Daily Best Bets

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Adam Sandler was enmeshed in a wild “SNL” era, alongside Chris Farley, David Spade, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey and more. He left in 1995 – he and Farley were fired, he said later – and has made only brief appearances on the show since then. Here’s his first time as host. Shawn Mendes – born three years after Sandler left “SNL” — is the music guest. Read more…

1) Gershwin Prize, 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. Things starts vibrantly, with the original “On Your Feet” cast (shown here on Broadway). Dancers leap, singers soar … and then everything sputters. Six people talk before the fun resumes. Fortunately, this is worth waiting for — the music of Gloria and Emilio Estefan, sung by Patti LaBelle, Cyndi Lauper, Jose Feliciano, the Estefans, their talented daughter Emily and more. There’s also a sharp film from Lin-Manuel Miranda, overcoming the show’s so-so production. Read more…

1) “The Big Bang Theory,” 8 p.m., CBS. With only four episodes left, TV’s best comedy points to a big possibility: Sheldon and Amy might win the Nobel Prize he’s always assumed he would get. Tonight, they face a temptation: Their prime competition is a duo played by Kal Penn and Sean Astin (shown here); now Kripke has proof that the latter plagiarized his college thesis. Read more…

1) “Billboard Music Awards,” 8-11 p.m., NBC. Taylor Swift opens the night by premiering “Me!” She’s joined by Brandon Urie, whose group (Panic! At the Disco) also performs. This night – which has way too many exclamation marks! — has Halsey alone and with BTS (shown here at last year’s event). Other combos include Madonna and Maluma, Tori Kelly with Dan + Shay. Also performing are Kelly Clarkson (who hosts), Mariah Carey (who gets the Icon Award), Paula Abdul, the Jonas Brothers, Ciara, Khalid and Lauren Daigle. Read more…

1) “The 100” season-opener, 9 p.m., CW. A nice nap is helpful, but this goes too far: Clarke (Eliza Taylor, shown here) and friends were in a sleep state for 125 years. Now they’re awake (and, one assumes, refreshed), with a task: Colleagues feel they’ve found a planet that can support life. “The 100” began with 100 people trying Earth; this hour, a good one, has a landing party of eight, including Clarke, Bellamy and the relentlessly annoying Murphy. In the ship are Clarke’s mom and the relentlessly annoyed Octavia and Raven. Read more…

1) “The Show Must Go On,” 8-10 p.m., ABC. “American Idol” has vacated Mondays; now it’s Sundays-only. And tonight, its spot goes to one of its most famous losers: Nine years ago, Adam Lambert finished second to Kris Allen. He’s one of many – Katharine McPhee (2nd), Chris Daughtry (4th), Jennifer Hudson (7th) – who surpassed the winners. In 2014, Lambert started touring with Queen; they’ve drawn big crowds and even opened the Oscars telecast. This documentary traces their stories. Read more…

1) “The Red Line” opener, 8 and 9 p.m., CBS. The CBS formula has worked well – lots of dramas in the “CSI/NCIS” mode, with a happy ending for each hour. But now comes a bold detour – a complex story, spread over eight hours on four Sundays. This starts with a tragic error and follows its impact on politics, race and humanity. There are flaws: The incident is too clear-cut; a key admission (late in the first hour) is unmotivated. Still, it’s beautifully done and Noah Wyle — shown here with Aliyah Royale, who plays his adopted daughter — delivers a deeply moving speech. Read more…

1) “The Son” season-opener, 9 p.m. , AMC, rerunning at 10:05. Sprawling and ambitious, this hour leaps between Texas and Mexico … and between 1852, 1915 and even 1988. A young Eli (with his American Indian captors) leads their raid … An old Eli (Pierce Brosnan, shown here) searched for his son Peter, who rescued a neighbor when Eli attacked her home … And Peter’s daughter is a matriarch. All reflect the slow pace of a western – and the deadly intensity that seems to infect anyone in Eli’s life. Read more…

1) “BarkFest,” 8 p.m. ET , NatGeo Wild. Sure, cats rule the Internet. Now, however, dogs get their due. “Puppy Pals” is at 8, followed by an all-canine hour of “Animals Doing Things With Howie Mandel” (shown here, from a previous episode) at 9 and “Tail of the Dog” at 10. They repeat at 11, 12 and 1 ET, with another doggy day starting at noon Saturday. Read more…