Daily Best Bets

1) “Zoe’s Extraordinary Playlist” season-opener, 8 p.m., NBC. The second season starts six weeks after Zoey’s dad died. Deep in mourning, she hasn’t returned to work and hasn’t seen either of the guys in her love life. She also hasn’t experienced her ongoing quirk – seeing people express their hidden emotions via pop songs. When Zoey (Jane Levy, show here) does return, there are big changes – including a new co-worker, played by the delightful Harvey Guillen of “What We Do in the Shadows.” It’s a great start. Read more…

1) “The Bachelor” opener, 8-10 p.m., ABC. Back in June, ABC announced its first Black “Bachelor.” Now, after COVID delays, we meet Matt James (shown here), 29. At Wake Forest, he was a receiver (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) who had injuries and then a strong senior year – 40 catches, 401 yards and a brief pro try-out. He got an economics degree, works in New York and also started a project teaching kids about food and exercise. In the opener, he meets 32 women, including two lawyers, a pharmacist and a ballerina. Read more…

1) “Call Me Kat” debut, 8 p.m., Fox. Like any good daughter, Kat got a college degree and a good job; then, alas, she quit and used her money to start a cat cafe. Her mom (Swoosie Kurtz) is displeased, but Kat (Mayim Bialik, shown here with Cheyenne Jackson) seems happy with life, her co-workers and her cats. Jim Parsons, Bialik’s “Big Bang” husband, is producing this, based on a British comedy. It’s lightweight, but it has likable people (including Leslie Jordan, Kyla Pratt and Cheyenne Jackson) and a goofy, throwback appeal. Read more…

1) Orange Bowl, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN. The Texas A&M (shown here) players fumed when they were passed over for the four national-championship slots; ranked No. 5, they face North Carolina (No. 24). That ends an ESPN triple-header, with the Gator Bowl (North Carolina State and Kentucky) at noon and the Fiesta Bowl (Oregon and Iowa State) at 4 p.m. Also, ABC has the Outback Bowl (Mississippi and Indiana) at 12:30. Read more…

1) Rose Parade, morning. Three traditions have crumbled: The parade (shown here from a previous year) has been around since 1890, the Rose Bowl game has been in Pasadena since 1916 (plus a 1902 experiment) and the Rose Bowl stadium has held it since 1923. Not this time. The parade was canceled; the game was moved to Texas. Three networks, however, will show past parades, plus new music. Revised plans have that from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on ABC, NBC and Hallmark; on the West Coast, however, ABC will be 8-10 a.m. Read more…

1) “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” 8-11 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. to 2:13 a.m., ABC. The plan has persisted since 1973 – live coverage from New York, plus music taped in advance in California. This year,,the Times Square crowd will be gone, but Ryan Seacrest will be there; so will Lucy Hale and Billy Porter (shown here in “Pose”) – who duets with Cyndi Lauper. Also performing there will be Jennifer Lopez (just before midnight) and Jimmie Allen. Ciara hosts in Califorina, with Miley Cyrus, Nelly, Megan Thee Stallion and more. Read more…

1) “The Conners,” 9-11 p.m., ABC. When many shows were in limbo this fall, “Conners” (shown here in a previous episode) managed to have six episodes. They’ve been good ones, mostly, mixing humor with moments of deep desperation. Here are four of them, starting with Dan on the verge of losing the house. The break comes in the re-opening of the plant where Roseanne worked. Both daughters land jobs there, leading to new plots. Read more…

1) “American Masters: Laura Ingalls Wilder,” 8-9:30 p.m., PBS. People already sort of know Wilder; her eight novels (and the “Little House” TV series, shown here) fictionalized her frontier childhood. But the real story is even more interesting. She had 14 or 15 girlhood homes; her family left one in the middle of the night, to escape debts. She began writing for farm magazines in her 40s and started her novels at 63 – with her daughter doing major rewrites. This warm portrait also views the biases that she reflected. Read more…

1) “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!” (2018), 8 and 10:30 p.m., FX. Most sequels live in the shadow of the original; this one, however, is a major improvement. The first “Mamma Mia” movie simply repeated the stage version – a lame plot, designed to hold vibrant ABBA songs; worse, it cast lots of non-singers. This sequel created a strong story, including flashbacks; it includes gifted singers, young (Lily James, shown here, right) and old (Meryl Streep, Cher.) Read more…

1) “The Masked Dancer” (shown here) debut, 8 p.m., Fox. At least, Fox is copying its own shows instead of stealing from others. With “The Masked Singer” on a brief break, it fills the void with masked dancers. Tonight’s debut has lots of noise and commotion, plus so-so dancing and impressive masks. This episode will repeat on Wednesday, where it will stay for eight more weeks, while “Masked Singcer” re-loads. Ken Jeong is a judge, as he is on “Masked Singer”; others are Paula Abdul, Ashley Tisdale and Brian Austin Green. Read more…