown here in an earlier episode). While his hospital faces constant crises, he’s been battling his late wife’s parents for custody of his daughter. Now, an object that’s important to him is missing; he scours the hospital. Iggy, the psychiatrist, has also had a rough time. Last week, an angry patient broke into his home; now Iggy re-thinks his own life. Read more…

Best-bets for June 7: “Bachelorette” sheds its habits

1) “The Bachelorette” opener, 8-10 p.m., ABC. Many of the show’s habits are being broken here. Usually, the show centers on someone almost chosen on “The Bachelor”; instead, we have Katie Thurston (shown here), who finished 11th but was popular for standing up to bullies. Usually, there’s just one “Bachelorette” a year; now they’re back-to-back – Thurston now, Michelle Young in September. Usually, the guys are older; now Thurston, 30, is older than at least 20 of the 30 men she’ll meet. Read more…

Best-bets for June 6: “Honors” return, “Pose” perishes

1) “Kennedy Center Honors,” 8-10 p.m., CBS. Two of TV’s most prestigious shows have sort of traded places, due to COVID. This June date usually goes to the Tony Awards, but they were dropped last year and delayed (until Sept. 26) this year. Taking the spot is the Kennedy Center ceremony, delayed from last December. It has performances honoring the greats, young-ish (Garth Brooks, 59) and old (Dick Van Dyke, shown here, 95). Also: Midori (a violinist), Debbie Allen and Joan Baez. Read more…

Best-bets for June 4: spies and sensibility

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…

Best-bets for June 3: Eternal shows end season with weddings

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…

Best-bets for June 2: Food is an art for humans, an adventure for animals

(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…