Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for July 5: Wonder-ful singer and angry teen

1) “The Wonder Years,” 9 p.m., ABC. Most weeks, Saycon Sengbloh (shown here with Dule Hll) is in the background, as Dean’s mom. Now she gets a terrific showcase, complete with great songs. Sengbloh was in seven Broadway musicals, usually in the chorus or understudying a star; then a play brought her fame and a Tony award. Here, her mother-in-law (R&B/gospel great Patti LaBelle) taps her for the church choir. The story is fairly good; the music is glorious. Read more…

Best-bets for July 4: soaring songs, flashy fireworks

1) “A Capitol Fourth,” 8 p.m., PBS, rerunning at 9:30. Each year, this offers a rich variety of music from the Capitol lawn, capped by fireworks (shown here). This year has a Tina Turner tribute from Adrienne Warren (who played her on Broadway), a musical tribute to soldiers and their families by Renee Fleming and Charles Esten singing “Let Freedom Ring” as the fireworks flow. Also Chicago, Babyface, Boyz II Men, Belinda Carlisle, Maddie & Tae and more. Read more…

Best-bets for July 3: a cruel, shark-filled summer

1) “SharkFest,” National Geographic Channel. It’s been almost a half-century since “Jaws” had a great white shark invading an upscale resort area. Now a 9 p.m. film tells us there’s a growing number of great whites feeding near Cape Cod. That’s one of three new hours about sharks (shown here), surrounded by reruns. One, at 8 p.m., asks if attacks are affected by sound; another, at 10, eyes bull sharks attacking a hammerhead. Read more…

Best-bets for July 2: “Tough” show starts, dour one ends

1) “Tough as Nails” opener, 8-10 p.m., CBS. After pushing its summer shows back to August, CBS relented: After tonight, “Tough” (shown here) will have a new hour each Friday and Sunday. This season was filmed in Canada, with four Canadians among the 12 contestants. The field ranges from a 31-year-old ironworker to a 58-year-old toolmaker; it includes two firefighters and a motorcycle-builder. Phil Keoghan (shown here) hosts the show, which he co-created. Tonight, each person must cut, grind and torch 500 pounds of scrap metal. Read more…

Best-bets for July 1: Football season finally ends

1) Football, 8 p.m. ET, NBC. It’s the final game of the season – just three weeks before NFL training camps begin for a new year. This is the USFL, in its second season since being revived. The defending champion, Birmingham (8-2 in the regular season), behind quareterback Alex McGough (shown here), rolled to a 47-22 win over New Orleans (7-3) in the South division semi-finals. Now it faces Pittsburgh, which had an overtime win over Michigan, in a North battle of teams with 4-6 records. Read more…

Best-bets for June 30: cowboys, firefighters and CIA

1) “Yellowstone,” 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., Paramount Network. It will be a long wait for the last six episodes of this final season (coming November, or later). But now we can re-see Kevin Costner (shown here, right) and the others from the start. Tonight’s reruns go mid-way through the first season; that resumes at 11 a.m. Saturday, with the second-season finale at 11:50 p.m. There’s more Sunday, leading into reruns of the prequel, “1883.” Read more…

Best-bets for June 28: “Grown-ish” returns; “Mayans” rages

1) “Grown-ish” season-opener, 10 p.m., Freeform. The early seasons, the focus was on Zoey (shown here), but now it’s her brother Andre’s second year in college. Tonight, he’s nudged by his dad to choose a major and by his friends to go to a music festival … where he meets rapper NLE Choppa. It’s an ambitious half-hour with two so-so sories — Andre’s indecision and Kiela’s effort to schedule everyone’s fun. Read more…

Best-bets for June 27: fantasy farewells, Fox film

1) “Gotham Knights” series-finale, 9 p.m., CW. This has had a sharp concept, strong visuals, attractive characters … and disastrous timing. Just as it debuted, CW (under new ownership) began dumping its fantasy shows. In “Knights,” Bruce Wayne (Batman) was killed and his adopted son was framed. On the lam, he linked with Joker’s daughter (they’re shown here0 and others. Now they try a dangerous rescue; also, Harvey Dent copes with his evil persona, “Two-Face.” Read more…

Best-bets for June 26: sorta-romance, semi-fame

1) “The Bachelorette” opener, 9-11 p.m., ABC. Charity Lawson (shown here), 27, is a therapist with a master’s degree, so the show gives her lots professionals. The 25 guys (ages 24 to 33) include a doctor, a travel nurse, a medical specialist and two scientists. There’s an airplane pilot and a yacht captain, plus a tennis pro, a wrestling pro and a world record-holder: Chris Spell, 5-foot-9, had a vertical leap of 5-foot-7.
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