Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for May 7: wet weekend for Fosse and Verdon

1) “Fosse/Verdon,” 10 p.m., FX. On a rainy weekend, some remarkable people gather at a beach house. There’s Bob Fosse, who recently was briefly in a mental institution … his wife, Gwen Verdon … his girlfriend, Ann Reinking … Verdon’s boyfriend … and two gifted writers, Neil Simon and Paddy Chayefsky. The idea is to comfort the widowed Simon, but other agendas surface. People want Fosse to do a movie or do a musical or just rest. Beautifully directed by Tommy Kail, this ends with a jolt. Read more…

Best-bets for May 6: A 10-minute gem

1) “State of the Union” debut, 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT), Sundance. “This is a ridiculous conversation,” Louise (Rosamund Pike) says. It is, but it’s also quite wonderful. She and Tom (Chris O’Dowd) are in a pub, waiting for their first marital-therapy session. She’s a doctor; he wrote about music until that market vanished. They skirt around subjects, in a ridiculous/sublime way. This is a series of ten 10-minute shows, one per weekday, for two weeks. Cleverly written by Nick Hornby, it’s perfectly played. Read more…

Best bets for May 5: Dance gets a world champion

1) “World of Dance” finale, 8-10 p.m., NBC. Last week, the show picked its four divisional winners. Now they compete for the million-dollar top prize, alongside one wildcard pick. In the first two seasons, that prize went to hip hoppers; this time, both of the team winners are hip hop – Vpeepz, from the Philippines, in junior (17 and younger), the Kings, from India, in upper. For small groups (1-4 people), both winners are contemporary – Ellie & Ava (shown here), junior; and Briar Nolet, upper. Read more…

Best bets for May 4: Adam Sandler returns (at last)

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Adam Sandler was enmeshed in a wild “SNL” era, alongside Chris Farley, David Spade, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey and more. He left in 1995 – he and Farley were fired, he said later – and has made only brief appearances on the show since then. Here’s his first time as host. Shawn Mendes – born three years after Sandler left “SNL” — is the music guest. Read more…

Best bets for May 3: Gloria’s high-octane music

1) Gershwin Prize, 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. Things starts vibrantly, with the original “On Your Feet” cast (shown here on Broadway). Dancers leap, singers soar … and then everything sputters. Six people talk before the fun resumes. Fortunately, this is worth waiting for — the music of Gloria and Emilio Estefan, sung by Patti LaBelle, Cyndi Lauper, Jose Feliciano, the Estefans, their talented daughter Emily and more. There’s also a sharp film from Lin-Manuel Miranda, overcoming the show’s so-so production. Read more…

Best bets for May 2: Ethical crisis for “Big Bang”

1) “The Big Bang Theory,” 8 p.m., CBS. With only four episodes left, TV’s best comedy points to a big possibility: Sheldon and Amy might win the Nobel Prize he’s always assumed he would get. Tonight, they face a temptation: Their prime competition is a duo played by Kal Penn and Sean Astin (shown here); now Kripke has proof that the latter plagiarized his college thesis. Read more…

Best bets for May 1: Lot of music, lots of hyphens

1) “Billboard Music Awards,” 8-11 p.m., NBC. Taylor Swift opens the night by premiering “Me!” She’s joined by Brandon Urie, whose group (Panic! At the Disco) also performs. This night – which has way too many exclamation marks! — has Halsey alone and with BTS (shown here at last year’s event). Other combos include Madonna and Maluma, Tori Kelly with Dan + Shay. Also performing are Kelly Clarkson (who hosts), Mariah Carey (who gets the Icon Award), Paula Abdul, the Jonas Brothers, Ciara, Khalid and Lauren Daigle. Read more…

Best bets for April 30: ‘The 100’ is sort of ‘The 8’

1) “The 100” season-opener, 9 p.m., CW. A nice nap is helpful, but this goes too far: Clarke (Eliza Taylor, shown here) and friends were in a sleep state for 125 years. Now they’re awake (and, one assumes, refreshed), with a task: Colleagues feel they’ve found a planet that can support life. “The 100” began with 100 people trying Earth; this hour, a good one, has a landing party of eight, including Clarke, Bellamy and the relentlessly annoying Murphy. In the ship are Clarke’s mom and the relentlessly annoyed Octavia and Raven. Read more…

Best bets for April 29: Lambert reigns with Queen

1) “The Show Must Go On,” 8-10 p.m., ABC. “American Idol” has vacated Mondays; now it’s Sundays-only. And tonight, its spot goes to one of its most famous losers: Nine years ago, Adam Lambert finished second to Kris Allen. He’s one of many – Katharine McPhee (2nd), Chris Daughtry (4th), Jennifer Hudson (7th) – who surpassed the winners. In 2014, Lambert started touring with Queen; they’ve drawn big crowds and even opened the Oscars telecast. This documentary traces their stories. Read more…

Best Bets for April 28: A bold detour on the Red Line

1) “The Red Line” opener, 8 and 9 p.m., CBS. The CBS formula has worked well – lots of dramas in the “CSI/NCIS” mode, with a happy ending for each hour. But now comes a bold detour – a complex story, spread over eight hours on four Sundays. This starts with a tragic error and follows its impact on politics, race and humanity. There are flaws: The incident is too clear-cut; a key admission (late in the first hour) is unmotivated. Still, it’s beautifully done and Noah Wyle — shown here with Aliyah Royale, who plays his adopted daughter — delivers a deeply moving speech. Read more…