Daily Best Bets

1) “All American” season-opener, 8 p.m., CW. Fiction blends with a real-life tragedy. “All American,” based loosely on the life of former pro-football player Spencer Paysinger, has teens trying to escape their roots in Los Angeles’ tough Crenshaw area. In real life, Nipsy Hussle — a rapper, activist and philanthropist from Crenshaw – was shot March 31; he died at 33. A memorial (shown here) for him offers a backdrop for some potent moments, as Spencer and his coach face live-changing decisions. Read more…

1) “Batwoman” debut, 8 p.m., CW. TV’s next great hero is a lot like the previous ones – strong and silent and smart and terribly telegenic, someone who’s smashing tough men one moment and loving a beautiful woman the next. But this hero happens to be female, played potently by Australian actress Ruby Rose (shown here). This show isn’t for everyone for many reasons, including the fact that it’s dark, angry, violent and heavily serialized. Still, it’s skillfully executed, delivering movie-quality visuals. Read more…

1) “The Blacklist,” 8 p.m. Friday, NBC. Here’s the second half of a story that’s dazzling in its twists and illusion.s In the season-opener, Red woke up in a French hospital, nearly paralyzed. Or he (and we) thought that happened. The hospital was fake, in Maryland. It was part of a ploy by the Russian spy whose existence is a secret — even to her daughter Elizabeth, who’s scrambling to find Red. He escaped and was re-captured. Stick with this, because more illusions are ahead, in an explosive (shown here) hour. Read more…

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Phoebe Waller-Bridge (shown here) has suddenly grabbed our attention . Once confined to supporting roles in British shows, she got Emmy nominations in drama (for writing and producing “Killing Eve”), then dominated in comedy – winning Emmys for writing, producing and starring in “Fleabag.” Now she hosts “SNL,” with Taylor Swift as music guest. Read more…

1) “The Blacklist” season-opener, 8 p.m., NBC. Illusion ripples through the life of “Red” Reddington. For starters, this guy isn’t even the real Red; that’s an identity he took from a dead man. Elizabeth explains some of that to her fellow FBI agents tonight … and doesn’t understand other parts. She doesn’t know her mother (a Russian spy) is still alive … and is holding Red hostage (shown here) – somewhere. It’s a compelling (and perplexing) swirl that leaves us hanging until next week’s powerhouse episode. Read more…

1) “Perfect Harmony” and “The Good Place,” 8:30 and 9 p.m., NBC. By Ivy League standards, it’s a rough one-two punch. First, a former Princeton prof manages to make a whole town mad at him; then a Princeton grad turns out to be a total jerk who figures he’s too good for regular-folks Heaven. Both episodes are clever and and one manages to get an esteemed Emmy winner caked in mud (shown here). But don’t get them confused: In one, “fork” is a substitute for a nasty word; the other celebrates a Fork Festival. Read more…

1) “Almost Family” debut, 9:01 p.m., Fox. For the first eight minutes, this seems like a pretty good romantic comedy. Julia (Brittany Snow, shown here) is an amiable redhead, racing (via bike) between a dating hook-up and a tribute for her dad. Then, suddenly, her world collapses. This is one of those rare shows that leaps between two kinds of drama – one gentle, the other packed with rage – plus comedy. It pulls it off, thanks to good writing and great acting, especially from Snow, Tim Hutton and Emily Osment. Read more…

1) “This Is Us,” 9 p.m., NBC. Last week’s season-opener repeated a clever trick from the pilot film: Introduce some apparent strangers, without telling us a time-leap is involved. Only in the final minutes did we see that the blind singer (shown here) is a future view of Kate’s baby. In the present, the teen father befriended Deja, Randall’s adopted daughter; the alcoholic veteran (Jennifer Morrison) met Nicky, Jack’s long-lost brother. Now Randall’s family adjusts to life in the city, where he’s a new councilman. Read more…

1) “Bob (Hearts) Abishola,” 8:30 p.m., CBS. Abishola has no hobbies, no diversions, no distractions. “Nigerians don’t do useless things,” she says. Bob (Billy Gardell) would love to be distracted; he fell for her when she was his cardiac nurse. Both are short on words and long on charm; but where can the show finds more laughs? That’s what goofy relatives are for. In last week’s opener, we met his weird siblings; in this episode (which is quite funny), we meet her even-weirder aunt and uncle (shown here). Read more…

1) “Masterpiece: Poldark” season-opener, 9 p.m., PBS. The final season begins, for an epic that has a cinematic look and giant plot twists. This busy (but well-crafted) opener includes arson and an assassin, plus love, hate and political corruption. Part is in London, where Ross (a member of Parliament) rushes to help a friend, as the slavery issue rages. And part is back home (shown here), amid the beauty of Cornwall. Ross’ wife faces threats, his first love Elizabeth is dead and Elizabeth’s widower seems to be losing his sanity. Read more…