1) “Right to Offend: The Black Comedy Revolution,” 9-11 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday, A&E. This sprawls across a century of humor. The first half (rerunning at 7 p.m. Thursday) glances at the bad old days, then focuses on Dick Gregory, a teen track star who learned that Blacks’ times didn’t go in the record books. He became an activist, then a comedian, then both. It then ranges from Richard Pryor to Jimmy “J.J.” Walker. The second half visits a genial era (Cosby, Murphy, etc.) and then the sharp commentary of Chris Rock (shown here), Dave Chappelle and more.
2) “Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness,” 9-11 p.m. today and Tuesday, PBS. It’s a strong week for documentaries, including “Right to Offend” (above) and the Arthur Ashe profile, which CNN reruns at 6 p.m. PT Saturday. This one (produced by Ken Burns, but not in his usual style) offers vivid portraits of 21 people who have struggled. “There was just constant sadness,” a teen says. Adds a woman, 26: “My roommates don’t know half the stuff.” Nor do most people. “We don’t understand how common this is,” an expert says.
3) “Superman & Lois” season-finale, 8 p.m., Tuesday, CW. Remember when Superman seemed invincible? Ally Alston has been draining his powers to feed her own; she’s also been merging worlds. Now Chrissy Beppo (the Smallville Gazette editor and Lois’ boss) has been authorized by the Defense department to tell people the merging of planets is real and happening, Others –including Lois Lane and Lana Lang (the Smallville mayor) try to save world. Also CW has the “Flash” season-finale at 8 p.m. Wednesday, rerunning at 9 p.m. Thursday.
4) “So You Think You Can Dance,” 9 p.m., Wednesday, Fox. The show has its top 10 now, with half of them listing contemporary as their dance specialty. Two list Latin ballroom, with others specializing in jazz, hip hop and music theater. Last week, judges ousted Virginia Crouse and James Thomaas; now the others switch partners and tackle some global themes. Then two more are sent home. That follows “MasterChef” at 8, with the first team challenge: The 18 home chefs split into two teams, to feed more than 100 Coast Guard people.
5) “Westworld.” Long before robots started driving our cars and filling our phones, Michael Crichton wrote and directed a clever movie: An amusement park let people re-live the Old West – until a robot became menacing. That 1973 film airs at 5 p.m. PT Thursday on Turner Classic Movies. Then there’s the richly evolved “Westworld” series; the first three seasons are on HBO Max and the fourth is there and 9 p.m. Sundays on HBO. Its season-opener reruns at 5:55 p.m. today, 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, 8 p.m. Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
6) “S.W.A.T.,” 8 p.m. Friday, CBS. The CBS experiment with Friday-night reality has finally ended,. The network announced one Friday show (“The Activist”) that never aired and two (“Undercover Boss” and “Come Dance With Me”) that did. Now it’s back to what it does best – three crime shows each Friday. That starts with “S.W.A.T.,” in the same spot where it will be this fall. In this rerun, the team arrests some dangerous robbery suspects – which has Tan confronting a pivotal figure from his past. Also, Luca must temporarily atep in for Hicks.
7) “Blue Bloods,” 10 p.m. Friday, CBS. It’s been a frustrating stretch for fans of a show that had seemed like it would last forever,. “Blue Bloods” was pre-empted on two straight Fridays – first for the Watergate anniversary and then for the daytime Emmys. There was also word that next season – the 13th – will be its last. Now the show is back to its summer reruns. This episode, the 250th, has Frank (Tom Selleck) feeling guilty: He re-assigned Angela Reddick, who was then shot. Also, Anthony is offered a promotion, straining his relationship with Erin.
8) “Jailbreak Lovers,” 8-10:03 p.m. Saturday, Lifetime. In real life, Toby Young lived a straight-arrow life. She grew up as a devout Catholic, married the only guy she’d dated and ran a Kansas prison’s dog-training program that led to more than 1,000 adoptions. Then, at 48, she fell for John Manard, 27, who had been convicted as part of a robbery that led to a murder; He escaped (in a dog crate), leading to a sometimes-giddy, 13-day adventure. It’s an interesting story, which Catherine Bell manages to inject with surprising warmth and likability.
9) Football, 4:30 p.m. PT Sunday, Fox, with preview at 4. Here’s the USFL championship game. The league has eight teams with names like Pittsburgh Maulers and Houston Gamblers, but all are in Birmingham, Ala., where the games are played, with few people in the stands. It’s a made-for-TV event – including NBC, USA and Peacock – with tiny ratings. Still, it fits the emphasis of Fox (a minority owner in the league) on things people watch live, commercials and all. That includes wrestling Fridays, baseball.Saturdays and football this Sunday.
10) “Endeavour” season-finale, 9-11 p.m., PBS. A drab little season ends quite well, thanks to the sort of plot that English mysteries savor – strangers confined to an eerie mansion during bad weather. One is a killer; another is Endeavour Morse, at first not revealing he’s a cop. This season has seen him sink into alcohol and despair. It’s a fairly good finale (despite some too-convenient timing near the end), with better Sundays ahead. “Hotel Portofino” continues an entertaining season at 8; next week, “Grantchester” starts a strong one at 9.