Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for July 7: more sharks, more dramas

1) Sharks (shown here), Discovery. The 37th annual “Shark Week” begins, with reruns during the day and new hours (21 of them) at night, hosted by John Cena. . The first two are in New Zealand — a 29-foot fake whale stirs a feeding frenzy (8 p.m.), a 60-foot real one battles a shark (9).Others, in California and Australia, are at 10 and 11. Read more…

Best-bets for July 6: feuds begin, sharks continue

1) “Celebrity Family Feud,” 8-11 p.m., ABC. This fun show is scooting in to save ABC’s summer. A special, viewing some of the funnier moments from 48 years of “Feud,” will be 8 p.m. Tuesday, with the season-opener at 9. First, here are three reruns; contestants include the casts of “Yellowjackets” (shown here) and “Drag Me to Dinner.” Read more…

Best-bets for July 5: from comedy to piercing drama

1) “Snowpiercer” marathon, noon to 9:15 p.m. AMC. A train keeps circling the frozen Earth. Inside (shown here) are survivors – the only ones, perhaps – of the eco-disaster; also inside are class-struggles and a murder probe. That’s the set-up for a richly crafted series that TNT ran for three seasons, then abandoned. AMC which starts the fourth and final one July 21, shows us the start. Read more…

Best-bets for July 4: a flashy, fun Fourth

1) “A Capitol Fourth,” 8 p.m., PBS; repeats, 9:30-11. Each year, this offers a zesty blend of music, followed by fireworks (shown here). This time, the music is from Motown great Smokey Robinson and Broadway’s Fantasi aand, Darren Criss, p;lus Loren Allred, Chloe Flower, Sheila E, Sister Sledge and Fitz & Noelle fom Fitz and the Tantrums. Read more…

Best-bets for July 3: “Hope,” heat and Eddie Murphy

1) “Hope in the Water,” 9 p.m., PBS. At an Asian market, we’re told, you might find 35 kinds of fish. Most Americans, however, focus on three – tuna, salmon and shrimp; others are caught here and exported. This hour views ways to stir interest in the others. Shailene Woodley (shown here), the “Divergent” star, sees people turn sea urchins into a delicacy. Read more…

Best-bets for July 2: Disco fades, Cruise soars

1) “Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution” finale, 9 p.m., PBS. This starts in the late ‘70s, at a dsco peak (shown here); 200 radio stations had switched to disco, which had half the spots on the Billboard charts. “They oversaturated,” says music writer Vince Aletti. Then came “a lot of garbage, cash-grab music,” says singer Ana Matronic, alongside a nasty, anti-disco rage. Read more…

Best-bets for June 30: lotsa music, lotsa dramas

1) BET Awards, 8-11:30 p.m., BET; also, MTV, VH1, Pop, Nickelodeon and TV Land. Taraji Henson hosts a night with award for movies, TV, sports and – especially – music. Nominees performing include Ice Spice (shown here), Victoria Monet, Megan Thee Stallion, GloRilla, Latto, Tyla ad Sexyy Red, Also performing: Lauryn Hill, Shaboozey, and more; Usher gets a special award. Read more…

Best-bets for June 29: “SNL” stars fill the night

1) “Saturday Night Live” alumni. They’re everywhere. Maya Rudolph hosts an “SNL” rerun (11:29 p.m., NBC), with others in movies: Eddie Murphy’s “Coming 2 America” (2021, shown here) is 8 p.m. on BET. Bill Murray has “Stripes” (1981) at 7 p.m. on IFC and “Ghostbusters” films at 2, 4:30, 7 and 9:30 on E. Chevy Chase’s “Vacation” is 6 p.m. on Sundance, plus sequels. Read more…