Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for June 6: A long day of D-Day films

1) “The Longest Day” (1962), 8-11 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies; and “Saving Private Ryan” (1998), 7-11 p.m., AMC. On the 75th anniversary of D-Day, here are esteemed films, a generation apart. Both won Oscars for cinematography (black-and-white, for “Longest Day”) and were nominated for best picture. “Longest Day” required three directors and endless stars, from John Wayne to Richard Burton; “Private Ryan” (shown here) had Tom Hanks and the brilliant, Oscar-winning direction of Steven Spielberg. Read more…

Best-bets for June 5: Country glitz; handmaids’ despair

1) CMT Music Awards, 8 p.m., CMT, rerunning at 10:30. The show will have the most performances in its history, CMT insists. And these are A-list stars — Carrie Underwood (shown here), Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini and more. Two of this year’s nominations leaders, Maren Morris and the Zac Brown Band, will perform; so will the hosts, Little Big Town, plus Thomas Rhett, Tanya Tucker, Toby Keith, Cole Swindell and Kane Brown. For crossover, there’s Boyz II Men, Sheryl Crow, Brandi Carlile and Trombone Shorty. Read more…

Best-bets for June 4: Mini-chefs triumph

1) “MasterChef Junior” finale, 8-10 p.m., Fox. This began with 24 home chefs – all talented and all ages 8-13. Now we have the final three, each 11. Che Spiotta is from Boiceville, NY,, in the Catskills … Malia Brauer is from Santa Clarita, Cal. … Ivy Angst (shown here with Gordon Ramsay) is from Atlanta and especially interesting: Going by Little Chef Ivy, she’s 3-foot-6, with a form of dwarfism that causes short limbs. She masters the kitchen, with the help of a stool; now she has a shot at a $100,000 prize. Read more…

Best-bets for June 3: Romantic rugby (?), hectic hockey

1) “The Bachelorette,” 8 p.m., ABC. Life is much easier for the guys who gets one-on-one dates with Hannah Brown: One gets a mini-concert by country star Jake Owen; the other strolls around Boston, drinks in the “Cheers” bar … and plays basketball with two Celtics (Jaylen Brown and Terry Roszier) in their arena. The other guys? They have a rugby game (shown here) that sends one to the hospital. Read more…

Best-bets for June 2: Lawyers and dunk shots

1) “Burden of Truth” season-opener, 8 p.m., CW. For summertime, the old “Supergirl” slot goes to … well, to the former Lana Lang. That’s the role Kristin Kreuk had in “Smallville”; she went on to “Beauty and the Beast” and then to this role as a tough lawyer. In the first season (shown here) she and Billy (Peter Mooney) won millions for teens in her old home town. Now she’s in a big city, Billy isn’t … and neither is happy. There’s potential, but Kreuk pushes her stern facade to a stony extreme. Read more…

Best-bets for June 1: Kellie returns to Elvisland

1) “Wedding at Graceland,” 9-11 p.m., Hallmark. Six months ago, “Christmas in Graceland” had two aspiring musicians (Kellie Pickler and Wes Brown, shown here) fall in love at Elvis Presley’s former home, with Elvis’ holiday songs on the soundtrack. It was a ratings hit, so now they’re back … and have just three weeks to plan a Graceland Chapel wedding. There’s lots of Presley here – Priscilla plays herself, Lee Brice sings an Elvis song and we’ll hear more Elvis on the soundtrack. Read more…

Best-bets for May 31: A double “Blindspot”

1) “Blindspot” season-finale, 8 and 9 p.m., NBC. Let’s be happy with leftovers. The official TV season ended nine days ago, but “Blindspot” still had three episodes left – one last Friday and two tonight. In this first hour, Dominic starts to enact Madeline’s cataclysmic scheme. In the second, the team (including Sullivan Stapleton, shown here, as Weller, tries to stop an attack from spreading. Then the fifth and final season waits until mid-season. Read more…

Best bets for May 30: Lotsa basketball, few reruns

1) Basketball finals begin, 9 p.m. ET, ABC, with previews at 8 and 8:30. Sure, this might seem like a mismatch. In 23 previous years, the Toronto Raptors had never reached the finals; Steph Curry (shown here) and the Golden State Warriors – fresh from a semi-finals sweep — have been there the past four years, winning three times. But don’t be so sure: During the regular season, the Raptors had the NBA’s second-best record, trailing only the Bucks … whom they just beat, four games to two. Now they have the home-court advantage. Read more…

Best-bets for May 29: It’s almost rerun-free

1) “The InBetween” debut, 10 p.m, NBC. Tom Hackett is your typical Seattle TV cop, grim and grizzled. Except he’s British and he’s gay and he sips tea and he confers with a young woman who has visions. His new police partner has doubts, but not for long. This sounds odd, but it has strong writing and actors. Paul Blackthorne (“Arrow”), shown here, and Justin Cornwell (“Training Day”) are the cops; Harriet Dyer – whose surprising relationship with a young girl adds a strong jolt – is excellent as their contact. Read more…

Best-bets for May 28: “AGT” is set to rule the summer

1) “America’s Got Talent” opener, 8-10 p.m., NBC. Now NBC starts its annual bid for summer domination. It has other key shows, but the centerpiece is “AGT” (shown here with Eric Chien auditioning), a perpetual ratings leader. Simon Cowell and Howie Mandel remain, but Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough replace Heidi Klum and Mel B; Terry Crews replaces Tyra Banks as host. Read more…