Daily Best Bets

1) “American Song Contest” debut, 8-10 p.m., NBC.  For 65 years, the Eurovision contest has been big in Europe. Now we get an American version, an eight-week tourney (hosted by Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg) with 56 acts –one for each state, plus five territories and D.C. Most are unknowns, but the field includes Michael Bolton (Connecticut), Macy Gray (Ohio), Jewel (Alaska), Sisqo (shown here, Maryland) and “Voice” champion Jordan Smith (Kentucky). Read more…

1) “Masterpiece: Sanditon” season-opener, 9 p.m., PBS. More than two years ago, the first season ended with Charlotte’s life in flux. Her true love, Sidney Parker, had left to marry a rich woman, rescuing the finances of his brother’s shaky resort project. And now? Sidney isn’t back … nor is his sister … or James Stringer, who loved Charlotte from afar. But Charlotte is bringing her giddy sister and there are plenty of new guys, include redcoat soldiers (shown here). It’s a great start. Read more…

1) “Great Chocolate Showdown” (shown here) finale, 8 p.m., CW. Three pleasant-enough things – chocolate, Canada and reality-TV – combine. This Canadian show started with 10 people – half of them Americans – crafting chocolate goodies. Now it’s down to Casey Hallen from New York City, Renu Matthew from Alberta and T. Lawrence-Simon from Massachusetts. Each gets a previous contestant as an assistant, then fills a shop window with various temptations. Read more…

1) “The Blacklist,” 8 p.m., NBC. With basketball gobbling up CBS this weekend, hour-long crime shows are hard to find. Fortunately, “Blacklist” is back, for only its third episode in eight weeks. The task force is tracking “The Chairman,” whose dark web helps criminals trade stock-market shares. Also, Ressler is angry when Red (shown here in a previous episode) goes to extremes to find a tracking device. 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. Read more…

1) “Resident Alien” season-finale, 9 p.m. Syfy. Desperate to keep the town’s only doctor, the mayor plans a surprise party for when Harry returns to his cabin. What he doesn’t realize is … well, “Harry” is really an alien (shown here in a previous episode) who took over the body of the real Harry – who was a crook, ducking other crooks. And “Harry” is carrying the egg of a half-alien that could hatch and start eating people. The result is a dandy mix of humor and drama, with some of the best moments centering on the mayor’s wife. Read more…

1) “Young Rock” season-opener, 8 p.m. NBC. All four actors who play Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson are needed today. We see him as a kid and as a teen, idolizing a big-hearted, big-bodied dad (shown here) who has little time. We also see him trying to break into Canadian pro football. And we see him in the future, played by the real Johnson. Those scenes, with Randall Park, are fairly funny; the others are merely interesting, treading a line somewhere between comedy and drama. Read more…

1) “The Bachelor” finale, 8-10 p.m. today and Tuesday, ABC. Clayton Echard was in a loving mood last week. On consecutive nights, he slept with Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey (shown here), telling each “I love you” and/or “I’m falling in love with you.” The third night, he found that Susie Evans was unhappy about this, despite him saying “I am the most in love with you.” She left; now the show has four hours to straighten this all out. Read more…

1) Basketball. At 6 p.m. ET, CBS has an hour announcing the brackets in the NCAA tourney. Before that, there are still conference tournaments to settle. On CBS. It’s the Atlantic 10 at 1 p.m. ET and the Big Ten (shown here in a previous game) at 3:30; on ESPN, it’s the SEC at 1 and the American at 3:15. Also, ESPN2 has the Ivy League at noon. In each case, the winner gets an automatic tourney spot; in most, the loser will get one, too. Read more…

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Zoe Kravitz (shown here) – Catwoman in the new “Batman” movie – has her first turn as host. She’s both an actress like her mom (Lisa Bonet) and a singer like her dad (Lenny Kravitz). In this case, however, the music guest will be Rosalia. Read more…