Weekly Previews

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.

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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. Read more…

1) “Hotel Portofino” opener, 8 p.m. Sunday, PBS. Bella (Natascha McElhone) has spiffed up a gorgeous little hotel on the Italian Riviera (shown here), hoping to draw her fellow Englishmen; she may even find a match for her handsome son. On the surface, we get classic PBS – “Downton” elegance meets “Durrells” backdrop. But this is the 1920s and Fascism is rising; also, Bella’s husband is a jerk, some of the guests are iffy and romance rarely goes as planned. At times, this six-parter is too soapy, with cliché characters; at others, it’s a sweet summer pleasure Read more…

1) Tony Awards, 8-11 p.m. Sunday, CBS. For the first time in three years, here’s a full-scale Tonycast. Ariana DeBose (the “West Side Story” Oscar-winner) hosts and we can expect numbers from the nominated musicals – six new and three revivals. Even if you’ll never reach Broadway, you may like the music of Michael Jackson (“MJ”), Bob Dylan (“Girl From the North Country”) or Stephen Sondheim (“Company”). Or the performances of Billy Crystal (“Mr. Saturday Night”) or Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster (“Music Man,” shown here). Or “A Strange Loop” or “Six” or more. Read more…

1) America’s Got Talent” season-opener, 8-10:01 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. The summer season is taking hold now. We already have fun-and-games nights Monday (Fox), Tuesday (ABC) and Wednesday (Fox); also, NBC has an “American Ninja Warrior” special, with past contestants, from 8-10 p.m. today, a week before the new season. But this is the big show, the summer ratings leader. Now the auditions begin, with Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara as judges; they’re shown here with host Terry Crews. Read more…

1) “This Is Us” series finale, 9 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. For six seasons, this has been the best broadcast-network drama. Now – voluntarily and way too soon – it’s ending with its 106th episode. During this time, we’ve seen Kate change husbands, Randall change careers and Kevin change lovers, returning now to his first love, Sophie. We’ve seen them (shown here) lose their dad suddenly, when they were kids, and their mom slowly, to Alzheimer’s disease. Now they’re back together; we can expect strong emotions. Read more…

1) “American Idol” (shown here) finale, 8-11 p.m. Sunday, ABC. In a week stuffed with finales, this is a big one – naming the 20th “Idol” winner. We’re far from the days when “Idol” topped the ratings and its winners (Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood) became stars. But this is still ABC’s most-watched show and is second only to “The Bachelor” for ages 18-49; its ratings declined moderately this year, while others plunged. Tonight, we can expect performances by guests and the contestants … and then a winner. Read more…

1) “American Song Contest” finale, 8-10 p.m. today, NBC. This began with 56 acts — one from each state and territory; now it has its top 10. That includes two Michael Bolton (Connecticut) and two people who were reality-show finalists back in 2015: Jordan Smith (Kentucky) was the “Voice” winner; Riker Lynch (shown here, Colorado) was the “Dancing with the Stars” runner-up. Others are from Alabama, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Samoa.
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1) “American Idol” special, 8 p.m. today, ABC.  It was 20 years ago (almost) that the first “Idol” auditions aired. On that June day, Americans met Kelly Clarkson, Justin Guarini and more. Now “Idol” pauses for an anniversary concert. It has the top two from its 10th season (Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina, shown here), plus more winners – Ruben Studdard (Season 2), Jordin Sparks (6), David Cook (7), Kris Allen (8), Maddie Poppe (16) and Laine Hardy (17), plus others Read more…

 1) “Better Things” series-finale, 10 p.m. today, FX, rerunning at 11. A great show ends in its fashion – odd, disjointed and intermittently brilliant. If you’re not familiar with it, just relax and let it wash over you. It starts and ends with clever music videos; in between are snippets from the fictional life of Sam Fox – a lot like the real life of writer-director-star Pamela Adlon (shown here, second from left, in a previous episode. A couple of long toilet scenes could have been skipped, but the rest offers bursts of warmth, humor and human quirks. Read more…