Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for May 15: Performing en masse and in isolation

1) “Great Performances: Bernstein’s Mass,” 9-11 p.m., PBS. Even during this social-distance time, we can savor the epic power of supersized music. Leonard Bernstein wrote this powerful piece for the 1971 Kennedy Center opening; this performance (shown here) is from last July at the Ravinia Festival, near Chicago. Paolo Szot (a Tony-winner for “South Pacific”) is superb, backed by the Chicago Symphony, a children’s choir, a vocal quartet, a 22-person “street chorus” and, yes, a marching band. Read more…

Best-bets for May 14: Annalise (dead or alive) leaves

1) “How to Get Away With Murder” series finale, 10 p.m., ABC. For six seasons, this show has delivered tangled mysteries, spiced by spectacular performances from Viola Davis (shown here with Tom Verica) as Annalise. She already has an Emmy and three more nominations; now come pivotal moments. On trial for murder, she learns there’s a surprise witness. Then there’s the pesky mattert of a flashforward that showed Annalise’s funeral. ABC promises we’ll learn what that’s all about and who (if anyone) killed her. Read more…

Best-bets for May 13: “Survivor” gets a champion of champions

1) “Survivor” finale, 8-11 p.m., CBS. Surviving in a field of previous winners are two cops (Tony Vlachos, 45, and Sarah Lacina, 34) and an ex-Marine (Ben Driebergen, 36). They face the edition’s oldest person (Denise Stapley, 48), one of the youngest (Michele Fitzgerald, a travel consultant, 29) and one more, with Nick Wilson (shown here) as the newest member of the jury. Lacina and Stapley are both from Iowa, but Stapley is said to be the state’s only certified sex consultant. The final hour – including results and follow-up – will be done long-distance. Read more…

Best-bets for May 12: Let’s visit happier days

1) “The Happy Days of Garry Marshall,” 8-10 p.m. ABC. For two years, Marshall had TV’s two most-watched shows, “Happy Days” (shown here) and “Laverne and Shirley”; the next year, he had three of the top four, adding “Mork & Mindy.” He went on to movies and more, dying in 2016 at 81. Some of his top stars – Penny Marshall (his sister) and Robin Williams – have died, but others gather here, including Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Pam Dawber and (from “Pretty Woman”) Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. Read more…

Best-bets for May 11: Britton’s back, “Asian” compels

1) “9-1-1” season-finale, 8 p.m., Fox. The series started with terrific work from Connie Britton as Maddie, a passionate 9-1-1 operator. She left – Britton had only planned to do one season – but returns two years later for this guest shot. Maddie (shown here) was one of the victims, when a train plunged off the tracks; people race to the rescue, including her ex-lover Buck. Then the second “9-1-1: Lone Star” episode reruns at 9:01. Read more…

Best-bets for May 10: Mother’s Day (revised)

1) Mother’s Day movies, cable. Is this our revisionist view of motherhood? FX has “Bad Moms” (2016, shown here) at 8 and 10 p.m.; Lifetime includes “Mommy Group Murders” (2018) at 4 p.m. and “Mommy Is a Murderer” (2020) at 8. Moms come across much better in “I Remember Mama,” at 8 p.m. ET on Turner Classic Movies. Irene Dunne and three of her co-stars received Academy Award nominations. Read more…

Best-bets for May 9: British drama, gritty or refined

1) “Line of Duty,” 11 p.m., AMC. To Americans, Keeley Hawes is the star of classy PBS dramas, from “Our Mutual Friend” to the “Upstairs Downstairs” reboot and “The Durrells in Corfu.” In England, however, she often does intense crime shows. Now AMC is rerunning this terrific series. As the six-week second season begins, Hawes is a cop (shown here), suddenly getting an emergency call. The early and late scenes in this opener pack a fierce jolt; in between is a solid drama, centering on a gifted actress. Read more…

Best-bets for May 8: Orchestra turns 100, “Blacklist” turns 150

1) “The Blacklist,” 8 p.m.. NBC. The show’s 150th episode is stuffed with guest stars – Tom Wopat as a warden, Fisher Stevens(shown here) as an ex-con working in a toy store, Al Roker as … well, Al Roker, but an intense version. The main story – a seemingly impossible suspect – is far-fetched, but intriguing. Alongside that are divided loyalties for both Dembe and Liz. It adds up to a strong and well-crafted hour. Read more…

Best-bets for May 7: It’s a game-y night

1) “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” 8 p.m., ABC. Brad Rutter is back, partly via rerun. First, there’s “Jeopardy,” rerunning its “Greatest of All Time” tournament (check local listings); that continues through May 14, with (from left) James Holzhauer, Ken Jennings and Rutter. Then he’s part of the new “Millionaire” twist: Each contestant is allowed to bring one guest to confer with; tonight, Hannibal Burress concludes and Catherine O’Hara begins … with Rutter as her guest. Read more…

Best-bets for May 6: Quirky comedy with baseball and vampires

1) “Brockmire” series finale, 10 p.m. ET, IFC. When the show started, Jim Brockmire (Hank Azaria, shown here) – a former big-time sportscaster — was at the bottom of the minor leagues. Now, after just four seasons and 32 episodes? We’ve jumped ahead to 2034 and the nation is in ruins. So is baseball, which has made Brockmire its commissioner. He ponders aligning with an artificial intelligence that has already crushed Google and Facebook and plans to rule the world. It’s a clever – and quite funny – finale. Read more…