Best-bets for Aug. 17: comedies, gentle or not

1) “Young Sheldon,” 8 p.m., CBS. Elsewhere, reality shows seem to take over the summer schedules and the strike-torn fall line-ups. Still, “Sheldon” reruns remain in the top-10 in the weekly Nielsen ratings. Now the show is back near the start of this season, with some sharp twists. Sheldon’s mom lost her church job because of ill-feelings involving Georgie being an unwed father-to-be. With finances shaky, Sheldon and Missy (shown here) try to help. Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 16: finales for “Wonder Years,” “Food Stars”

1) “The Wonder Years” finale, 9 and 9:30 p.m., ABC. It’s been a so-so season for this comedy-drama (which, alas, often forgets about the comedy), but it ends surprisingly well. Both episodes have large stories, solid drama and adequate comedy. First (shown here), Dean’s dad (Dule Hill) fumes when his brother (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) makes a splash at their father’s birthday. Then this 1969 Alabama family plans a whirlwind week — a Texas college visit and Disneyland. Read more…

Here’s what’s coming in the strike-torn fall

TV networks – and TV viewers – are near their make-do phase.
Even if the writers’ and actors’ strikes are settled soon, the usual shows won’t be back until mid-season. Starting next month, networks will make do with tacked-together schedules; viewers will make do by sticking to streamers and cable (also wounded by the strikes) or maybe even reading a book.
But yes, the traditional networks will have shows this fall – even some scripted episodes (incluing “Magnum,” shown here) you haven’t seen before. Here’s a round-up of the commercial broadcast networks, plus the scripted shows on PBS: Read more…

Good news: The CW/Canada link is sometimes fun

OK, my faith and optimism have been semi-restored.
That’s my faith in the shaky upcoming TV season. And in the wobbly CW network. And in Canada.
In short, the opening episode of “The Spencer Sisters” is surprisingly good.
The show arrives Oct. 4 on CW, which is one of the few networks to realize that Canada: 1) Is quite close to us, geographically; 2) Speaks a language very similar to our own; and 3) Makes TV shows like the ones we do … or, at least, like we did in decades past. Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 15: taut crime or light reality

1) “Justified: City Primeval,” 10 p.m., FX. A dangerous book, with notes about bribes, is in the hands of menacing Mansell (shown here, right) and sweet-spirited Sweetie (left). Mansell has already used it to steal a painting; now things get intense. Raylan – a U.S. marshal, transported to Detroit – is sleeping with Mansell’s lawyer; he’s also pursuing her client and a tangled case. This episode, the sixth of eight, is sometimes talky, sometimes lethal, always interesting. Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 14: Reality rules, including food finale

1) “Crime Scene Kitchen” finale, 9 p.m., Fox. For two summers, Fadi Odeh and T Lawrence-Simon (shown here) have brightened cooking showa. Last year, they were opponents in “The Great Chocolate Showdown”; T tied for runner-up, with Fadi finishing sixth. Now they’re together, in a season that started with 12 duos, half of them classically trained. Fadi and T are the only self-taught cooks in the final three. In fact, T also performs and teaches circus aerial acts. Read more…

Slow time for TV? Not if you like mysteries

Sure, the TV world is sputtering now. Summer line-ups are winding down; the fall ones are patchwork.
But let’s note an upside: This is a great time to watch mysteries.
A funny one (“Only Murders in the Building,” shown here) just started its season; a serious one (“Dark Winds”) began a week earlier. Another (“Justified: City Primeval”) is funny AND serious and violent..
Then there’s “The Lincoln Lawyer,” which just finished its split season. And “The Chelsea Detective,” which starts a new season on Aug. 28. Six days later, three shows – “Unforgiven,” “Professor T” and “Van der Valk” – all start their seasons on PBS. Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 13: “Billions” starts, “1883” ends

1) “Billions” season-opener, 8 p.m., Showtime. When Damian Lewis (shown here) left, “Billions” scrambled for an entire season. His character — Bobby “Axe” Axelrod – had fled overseas to escape prosecution. Mike Prince – just as ruthless, but way less charming – took over. Now Prince plans to run for president and others are desperate to get Axe back; so are we. Stick with this hour, through some strong dialog and then a big finish. Read more…

Emmys get a new date — on Martin Luther King Day

The Emmy Awards now have a new date – Jan. 15, four months later than the original plan.
That will be 8-11 p.m. ET (5-8 p.m. PT) on Fox, with Jesse Collins Entertaiment — producer of recent Super Bowl halftimes (shown here) and more — in charge. The announcement today (Aug. 10):
— Shows confidence that the actors’ and writers’ strikes will eventually be settled. Actors have been instructed to avoid functions until then.
— Comes just eight days after the Golden Globes telecast. The Emmys honor TV; the Globes do movies and TV.
— And is being planned partly as a Martin Luther King Day celebration. Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 12: We can marvel at a new hero

1) “Ms. Marvel” conclusion, 8-11 p.m., ABC. Fresh from its Television Critics Association award for best family show, this mini-series – originally on Disney+ — wraps its two-week rerun. Last week, we met Kamala Khan, a teen who played videogames and wrote fan fiction, especially about Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel). Then a bangle from her grandmother unlocked her own powers. Now (shown here) she’s traveling the world to learn family secrets. Read more…