1) “Mark Twain Prize,” 9-10:30 p.m. Tuesday, PBS. Jon Stewart (shown here) gets the comedy prize – leading to a cascade of warmth, ribbing and hardy laughs. Stewart led “The Daily Show” for 16 years, winning 10 straight best-variety-show Emmys – which, we’re told, he kept in a cardboard box. We hear from his former correspondents (Steve Carell, Olivia Munn, Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee, John Oliver, Ed Helms), fellow comics (Pete Davidson, Dave Chappelle, Jimmy Kimmel) and more, including two songs from Bruce Springsteen. It’s a great show.
2) BET Awards, 8-11:30 p.m. Sunday, BET, with pre-show at 6. Taraji Henson has her first turn as host, adding some comedy to a night that will be strong on music. Performers include Lizzo, Latto, Chloe, Giveon and Babyface, plus Jack Harlow, Chance the Rapper, Kirk Franklin, Roddy Ricch and more. Also, Sean “Diddy” Combs gets a lifetime award. Alongside lots of music awards, there are ones for sports and movies; nominated are “King Richard,” “Respect,” “Candyman,” “The Harder They Fall,” “Space Jam: A New Legacy” and “The Summer of Soul.”
3) Hockey, all week, 5 p.m. PT, ABC. Fresh from strong ratings for basketball, ABC is trying hockey. The Colorado Avalanche hosted the first two games; now the best-of-seven series moves to the Tampa Bay Lightning today and Wednesday. Others (if needed) are Friday in Colorado, Sunday in Tampa Bay and June 28 in Colorado. Going for its third straigfht title, Tampa Bay faces a hot team that was 12-2 in the previous play-off rounds. Sports fans also have a crowded Saturday, with football (USFL semi-finals, noon PT. Fox, 5 p.m. NBC), baseball and racing..
4) “MasterChef Junior” finale, 9 p.m. Tuesday, Fox; rerunning Thursday. After juggling its schedule, Fox tentatively plans to simply run the same night twice: At 8 p;.m., it has “Road to the Finale,” showing what’s happened so far; at 9 is the final face-off between two skilled dhefs: Grayson Price, 11, and Liya Chu, 10, will each be asked to prepare meals that represent themselves. The winner will get $100,000, new kitchen appliances and a meal with host Gordon Ramsay … who, on this show, is very good about not using foul language.
5) “Motherland: Fort Salem” season-opener, 10 p.m. Tuesday, Freeform. When this show began, the young witches were bursting with idealism. Raelle’s mother was killed in the military; so were Tally’s aunts. But now they were in the military academy, along with Scylla, whose parents were killed for being draft-dodgers. Their powers grew and as last season ended, they saved the world from the Camarilla. Instead of praise, they were falsely accused of killing the vice-president’s daughter. As the third and final season begins, they’re on the run.
6) “Wellington Paranormal” season-opener, 9 and 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, CW. Made on the cheap in New Zealand, this is slow, droll and sneaky clever. It’s from Taika Waiti and Jemaine Clement (the “What We Do in the Shadows” creators); Clement wrote and directed the second episode, which has his old “Flight of the Conchords” pal Rhys Darby as a park ranger. The first episode has an invisible man – an elusive target. The second has a creature in the woods. Both are dryly funny, boosted by Tom Sainsbury as the hapless Corporal Parker.
7) Daytime Emmys, 9-11 p.m. Friday, CBS. The previous two ceremonies – both dreadful ordeals – were done remotely. Now we get new hosts (the “Entertainment Tonight” anchors) and an audience. All five soaps are nominated, including “Days of Our Lives” and its Peacock spin-off. Up for best talk host are Kelly Clarkson, Drew Barrymore and two duos — Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest, Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush-Hager. Barrymore will be a presenter, as will Jerry O’Connell, Tamron Hall, Deborah Norville and plenty of soap stars.
8) “Come Dance With Me” finale and “The Great American Recipe” debut, Friday. It’s reality-show turnover night. At 8 p.m., CBS’ “Dance” – duos, with a kid who’s a trained dancer and a parent who isn’t – chooses its winner. At 9, PBS’ “The Great American Recipe” debuts, with 10 likable cooks. Two savor Italian food, one likes Southern soul, others reflect their family roots in Syria, Vietnam, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Hungary and more. It’s a likable start; at 10, “American Anthems” debuts with Jennifer Nettles molding an emotional song.
9) “The Chi” season-opener, 9 p.m. Sunday, Showtime. For four seasons, Emmett’s life has grown and shrunk. Once a loose lover with three children, he fell for Tiffany and their son E.J., married her, started a restaurant … and had an affair with a co-worker. Tiff suggested an open marriage … which went badly. That’s where we start now – Tiff and E.J. living with her foul-spirited mom, Emmett miserable, other relationships seeing highs and lows. It’s a solid start, with one scene (at a pep rally) that rings false and another (at a video-game parlor) that packs silent power.
10) ALSO: Our living rooms are turning into movie houses this week. Two big films jump directly from theaters to streaming. On Wednesday, Disney+ has “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” … less than seven weeks after its big-screen start. On Friday, Peacock has “Downton Abbey: A New Era,” five weeks after its arrival. The latter starts slowly and stiffly, then adds fun when a 1920s movie company arrives. Also streaming: A new “Umbrella Academy” season, Wednesday on Netflix; Maya Rudolph’s “Loot” comedy, Friday on Apple TV+.