Daily Best Bets

1) “Catch-22,” any time, Hulu. After being a bombardier in World War II, Joseph Heller began his great war novel. Fortunately, he wrote it slowly; when it finally came out in 1961, it fit the emerging ’60s, Vietnam-influenced era. The first hour of this six-part series captures the book’s mix of horror and humor. Alongside the gore, there are hilarious diatribes by officers (George Clooney, shown here, who produced this, and Kyle Chandler). And the scene explaining the title ranks with the classic “Who’s on first?” Read more…

1) “The Big Bang Theory” finale, 8 and 8:30 p.m., CBS. Television’s best comedy is finally ending after 12 seasons — a record for situation comedies done in front of an audience. The show has drawn huge laughs, but it’s also made us care deeply about its weird-but-good-hearted characters. As the end nears, we’ll see how their lives turn out. Will Sheldon and Amy (shown here) win the Nobel Prize? Will Penny change her mind about not having kids? Will Raj’s fiance return? We’ll root for them. Read more…

1) “Survivor” finale, 8-11 p.m., CBS. The show has its final five now – with one more emerging from the “Edge of Extinction.” And newcomers have prevailed. Four people (including Kelley Wentworth, shown here) had each done two previous editions; all were sent to the Edge. The finalists are: Lauren O’Connell, 21, a Baylor student; Victoria Baamonde, 23, a Bronx waitress; Gavin Whitson, 23, a YMCA program director in Erwin, Tenn; Rick Devens, 33, a morning TV anchor in Macon; and Julie Rosenberg, 46, a New York City toymaker. Read more…

1) ‘New Amsterdam” season-finale, 10 p.m., NBC. You can spend all night with drama finales. It’s CW’s “The Flash” at 8 p.m., CBS’ “FBI” at 9 and a choice at 10 – CBS’ “CSI: New Orleans” or this hour, which “New Amsterdam” has led to all season. Max (Ryan Eggold) tried to be everywhere and do everything at the hospital. Now cancer puts his life in danger; as he fades, Dr. Sharpe (Freema Agyeman, shown here with Eggold) tries a creative approach. Also, Dr. Kapoor gets surprising news and Dr. Reynolds takes a big step. Read more…

1) “The Bachelorette” opener, 8-10 p.m., ABC. After finishing seventh on “The Bachelor,” Hannah Brown gets a quick promotion: She’s in charge, with 30 guys to choose from. Brown is 24, a former Miss Alabama USA; the men range from 23 to 33. Some have serious jobs (two are pilots); others include a singer, a surfer, a pro golfer and a guy who plays pro basketball overseas. There’s also a political consultant, an unemployed guy and “Chicago’s Box King.” Read more…

1) All night, HB0. It’s a time of departing greatness at HBO. “Game of Thrones” has its finale next week; tonight, we get a new episode at 9 p.m. and a rerun of the previous one at 7:30. Then (after a 10:20 “Barry”), “Veep” has is finale at 10:50. “Veep” has won the best-comedy-series Emmy for three straight years … and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (shown here) has won the comedy-actress Emmy in each of the show’s six seasons. Tonight, we see if Selina (Louis-Dreyfus) gets her party’s nomination for president. Read more…

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Americans have this prim image of Emma Thompson. She’s played doctors, queens, a professor, a prime minister and more. She adapted and starred in “Sense and Sensibility”; we think of her as being … well, sensible. But Thompson was the first woman in Cambridge’s Footlights comedy troupe; she did lots of comedy on British TV, even hosting her own sketch show. Now she has her first time hosting “SNL”; the Jonas Brothers are music guests. Read more…

1) “Agents of SHIELD” season-opener, 8 p.m., ABC. Now that Marvel rules the movies, shouldn’t it be big on TV? It keeps trying, with shows ranging from pretty good (“Cloak & Dagger) to quite awful (“Inhumans”). This ambitious effort has drawn so-so ratings; ABC originally said it wouldn’t return until summer. Now the good news: Summer starts early and another season has already been ordered. As the team re-assembles (including Elizabeth Henstridge and Chloe Bennetm shown here), Coulson is dead, but Clark Gregg returns as a new character, Sarge. Read more…

1) “Mom” season finale (9 p.m.) and “The Big Bang Theory” (8 p.m.), CBS. Most of the attention goes to next week’s series finale for “Big Bang,” TV’s best comedy. (Tonight, Leonard’s mom arrives with deceptive sweetness and Stuart and his girlfriend overstay their welcome.) But let’s not overlook “Mom,” another terrific comedy. CBS hints that Bonnie and Adam might elope. Read more…

1) “Modern Family” season finale, 9 p.m., ABC. This is the sort of episode “Modern Family” savors, bouncing through several small stories. It’s almost time for Haley and Dylan to have their twins; that causes others to recall the birthdays that came during this hectic year. It wraps up the 10th season; only one more remains, for a top series (shown here with last week’s graduation episode) that once won five straight Emmys for best comedy series. Read more…