Daily Best Bets

1) “Schitt’s Creek,” 4-11 p.m., Pop. It took five years for this oft-clever show to get attention. Now “Schitt’s Creek” has Emmy nominations for best comedy and for its costumes and stars, Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara (shown here); TV Guide named it the best current show. It’s not THAT good, but it is above average, with a once-rich family settling for life in the tattered town it once bought. The sixth and final season starts in January; here’s the fifth, starting with O’Hara’s awful horror movie. Read more…

1) “Magnum P.I.” (shown here), 9 p.m., CBS. A week before their season-openers, all three CBS shows rerun their season-finales – big, busy ones. In this case, Magnum’s ex-girlfriend (Jordana Brewster) arrives. It’s not a cheery reunion because: a) She has a gunshot wound; b) She needs a favor; and c) She’s the reason Magnum and his SEAL team became POW’s. Read more…

1) “The Paley Center Salutes: The Good Place,” 9 p.m., NBC. The trouble with great shows is that they insist on staying great. They end early, while bland shows go on forever. “Good Place” (shown here) — wonderfully weird show, richly imaginative – plans to end after this season, which is only its fourth. It started with four undeserving people seemingly getting an ideal afterlife … then kept twisting and re-twisting. This special was originally set for 8 p.m., then moved to 9 … exactly a week before its season-opener. Read more…

1) “Country Music,” 8 p.m. (rerunning at 10), PBS. When Johnny Cash (shown here) left the Air Force, he had no clear plan. He was an Arkansas guy, newly married to a Texan he’d met during training. After moving to Memphis, where his brother lived, he was a bad salesman and an aspiring musician. He learned from a black bluesman and eventually met Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and more. That story – plus others, including the rise of Patsy Cline – wraps up the first half of Ken Burns’ brilliant, two-week series. Read more…

1) “America’s Got Talent” finals, 8-10:01 p.m., NBC. The 10 finalists get one more chance to impress us. Then viewers vote; on Wednesday, the show will have its 14th champion. There are lots of singers – Kodi Lee, Emanne Beasha and Benicio Bryant, plus the Detroit Youth Choir (shown here), the Ndlovu Youth Choir and Voices of Service. But there’s also variety — comedian Ryan Niemiller, violinist Tyler Butler-Figuera and two dance groups, the acrobatic V.Unbeatable and the light-up Light Balance Kids. Read more…

1) “So You Think You Can Dance” finale, 8-10 p.m., Fox. As usual, this started with a rich blend of genres, from tap and ballroom to salsa and hip-hop. And as usual, contemporary dancers fill most of the final four. There are three – Sophie Pittman and Mariah Russell, from Tennessee, and Gino Cosculluela from Miami. The lone exception is Bailey Munoz, who’s a “b-boy” or breakdancer from Las Vegas. Read more…

1) “Country Music,” 8 p.m., PBS, rerunning at 10. Over eight nights and 16-plus hours, Ken Burns’ brilliant documentary will watch country music transform, while scrambling to keep its roots. The later chapters will include lots of first-person stories and TV clips; this opener, however, settles for old photos, second-hand accounts and great narration. In 1927, a New York producer set up recording sessions in Bristol, Tenn; Jimmie Rodgers (shown here) and the Carter family came, giving country a great start. Read more…

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. John Mulaney (shown here was an “SNL” writer for five years, best-known for molding Bill Hader’s hilarious Stefon. He returned when Bill Hader hosted, to write more Stefon. Mulaney’s been busy lately with everything from acting to stand-up to (for a year) his own situation comedy. Here’s a rerun of his second turn as host, with Thomas Rhett as music guest. Read more…

1) “American Masters,” 9 p.m., PBS. These days, people keep seeing (and re-seeing) Raul Julia in the two “Addams Family” (shown here) films. But that was just part of a wide-ranging career. Julia arrived from Puerto Rico at 24, ready for Shakespeare and Broadway and talk shows and more. Before his death (at 54, of a stroke after intestinal troubles) he also did passionate roles as Latino activists. Here’s a fond portrait. Read more…

1) “Mr. Inbetween” season-opener, 10 p.m., FX, rerunning at 11. Ray is your average bloke — a caring father, a friend who will help you hide your porn or dispose of a body. He’s also a skilled hit man, which is important tonight (shown here), when he’s asked to check up on two less-skilled guys. There’s a droll feeling here that makes the show fun even when nothing happens; then … well, something happens. That’s followed by a rerun that reminds us to always check the trunk before stealing a car. Read more…