1) “LA Fire & Rescue” debut, 8 p.m. Wednesday, NBC. The sprawling Los Angeles County ranges from a desert to an ocean; one firehouse is in the tough Compton area, at another, there’s talk of Kardashians or a Schwarzenegger. Producer Dick Wolf (“Chicago Fire”) offers a non-fiction view. (The photo here is of an L.A. firefighters, but not the ones in this show.) We get personal stories – this week, a cancer survivor – plus action. Most of it is medical, but the opener closes with a giant blaze that continues next week.
2) “Chicago Fire,” 9 p.m. Wednesday, NBC; and “Fire Country,” 9 p.m. Friday, CBS. As long as we’re getting a real-life view of firefighters, we might as well catch some fictional reruns. On NBC, the stories range from upbeat (colleagues help Herrmann put on a school fundraiser) to not (Carver’s troubled brother arrive)s. On “Fire Country,” a wildfire is massive and unpredictable; now Bode and the others are needed in the rescue efforts.
3) “Juneteenth: A Global Celebration for Freedom,” 8-11 p.m. ET today, CNN and OWN. It’s the third year of Juneteenth as a national holiday, but the celebration goes back 157 years, marking the final, post-war freeing of slaves. This concert will include a Tina Turner tribute by Chloe Bailey, plus music by Kirk Franklin, Nelly, Jodeci, Miguel, Charlie Wilson, SWV, Davido, Coi Leray and Mike Phillips. Questlove and Adam Blackstone are music directors.
4) More Juneteenth. The two-night “Black Pop” begins today, viewing music (from gospel to hip hop) at 8 p.m. and TV at 9; Tuesday eyes sports and film. At 10 p.m. today, ABC’s “Soul of a Nation” views 50 years of hip-hop. Also today, at 9 p.m., the digital Bounce network profiles Xernona Clayton, 92, who is a civil-rights activist, cable executive and Trumpet Foundation founder. Black-themed movies are on TBS, TNT, TCM, MGM+, BET and Bounce.
5) “Superman & Lois,” 8 p.m. Tuesday, CW. The season is almost done … but the series isn’t. Under new ownership, the CW was dumping all its superhero shows, but recently reversed itself on this one: The show will get 10 episodes next season. This week, Lex Luthor (Michael Cudlitz of “Walking Dead”) emerges from prison; next week, in the season-finale, he makes his move. Also this week, Clark clashes with his son, who used his powers in public.
6) “MasterChef,” 8 p.m. Wednesday, Fox. The show has now chosen its 20 contestants. They range from two 26-year-olds (a farm owner and a festival vendor) to a media-company owner, 51. There’s a bartender, a beer expert and a brewery sales director, plus a hairstylist, a lifestyle blogger and a mushroom jerky manufacturer. They’re split into four regions; the winner of the first challenge (a state fair theme) gets immunity for the whole region.
7) NBA draft, 8 p.m. ET Thursday, ABC and ESPN. The football draft ia a ratings hit; now basketball will have one round on ABC – with San Antonio choosing first — and both on ESPN. That’s during a summer when sports are vital for TV. On Saturday, NBC has football (a semi-final USFL game at 8 p.m. ET) and Fox has baseball (1:10 and 7:15 p.m. ET). At 7 p.m. the next day, Fox has the other football semi-final and NBC has a NASCAR race in Nashville.
8) “Will Trent,” 8 p.m. Friday, ABC. Fridays have become the best night for drama reruns. There are the CBS ones (“SWAT,” “Fire Country,” “Blue Bloods:), now joined by this sharp show; this week, it reruns the second half of the intense series opener. Will is a Georgia Bureau of Investigation detective, short on people skills. Now this case reflects his troubled past: The kidnapped teen is the daughter of an old enemy/friend from their days in juvenile hall.
9) “Keyshia Cole: This Is My Life,” 8 p.m. and midnight Saturday, Lifetime. Cole’s first six albums were in the top-10, two reaching No. 2. More difficult was re-connecting with her mother (who, struggling with addiction, let friends adopt her at 2) and sisters and finding her dad. Cole plays herself, with Debbi Morgan as her mom. That follows reruns of the well-acted “Real Love” at 4 p.m. and its sequel, “Strength of a Woman,” at 6.
10) “Ridley,” 8-9 p.m. Sunday, PBS. This well-made show has the misfortune of having each mystery spread over two Sundays. Last week’s opener seemed slow and bland … giving no hint of the potent finish coming. In that opener, a sullen farmer was killed on his way home from the pub. Ridley, a retired cop, was still haunted by an unsolved case (a missing little girl) 13 years earlier. The story resolves powerfully, leading into an OK “Endeavour” at 9.
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