Best-bets for March 17: droll “Flatch” or tourney fuss

1) “Welcome to Flatch” debut, 9:30 p.m., Fox. Adapted from a British comedy, this is filled with droll, dry humor. A camera crew, we’re told, is studying small-town America. Mostly, it finds semi-empty lives – a local clergyman (Seann William Scott); his ex-wife (Aya Cash), editing the local paper; and two young people (shown here), clueless about life after high school. One wants a Scarecrow Festival prize; the other wants to be an influencer or spend time with her distant dad. Read more…

1) “Welcome to Flatch” debut, 9:30 p.m., Fox. Adapted from a British comedy, this is filled with droll, dry humor. A camera crew, we’re told, is studying small-town America. Mostly, it finds semi-empty lives – a local clergyman (Seann William Scott); his ex-wife (Aya Cash), editing the local paper; and two young people (shown here), clueless about life after high school. One wants a Scarecrow Festival prize; the other wants to be an influencer or spend time with her distant dad.

2) Basketball, all day, CBS. The NCAA tournament takes over, wiping out soap operas, talk shows and comedies. Today’s games are at 12:10 p.m. ET (Michigan-Colorado State), 2:45 (Tennessee-Longwood), 7:10 (Kentucky-Saint Peter’s) and 9:40 (San Francisco-Murray State). Three cable channels – TBS, TNT and TruTV – also have four games apiece. There’s much more, through Sunday and then next week.

3) “MasterChef Junior” opener, 8 p.m., Fox. The eighth season begins, 18 months later than first planned. Gordon Ramsay – showing his oft-hidden sweet side – is joined by Aaron Sanchez and Daphne Oz. They welcome 16 contestants, ages 8-13; four are from New York, three from California, with the others ranging from Montana to Alabama.

4) “Station 19,” 8 p.m., ABC. It’s opening day for the clinic named after Dean Miller, a popular firefighter who died shortly after saving a life. Also, the crew responds to a skydiving crisis and Sullivan give Beckett an ultimatum.

5) “The Music Man” (1962), 8 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. With jaunty songs and a classic, small-town story, this is eternal. Right now, it’s big on Broadway with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster; 60 years ago, it was a cheery film with Robert Preston and Shirley Jones. That’s followed at 10:45 by another musical, “Oliver” (1968). Non-musicals? Showtime has “Pulp Fiction” (1994) at 7:25 p.m. and Syfy fills St. Patrick’s Day with “Leprechaun” horror films.

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