Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Dec. 10: young chefs, old rappers

1) “A Grammy Salute to Hip Hop,” 8:30-10:30 p.m. (but 8-10 p.m. on the West Coast), CBS. Fifty years and four months ago, a Bronx party launched the music and mood of hip hop. This celebration includes three people who went on to big acting careers – Will Smith (re-united with DJ Jazzy Jeff), Queen Latifah (whose “Equalizer” rerun follows) and LL Cool J. (Smith and Latifah are in the center of this photo.) Others are Common, Questlove, Cypress Hill, MC Lyte, 2 Chainz, Jeezy, Three 6 Mafia and more. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 9: “Hoops” night and laugh time

1) “Primetime Hoops” opener, 7 and 9 p.m. ET, Fox. These days, Fox focuses heavily on live events – wrestling on Fridays, pro football on Sunday afternoons and now its new “Hoops” format each Saturday. That starts with UCLA (shown here) at Villanova and then Notre Dame at Marquette. Earlier, there’s Syracuse-Georgetown at 11:30 a.m. and Alabama-Purdue at 1:30 p.m. There’s more on cable, plus the final game of the pros’ tournament, at 8:30 on ABC. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 8: blue bloods and tanned studs

1) “FBoy Island” finale, 9 p.m., CW. Each woman now has two guys to choose between. If she picks a “nice guy,” he has to share the $100,000; an acknowledged “FBoy” could keep it or share. That’s tough on Hali Okeowa, who has two FBoys. Daniella Grace has nice-guy Christian and FBoy Jared … who told viewers he sees no future for them, because she’s nine years older. Katie Thurston (shown here in her “Bachelorette” days) has nice-guy Vince and FBoy Benedict. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 7: Opry rocks around Christmas tree

1) “Christmas at the Opry,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. Here are country stars of all sizes, from 4-foot-9 Brenda Lee to 6-foot-6 Trace Adkins. Lee recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (shown here) 65 years ago; she was 13 then and followed with a dozen top-10 hits, led by the No. 1 “I’m Sorry.” Also performing: Wynonna Judd (who hosts), Kelly Clarkson, Chris Janson, Mickey Guyton, Adam Doleac, Lauren Alaina, Mitchell Tenpenny, Meghan Patrick and Breland. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 6: high drama for romance and Republicans

1) “Buccaneers,” Apple TV+. A week from the terrific finale, we finds lives in chaos. Nan loves two good men – Theo (a decent Duke) and Guy (his longtime friend and sometime foe). She also hates her sister Jinny, who revealed a secret to the world: Nan — shown here at the left with Theo — isn’t really descended from wealth; she was adopted at birth and “illegitimate,” a damning thing in the high society of the 1870s. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 5: “Dancing” finale and Halloween mayhem

1) “Dancing With the Stars” finale, 8-11 p.m., ABC and Disney+. This show kept saying last week was important, because dancers were straining for a spot in the finals … then, oddly, it advanced all five of them. Now we have Xochiti Gomez (shown here), who is 17 and trying to be the second-youngest champion (after gymnast Laurie Hernandez), plus Charity Lawson, Jason Mraz, Alyson Hannigan, and Ariana Madix. Mraz will also sing; there will be performances by 2022 champ Charli D’Amelio (also a teen) and co-hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 4: Blake’s shows, past and present

1) “The Voice,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. It’s time (a bit later than usual) for live shows to begin, with viewers voting. That leads into a special with the former “Voice” star, Blae Shelton (shown here). “Voice” now has its top 12 performers – two teens (Ruby Leigh, 16, and Tanner Massey, 19), five in their 20s and five in their 30s. On Tuesday, we’ll learn which nine advance to the semi-finals Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 3: Frosty, Olaf and Agatha

1) “Agatha Christie” opener, 8-9:30 p.m., PBS. England’s top novelists often saw wealth from inside and out. As preachers’ kids, Jane Austen and the Brontes were welcome in mansions, but didn’t have the riches. Christie grew up comfortably, but (as a wartime nurse) saw doctors’ arrogance; some of her tales had outsiders (Poirot, shown here, Marple, etc.) solve mysteries, while rich folks floundered. This three-week profile has too much focus on host Lucy Worsley, but remains interesting. Read more…

Week’s top-10 for Dec. 4: music and a flurry of finales

1) “Christmas at the Opry,” 8-10 p.m. Thursday, NBC. Brenda Lee recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” 65 years ago, when she was 13; she first sang at the Grand Ole Opry (and met Elvis Presley) a year before that. Now this special has singers of all sizes, from the 4-foot-9 Lee to the 6-foot-6 Trace Adkins (shown here). Others are Kelly Clarkson, Chris Janson, Mickey Guyton, Adam Doleac, Lauren Alaina, Wynonna Judd (who hosts) and more. Read more…