1) “The Bachelor” finale, 8-10 p.m. today and Tuesday, ABC. Last week, Clayton Echard planned to spend “fantasy suite” nights with the final three women. The first night, he told Rachel Recchia (a pilot, shown here) that he loves her. The second, he told Gabby Windey he’s falling in love with her. The third, he found that Susie Evans was unhappy about the first two, even after he explained that “I am the most in love with you.” She ended up leaving, maybe forever. Now the show has four hours to straighten this all out.
2) “Beyond the Edge” debut, 9 p.m. Wednesday, CBS. After “Bachelor” ends, another reality show begins – this one with less love and more mud. The “Naked and Afraid” producers dumped nine semi-celebrities into a Panama jungle. There’s a former “Bachelor” star (Colton Underwood), plus country singers Lauren Alaina and Craig Morgan, football’s Ray Lewis and Mike Singletary, basketball’s Metta World Peace, actress Jodie Sweetin, model Paulina Porizkova and “Real Housewife” Eboni Williams.
3) “Sanditon” season-opener, 9 p.m. Sunday, PBS. More than two years after the first season ended, the second finally begins. During the interim, the show lost the actors who play Sidney (Charlotte’s love interest), his sister, babbling Lord Babington and an earnest foreman/architect. But “Sanditon” has been restocked cleverly. Now Charlotte and her giddy sister are surrounded by guys – a brooding landowner, an eccentric artist and an entire unit of red-coated soldiers. The result has elegance, wit and drama.
4) “Resident Alien” season-finale, 9 p.m. Wednesday, Syfy. It’s risky to throw a surprise birthday party at someone’s house. At best, he’ll be pleased; at worst, he’s hiding a half-alien egg that could hatch and start eating people. That’s the situation now, as a superb season ends. With people packed into a small cabin, we get a zesty mix of humor, science-fiction quirks and well-crafted drama. One of the less-used characters, the mayor’s wife, has great scenes – a quiet one with D’Arcy and a big one with everybody.
5) Basketball. The NCAA tournament starts quietly enough, with games at 3:30 and 6 p.m. PT Tuesday and Wednesday on TruTV. Then it takes most of CBS’ day, consuming comedies, cops and soap operas. The network has games Thursday and Friday at noon and 2:30, 7 and 9:30 p.m. ET. It continues Saturday at noon and 2:30, 5 and 7:30 p.m.; on Sunday, games are at noon, 2:30 and 5. There’s much more all week on TNT, TBS and TruTV. Then it all resumes next week, with the 16 survivors.
6) “Young Rock” season-opener, 8 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. This sprawling episode uses all four actors who portray Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. We see him as a kid and as a teen, idolizing a dad who has a big heart and a vibrant personality – but little time or money. We also see him as a swaggering prospect, trying to get a spot in Canadian football. And we see him in the future, played by the real Johnson. That’s the only part that pushes for laughs, in a show that’s always interesting, but rarely very funny.
7) “Mr. Mayor” season-opener, 8:30 Tuesday, NBC. This show pushes harder for laughs – sometimes too hard, making Bobby Moynihan play a buffoon. At the core is the mayor (Ted Danson), desperate to find a new project. He brings in an “innovation team” that has high-tech visuals and high-sounding phrases. That soon stirs skepticism from his assistant (Holly Hunter) and job-security worries from the younger staffers. And in fairly funny moments, he helps his daughter navigate driver-license testing.
8) “Welcome to Flatch” debut, 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Fox. Now for a different kind of comedy. Adapted from a British hit, it’s droll and offbeat; it will delight some viewers and leave others cold, “Flatch” pretends to study small-town America. Mostly, the cameras find cousins who are floundering: Shrub’s main goal is to win a Scarecrow Festival prize; Kelly wants to be an “influencer” or a ride-share driver or to spend time with her distant dad. We also meet a clergyman, the newspaper editor and more.
9) All week, KVPT. There are still some light, pledge-drive bits. Music includes big-band (7 p.m. today) and tributes to Kenny Rogers (10 p.m.Wednesday) and the Beatles (10:30 p.m. Friday), plus Irish dance at 10 p.m. Thursday, St. Patrick’s Day. But “Frontline” has “Putin’s Road to War” and the 2015 “Putin’s Way” at 8 and 9 Tuesday. At 9 p.m. Friday are “Movies for Grownups” awards. Sunday surrounds “Sanditon” with dark openers – “Call the Midwife” at 8 p.m., “Before We Die” at 10.
10) ALSO: One competition – “America’s Got Talent: Extreme” – concludes at 8 p.m. today on NBC; then another begins at 8 p.m. Thursday on Fox. That’s “MasterChef Junior,” with 16 kids, ages 8-13, cooking. At 8 p.m. Saturday, HBO has “The Many Saints of Newark” (2021); Michael Gandolfini is an early version of the guy his late father James played in “The Sopranos.” And at 10 p.m. Sunday, a week before the Oscars, ABC’s “Step Into … the Movies” is Derek and Julianne Hough’s cinema celebration.