Year: 2019

Best-bets for June 15: Two versions of Kenan comedy

1) “All That” opener, 8:30 p.m., Nickelodeon; reruns at midnight. Long before he became an eternal “Saturday Night Live” star, Kenan Thompson did this kid-themed sketch show (shown here). He was 15 when he started there; at 41, he’s back to help produce this reboot. Kel Mitchell (who co-starred with Thompson in the original, then in a series and a movie) is also producing. Two of the other originals (Josh Server and Lori Beth Denberg) show up tonight, with the Jonas Brothers as guests. Read more…

“The Good Fight” brings its good run to CBS

Strolling through the summer TV line-up can feel like a trip to a perverse flea market.
There’s a miniature-golf show (really, on ABC) … and a 3-on-3 basketball league … and the sort of soap opera where the groom denounces the bride and attacks the wedding singer. There are magicians and jugglers and feuding roommates and ’80s game shows and ….
Wait … flea markets also have their gems. In the midst of all this nonsense, “The Good Fight” is spending summer Sundays on CBS. It has strong stories, great dialog and gifted actors. Read more…

Best-bets for June 14: A master playwright gets the spotlight

1) “American Masters: Terrence McNally,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS; check local listings. McNally (shown here) has been a theater force for generations. His first show reached Broadway in 1963; his “Frankie and Johnny at the Claire de Lune” revival is there now. In between were about 17 other Broadway shows, winning four Tonys (plus a lifetime one). He’s ranged from farce to pain, from small shows to the epic “Ragtime” musical. Here’s a terrific portrait of a Texan who has lost two lovers to AIDS, but remains optimistic and funny. Read more…

Best-bets for June 13: Basketball is back (barely)

1) Basketball, 9 p.m. ET, ABC, with previews at 8 and 8:30. A couple more points one way and this would be over; Toronto, which had never been in the finals before, would be celebrating its championship. But Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors slipped past the Raptors on Monday, 106-105. Now the series moves to San Francisco; if the Warriors win tonight, things will be back to Toronto for the final game. Read more…

Best-bets for June 12: Double-Oprah, plus games and more

1) “Queen Sugar” season opener, 9 p.m.; and Central Park Five interview, 10, Oprah Winfrey Network. It’s a huge night for Winfrey and Ava DuVernay. They produce “Queen Sugar,” the intense drama (shown here) about a Louisiana family; this season, Nova’s book brings ripples of rage. They also produced (and DuVernay directed and co-wrote) “When They See Us,” the Netflix mini-series about the five black youths incorrectly convicted of rape. Now Winfrey interviews them, in a special that Netflix will simulcast. Read more…

Tonycast 2019: Wit prevails, in a noisy night

The Tony telecast had been on for, maybe, three seconds when James Corden reminded us why we were watching.Yes, TV is in a new golden age. Still, nothing matches the explosive fun of live entertainment.Corden managed to say this in full-scale song-and-dance. He had another number, mid-show, that again proved there are an awful lot of clever lyricists out there. Let’s start there: Read more…

Best-bets for June 11: “Pose” starts, “Bold” ends (for now)

1) “Pose” season-opener, 10 p.m., FX. The first season was set in 1987, with New York’s “ball culture” in its own bubble of flash and sass. But now we jump to 1990, with powerful forces building: There’s the devastation caused by AIDS … the rage of the Act Now protests (shown here) … and the pop-culture impact of Madonna’s “Vogue.” Bianca is convinced the song will bring success to the ball world. Bursting with optimism, she nudges Angel. It’s a passionate episode, beautifully directed and played. Read more…

Best bets for May 10: “Dance” leads a reality overload

1) “So You Think You Can Dance,” 9 p.m., Fox. For 15 years, this has been one of TV’s best summer shows. It’s had gifted dancers, brilliant choreographers and earnest judges; it also sometimes doesn’t get the push it deserves. This year, Fox scheduled the debut (shown here) for tonight … then made a late decision to move it a week earlier. Tonight, we’ll settle for the second part of the Los Angeles auditions. Read more…

A Strange hero saves a strangely tangled “Krypton”

As “Krypton” opens its second season, two reactions emerge — “wow!!” and “whaaa…?”
The first is a good thing. This series is visually impressive, giving us all the sci-fi splendor we expect from DC (which produced this) or Marvel.
The other is not as good. At times, “Krypton” simply tries too hard. It loads us up with time-travel and multiple dimensions … so many that we feel like we need an Encyclopedia of Geek to understand it all.. Read more…