Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for April 13: double “Anatomy,” returning “Sheldon”

1) “Grey’s Anatomy,” 9 and 10 p.m., ABC. Earlier this year, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) – the central character for 18-plus seasons – departed. Now Maggie Pierce, Meredith’s half-sister and the head of cardio-thoracic surgery, leaves after nine years. She and Winston Ngu decide the future of their wobbly marriage. (They’re shown here.) That’s in a busy, two-episode night: Jo faces a tough diagnosis, Levi helps a patient celebrate a milestone and the Amelia/Kai relationship is tested. Read more…

Best-bets for April 12: busy birds, sober human

1) “Nature: The Hummingbird Effect,” 8 p.m., PBS. Costa Rica is barely the size of West Virginia, but it has more than 50 hummingbird species, some with specialized beaks Their perpetual mission is to pollinate the verdant forests. This hour is filled with gorgeous footage, both of the hummingbirds (one is shown here, not from the show) and of the vibrant animal kingdom they help sustain. Read more…

Best-bets for April 11: fun and games … or wartime memories

1) “My Grandparents’ War” season-opener, 9 p.m., PBS. Each week during the first season, a British celebrity learned about a grandparent or two who did something intriguing during World War II. Now the show hits a four-bagger: Kit Harington (shown here), of “Game of Thrones,” learns about all four grandparents. Both couples met during the war; one stuck together afterward and the other was fractured by battlefield memories. It’s an involving hour. Read more…

Best-bets for April 10: A big day in “The Neighborhood”

1) “The Neighborhood,” 8 p.m., CBS. It’s the 100th episode of a show that often seems loud and blunt – especially compared to the superb “Bob (Hearts) Abioshola” thtat follows – but has good intentions. Originally about distrusting the white newcomers to a Black neighborhood, it’s now about neighborly friendship. Jerry O’Connell (shown here) guests, in a story about getting tickets to “The Talk.”
Read more…

Best-bets for April 9: good vibrations, great dramas

1) “Grammy Salute to the Beach Boys,” 8-10 p.m., CBS. Here’s a romp through great songs – many of them sunny and frilly, a few deep and dark. The hits are there, sung by Beck, Weezer, Charlie Puth, My Morning Jacket and more. But we also get emotional ballads from LeAnn Rimes, Mumford & Sons, and (shown here) a Brandi Carlile/John Legend duet. There are also key comments: When “In My Room” came out, Bruce Springsteen was 13; he played it over and over, in his room. Read more…

Best-bets for April 8: Easter-eve music, laughs, more

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. In the two decades since leaving “SNL,” Molly Shannon has popped up on the show a few times, but only hosted it once, in 2007. Now she’s back, with the Jonas Brothers as music guest. Lately, Shannon has thrived in the streaming/cable world. She did two “White Lotus” episode and the one-season “I Love That For You”; she plays a pop star’s mom in “The Other Two” (shown here), which starts its third season on May 4. Read more…

Best-bets for April 7: beautiful music and “Beautiful Things”

1) “Now Hear This,” 9 p.m., PBS. Violinist Scott Yoo did great work in a dozen previous episodes, often visiting old European sites (shown here) where classical music was formed. But here’s his best hour yet – a dazzling visit to Buenos Aires and the life of tango master Astor Piazzolla, We see superb musicians and dancers; then Yoo and his wife (gifted flutist Alice Dade) join in – hesitantly on the dance floor, brilliantly with the music. Read more…

Best-bets for April 6: Pink Ladies roar, Renner reflects

1) Jeremy Renner interview, 10 p.m., ABC. Renner’s career had been thriving – two Oscar nominations (“The Hurt Locker,” “The Town”), a series (“Mayor of Kingstown”) and steady work as Hawkeye (shown here) in the Marvel movies. Then he was run over by a seven-ton snowplow, breaking eight ribs, a shoulder and both ankles; a lung collapsed and his life was in danger. Now, three months later, he talks with Dianne Sawyer about the accident and his recovery. Read more…

Best-bets for April 5: A musical gem returns

1) “Schmigadoon” season-opener, Apple TV+. In the brilliant first season (shown here), two modern doctors (Cicely Strong and Keegan-Michael Key) found a world that seemed like a perpetual 1950s musical. They eventually got home and lived happily ever after … for a while. Now comes a delightful pivot, bringing the previous supporting actors back in very different roles. The songs are witty and Dove Cameron, once confined to cute Disney duty, is particularly good. Read more…

Best-bets for April 4: dramas — large, small and retro

1) FBI crossover, 8-11 p.m., CBS. Bigger isn’t better, but it grabs attention. This starts big, with a man-made tragedy in Belarus. Then it jumps to Rome (shown here with Jeremy Sisto), where an American is kidnapped near the Colosseum. And then it keeps growing, linking people from all three FBI shows. Things get repetitious. Both sides (cops and crooks) do a lot of shooting and some torturing; officials also shout at each other a lot. Read more…