Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for June 4: Dramas push blindly forward

1) “In the Dark,” 9 p.m., CW. This strong hour starts and ends with sharp jolts. Murphy (Perry Mattfeld), who’s blind, is mired way too deep. Trying to help a former boyfriend in prison, she let the guard-dog business be used to stash drugs. After a fight with her roommate Jess, she’s sleeping there … when the first jolt comes. You can argue that the story has too many coincidences; still, it’s told well, with two of TV’s best supporting characters, the wary Jess (Brooke Markham, shown here with Mattfeld) and their shaky young boss Felix. Read more…

Best-bets for June 3: Country stars combine (separately)

1) “CMT Celebrates Our Heroes,” 8 p.m., CMT, rerunning at 10. Country stars were the first to embrace this at-home music trend. When their April awards show was postponed, they filled a CBS special with songs from homes, barns and beyond. Now they offer music plus tributes. The line-up includes groups (Lady Antebellum, shown here, and Little Big Town) and individuals — Carrie Underwood, Thomas Rhett, Miranda Lambert, Darius Rucker, Kelsea Ballerini, Sam Hunt, Kristen Bell, Lauren Daigle, Brandi Carlisle and more. Read more…

Best-bets for June 2: Sci-fi, sitcoms, swirling dancers

1) “World of Dance” (shown here in last week’s opener), 10 p.m., NBC. Here is true diversity – in style, in roots, in everything. A Dutch group creates stunning visuals with arms alone, even before the legs begin; a Navajo group offers a swirl of color and motion. One couple has been dancing together for 26 years … another for one year, while the guy works full-time at McDonald’s. It’s a dazzling set of auditions, with a bonus: Unlike other shows, these judges – Jennifer Lopez, Derek Hough and Ne-Yo – bring insightful comments. Read more…

Best-bets for June 1: It’s a gender-flip “Cinderella”

1) “The Baker and the Beauty” finale, 9 and 10 p.m., ABC. Let’s credit this for good intentions. Avoiding the usual TV turf (cops and courts and doctors), the show flipped the Cinderella tale: Daniel – a decent chap working at the family bakery – accidentally met Noa, a pop-culture star. Now they reconnect (shown here) after a falling-out, with Daniel wanting a normal life; his sister hopes her quinceanera can mend their parents’ rift. The second hour has turning points for the parents and for Daniel and Noa. Read more…

Best-bets for May 31: Quiz shows … and a quiz controversy

1) “Quiz” opener, 10:03 p.m., AMC, rerunning at 12:09 a.m. Back in 1998, British viewers obserssed on “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?” Ratings soared … people schemed ways to get on the show … and some went to extremes. This terrific, three-week mini-series starts with the trial of a couple accused of cheating, then flashes back to the start. Brilliantly directed by Stephen Frears (“The Queen”), it mixes humor and humanity, with great work from Matthew Macfayden (shown here celebrating) as a suspect. Read more…

Best-bets for May 30: Fun with Wiig and Carell

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Over a three-week stretch, “SNL” has been rerunning its social-distance episodes. Here’s the third one, a season finale that’s erratic, but shows improvement. Alec Baldwin opens the show as a bleach-gulping president, Kristen Wiig (shown here in a previous setting) hosts, Boyz II Men (plus Babyface) are music guests and Tina Fey has a terrific bit about the woes of sudden home-schooling. Read more…

Best-bets for May 29: Hedy, haircuts and Hulu

1) “American Masters: Bombshell,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS (check local listings). Hedy Lamarr made an instant impression, In Austria (where she grew up comfortably), she posed for nude photos at 16 and did nude scenes in a movie at 18. In Hollywood, Mel Brooks says here, she was “the best-looking movie star ever.” But beyond that was a sharp mind. Lamarr kept labs (shown here) in her movie trailer and at home. She created small inventions and co-created a torpedo-guidance system. This rerun skillfully tells a fascinating story. Read more…

Best-bets for May 28: A night of new (not rerun) dramas

1) “Council of Dads,” 8 p.m., NBC. Amid all TV’s summer silliness, it’s refreshing to see a drama in the “This Is Us” mode. After getting a week off (for “Red Nose Day”), the intense “Blindspot” is at 9 p.m.. with the quieter “Dads” at 8: Christmas is coming and Robin (Sarah Wayne Callies, shown here) worries: She’s a doctor; her late husband was the fun one who brightened the holidays for the kids. Before his death, he asked three friends to be part-time “dads,” but they’re floundering. Now two of his kids face troubles. Read more…

Best-bets for May 27: Two starts and a finish

1) “Agents of SHIELD” season-opener, 10 p.m., ABC. In a summer when the superhero movies have been delayed, we need something. The likable “Stargirl” is Tuesdays on CW; now this Marvel show begins its seventh and final season. The team finds itself in 1931 New York City (shown here), with its ship ready to time-jump at any moment. It must figure out what happened, before the past and future face disaster. To lure us in, ABC has Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World” (2014), from 8-10 p.m. Read more…

Best-bets for May 26: Noisy reality, serious documentaries

1) “America’s Got Talent” season-opener, 8-10 p.m. NBC. This ratings champion works at a high-octane, high-decibel level. It wants lots of energy from performers, judges and studio audience. So it’s good that the auditions were done early, when crowds were still allowed. Later this summer, “AGT” may follow the “Idol”/”Voice” style of social-distancing; for now, however, here’s the full commotion. Sofia Vergera is the new judge, alongside Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel; Klum and Vergara are shown here, seducing a sow. Read more…