Daily Best Bets

1) Football, 8 p.m. ET, ABC. It’s time for the conference championship games – two tonight and then nine packed into a busy Saturday. ABC has the big one, with the Oregon Ducks (10-2; their fan section is shown here) and Utah (9-3) colliding for the Pac-12 title. And at 7 p.m. ET, the CBS Sports Network has the Conference USA game: The University of Texas at San Antonio – which was undefeated until its loss Saturday – hosts Western Kentucky, which has won seven straight, after starting the season at 1-4. Read more…

1) “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (shown here) season-opener, 10 and 10:30 p.m., FXX. Most shows simply started late during the pandemic, but “Sunny” skipped all of 2020 and most of 2021. Hhere are its first new episodes in two years and 11 days. They start the 15th season – passing “Ozzie and Harriet” to become TV’s longest-lasting situation comedy (cartoons excluded). And they’re hilarious. The first tells how these guys triggered 2020’s key events; the second sees them make a micro-budget movie. Read more…

1) “Annie Live,” 8 p.m., NBC. The surge of live TV musicals has been a mixed blessing. Shows have ranged from great (“Grease,” “Hairspray”) to awful (“Peter Pan,” “Little Mermaid”). Now NBC plays it safe … just as it did in when it started the surge in 2013 with Carrie Underwood in “Sound of Music.” It takes a familiar show, filled with jaunty tunes, and inserts strong singers – Harry Connick (as Warbucks), Nicole Scherzinger and Megan Hilty. Celina Smith(shown here) stars, with Taraji Henson as Hannigan.

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1) “The Hot Zone: Anthrax” conclusion, 9-11 p.m., National Geographic. On Monday, the mid-section of this three-night mini-series pulled a sudden detour. We’d been following FBI scientists Daniel Dae Kim and Dawn Olivieri (shown here) and Bruce Ivins, a microbiologist who said someone in his military-research unit might be responsible for the lethal anthrax mailings. But then came signs that Ivins (beautifully played by Tony Goldwyn) was oddly unhinged. Tonight, this strange-but-true story reaches its conclusion. Read more…

1) “The Big Leap,” 8 p.m., Fox. A week from its season-finale, this surprising show expands on its specialty – weaving serious drama alongside blips of goofy comedy. It’s almost time for this fictional show-within-a-show to have its big finish – a televised “Swan Lake,” performed by people with varied skills. Then come the problems: Paula is dying of cancer; Mike clings to her … Reggie is gone; Gabby (Simone Recasner, shown here) is angry … New schemes are afoot; Nick has flashes of a conscience. It’s an odd but excellent hour. Read more…

1) “One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga,” 8 p.m., CBS. Alzheimer’s disease has taken most of Bennett’s memories, but he retains songs perfectly. On his 95th birthday, he had what’s expected to be his final public concert. In Radio City Music Hall, his friend Lady Gaga did four potent jazz/pop songs, then brought him on. (They’re shown here,at a previous show.) Backed by gifted musicians – his quartet, her quintet and an orchestra – both soared. The result is one of TV’s finest hours. Read more…

1) “Robbie the Reindeer,” 8 p.m., CBS, with sequel at 8:30. This all started with “Comedy Relief,” the British charity telethon launched by writer Richard Curtis (“Love, Actually”). He co-wrote a clever cartoon about Rudolph’s son, trying to find a place in Santa’s world. Americans later redubbed it, with Ben Stiller as Robbie (shown here). Britney Spears also was cast – but not as Vixen; that role goes to Leah Remini. Hugh Grant is the token Brit, voicing Blitzen. The result ripples with droll wit. Read more…

1) “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” 8 p.m.NBC. Here is one of TV’s top moments, still the best after 55 years. It started with the wit and warmth of Dr. Seuss’ book. Then Chuck Jones – the genius behind Road Runner and many Bugs Bunny cartoons — brilliantly animated it. He included Boris Karloff as the droll narrator, with Thor Ravenscoft booming a song about the mean one, Mr. Grinch (shown here). NBC will also have it on Christmas night; in between, it airs Dec. 11 on TBS and Dec. 17 on TNT. Read more…

1) “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” 9 a.m. to noon, NBC, CBS and Peacock. Last year, the parade (shown here in a previous year)was TV-only, confined to a single block. Now it sprawls anew, with 10 bands. 36 inflatables, 800 clowns and 28 floats, many containing singers – Rob Thomas, Mickey Guyton, Jordan Fisher, Jimmie Allen, Nelly, more. Early, NBC adds Carrie Underwood, the Rockettes and the casts of “Annie Live” and Broadway’s “Six,” “Wicked” and “Moulin Rouge”; CBS adds “Chicago” and “Waitress.” Read more…

1) “Secrets of the Dead,” 10 p.m., PBS. Back in 1607, the painter named Caravaggio was fleeing from murder charges. He reached Malta … fled again the next year … but left behind some of his greatest works. In 1984, one of them (shown here) was stolen; three years later, it was returned and arrests were made. That story is told zealously by Father Marius Zerafa, now 92, in a beautifully filmed hour. A painter, sculptor and Oxford grad, Zerafa spent eight months negotiating for the painting’s return. Read more…