Weekly Previews

1) “Agents of SHIELD” series finale, 9 and 10 p.m. Wednesday, ABC. An ambitious show ends in the relative obscurity of summer. “SHIELD” began with 22-episode seasons on the main schedule; it ends with a pair of 13-episode summers. Still, it all adds up – seven seasons, 136 episodes, a story leaping across planets and time. Last week ended with double evil – Sybil in the computer system, Malik in space, guiding laser shots toward the SHIELD bases. NowDaisy (Chloe Bennett, shown here) and friends have two TV hours to save the world. Read more…

1) “Coroner” (shown here) debut, 9 p.m. Wednesday, CW. This mini-network keeps importing shows to plug holes. Some are goofy (“Killer Camp,” “Task Master”) or bland (“Fridge Wars”), but this one is surprisingly good. Based on a series of novels, it starts with a life-changing moment for Dr. Jenny Cooper; then we flash forward. She’s the new coroner in Toronto, ready to help solve cases. The first – set in in a youth detention center – is a tough, smart story. Sharply written and acted, “Coroner” is a summer surprise. Read more…

1) Basketball. Last week, baseball finally started; now basketball resumes, helping fill the shutdown void. It starts with doubleheaders, at 6:30 and 9 p.m. ET Thursday (TNT) and Friday (ESPN). Then ESPN tops that with four games Saturday, 1, 3:30, 6 and 8:30 p.m. ET. ABC takes over Sunday at 13:30 and 8:30 p.m. Sunday. The two league-leaders each reach TV twice: The Bucks ar 6:30 Friday (facing the Celtics) and 8:30 Sunday (Rockets); LeBron James (shown here) and the Lakers are 9 p.m. Thursday (Clippers) and 8:30 Saturday (Raptors). Read more…

1) Baseball, Thursday and beyond, Fox and cable. In other years, we might grumble that baseball is too old and slow for TV; this year, we need the diversion – which comes in big bunches. ESPN starts things on Thursday (Yankees, shown here, and Nationals at 7 p.m. ET, Giants-Dodgers at 10) and Friday (Braves-Mets at 4, Brewers-Cubs at 7, Angels-A’s at 10). Then Fox takes over on Saturday – Brewers-Cubs at 1:05 p.m. ET, Giants-Dodgers at 4:10 p.m., Yankees-Nationals at 7:15. There’s much more coming up. Read more…

1) “CMA Best of Fest,” 8-11 p.m. today, ABC. Some of TV’s best summer moments come when ABC has music fron Nashville’s CMA Fest. This year’s festival was canceled, but the show goes on, with Luke Bryan hosting. He’ll do new music, as will Darius Rucker; others will be shown during 16 previous years. We’ll get newer stars (Luke Combs, Kane Brown, Kelsea Ballerini) and A-list veterans – Garth Brooks, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood (shown here), Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambrt, Keith Urban, more. Read more…

1) “POV: The Vote,” 9-11 p.m. today and Tuesday, PBS. Sure, there are plenty of protests this summer; a century ago, however, was another matter. “No one had ever picketed outside the White House,” historian Tina Cassidy says here. Then women did in 1917, demanding the vote. There were arrests, sentences, hunger strikes … and (on Aug. 26, 1920) victory. It was a slow path, for a movement (shown here) that was organized in 1848. This film gets lost in the in-fighting, but then returns to a passionate story. Read more…

1) “A Capitol Fourth” (shown here in a previous year), 8 p.m. Saturday, PBS, rerunning at 9:30. For the second time, a big-deal event gets a social-distance twist. The National Memorial Day Concert skillfully mixed new music (taped in Washington and beyond) and past highlights. This has some of the same people (Trace Adkins, Kelli O’Hara, Renee Fleming), adding Patti LaBelle, John Fogerty, Yolanda Adams, Andy Grammer, Brantley Gilbert, Mandy Gonzalez, Brian Stokes Mitchell, the Temptations, tributes and fireworks. Read more…

1) BET Awards, 8-11 p.m. Sunday, CBS and BET. Amid the surge of interest in black history and culture, CBS decided (for the first time) to simulcast BET’s awards. Comedian Amanda Seales hosts a virtual ceremony stuffed with music. That includes Chloe x Halle (shwon here at the Super Bowl), Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Alicia Keys, Lil Wayne, country’s Kane Brown and Wayne Brady, known for comedy until he won “The Masked Singer.” Others include DaBaby, D Smoke, Jonathan McReynolds and Megan Thee Stallion. Read more…

1) “Songland” season-finale, 10 p.m. today, NBC. Four songwriters pitch songs to Usher (shown here) … who can sometimes mean a route to the top. He’s had 18 top-10 singles on the Billboard chart, half of them reaching No.1. Many lingered; for more than half of 2004 (28 of 52 weeks), an Usher song was No. 1. He also had two seasons on “The Voice,” coaching a champion (Josh Kaufman) and a runner-up. Now he’ll hear the pitches and choose three of the four songs for refining. Then he’ll pick one to record. Read more…

1) “Man With a Plan” series finale, 8:30 p.m. Thursday, CBS. When Matt LeBlanc’s “Friends” ended its 10-year run, it was a big deal. When his “Plan” ends a four-year run … well, it’s worth noting. This is a consistently adequate comedy, with LeBlanc in the cliched TV role of a semi-bumbling husband and dad. In the finale, he and his wife (played by Liza Snyder; they’re shown here) near their 20th anniversary. That’s in a week that mostly has debuts, season-openers and a mid-season return. We’ll look at those shows next. Read more…