Daily Best Bets

1) “America’s Got Talent” opener, 8-10 p.m., NBC. Each summer, this has ruled the ratings, while viewing a wide and weird range of talent. At first, the results were mainstream; five of the first six champions were singers, alongside one ventriloquist. Since then, winners have included only two singers, plus two more ventriloquists, a magician, a dancer, a dog act and, last year, spoken-word poet Brandon Leake (shown here). Last year, ratings dropped a bit when COVID forced remote performances; now, however, auditioners are back on the main stage. Read more…

1) “Housebroken” debut, 9 p.m., Fox. When the humans are gone, it seems, the pets have group therapy sessions (shown here). They range from a pokey turtle to a prideful pig, from feral cats to Honey (voiced by Lisa Kudrow), the wise poodle in charge. Honey’s housemate is a St. Bernard whose enthusiasm far exceeds his wisdom; others include a fat cat (literally) and a turtle whose love life has been on a 15-year pause. This animated show gets a bit too adult for some kids, but grown-ups will find it thoroughly clever Read more…

1) “National Memorial Day Concert” (shown here in a previous year), 8 p.m., PBS, rerunning at 9:30. Last year forced a change for this TV tradition: Live events were banned; the music and tributes were shot in advance, sometimes using reruns. The result was beautifully crafted; this year has the same approach, but with no reruns. In key settings, we’ll hear the greats of country (Alan Jackson, Vince Gill and, singing the National Anthem, Mickey Guyton), pop (Gladys Knight, Sara Bareilles, the Four Tops) and opera (Denyce Graves). Read more…

1) “China: Nature’s Ancient Kingdom” (shown here) finale, 8 p.m., BBC America. A beautifully filmed, three-week series concludes in four parks in China’s heavily populated East. One exists not far from the 25 million people in Shanghai; another is along the border, where tigers casually stroll between Russia and China. Footage ranges from a thieving chipmunk raiding a cache, to a rare gibbon swinging along treetops. That’s surrounded by other gorgeous nature scenes: “Frozen Planet” reruns are from 1 p.m. to 6 a.m. Read more…

1) “The Dick Van Dyke Show – Now in Living Color,” 8 p.m., CBS. For the second straight Friday, CBS has two episodes of this great series, with color added by computer. This pair – which also aired in 2018 – has one of the show’s flashback delights (shown here): Richie asks his parents where he came from; he soon gets a long account of the misadventures leading up to his birth. Then there’s a vacation that goes bizarrely wrong: Among other things, Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) has her toe stuck in the bathtub. Read more…

1) “iHeartRadio Music Awards,” 8-10 p.m., Fox. This week has overflowed with pop music – Billboard awards, plus the finales for “Idol,” “Voice” and “Masked Dancer.” Now comes one more surge: Usher hosts and Elton John (shown here) gets the Icon Award. Performers include Taylor Swift, Roddy Ricch, Dua Lipa, Twenty One Pilots and Megan Thee stallion, plus The Weeknd with Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars with Anderson.Paak, Dan + Shay with Doja Cat and more. Read more…

1) “The Masked Singer” finale, 8 p.m., Fox. Three people remain, disguised as Piglet (shown here), Black Swan and Chameleon. And chances are, all of them are skilled music pros. The ringers were unmasked quickly – Danny Trejo, Caitlyn Jenner, Logan Paul, even Kermit the Frog; lately, we’ve had skilled singers – Bobby Brown, the Hanson trio, Tyrese Gibson and, last week, Omarion. Last week, we also learned that the clue-spewing chicken was Donnie Wahlberg, the husband of startled judge Jenny McCarthy. Read more…

1) “The Voice” finale, 8-10 p.m., NBC. At the end of the night, the show will have its 20th champion. First, however, come lots of guest performances. That includes Blake Shelton’s fiancee (Gwen Stefani, with Saweetie) and his former “Voice” colleague (Adam Levine, shown here). Also performing: Justin Bieber, Thomas Rhett, OneRepublic, Kelsea Ballerini, Snoop Dogg, Ben Platt, Lauren Daigle. Read more…

1) “The Voice,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. The show has its final five now, with Blake Shelton (as usual) at an advantage. He has two people, Cam Anthony (shown here) and Jordan Matthew Young; the others have one apiece — Victor Solomon, Rachel Mac and Kenzie Wheeler. Now they sing and viewers vote; on Tuesday, after lots of guest performances, we’ll have the 20th “Voice” champion. Read more…

1) “American Idol” finale, 8-11 p.m. ET, ABC. Last week, voters picked their final three – Willie Spence, Grace Kinstler and Chayce Beckham. That ousted Casey Bishop, drawing surprise and complaints – similar to when Chris Daughtry finished fourth, 15 years ago. Tonight, we’ll get music from nine finalists (one dropped out) … from the judges … and from Alessia Cara (shown here), Luke Combs, Sheryl Crow, Lindsey Buckingham, Mickey Guyton, Leona Lewis, Chaka Khan, Fall Out Boy and Macklemore. Read more…