1) “America’s Got Talent” finals, 8-10:01 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, NBC. The 10 finalists perform Tuesday and viewers vote; on Wednesday, the show will have its 14th champion. As usual, there are lots of singers – Kodi Lee, Emanne Beasha and Benicio Bryant, plus three groups, the Detroit Youth Choir, the Ndlovu Youth Choir and Voices of Service. They face comedian Ryan Niemiller, violinist Tyler Butler-Figuera and two dance groups, the acrobatic V.Unbeatable (shown here) and the Light Balance Kids.
2) Emmy awards, 8-11 p.m. ET Sunday, Fox. The bad news is that the show will join the no-host trend; that means less fun, on a night that has way too many people thanking their agents. The good? Several people who would be great hosts are presenters; they include Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers. Stephen Colbert and Billy Porter. The emphasis is on departing shows, so 10 “Game of Thrones” actors – all of them nominees this year – will present. Their show has a record 32 nominations, including best drama.
3) “Country Music,” 8 p.m. (rerunning at 10) today, Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday, PBS. Tonight begins in 1933, with the Depression’s chokehold. Saving country music were radio superstations in Chicago, Nashville and (hiring the Carter Family) Mexico. Singing cowboys also thrived. This brilliant series then traces Hank Williams on Tuesday and sees Johnny Cash’s rise on Wednesday and Sunday. New female stars also soar — Patsy Cline on Wednesday, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and more on Sunday.
4) “Dancing With the Stars” opener, 8-10 p.m. today, ABC. Lots of once-famous folks will be there. Mary Wilson was a Supreme, Christie Brinkley was a supermodel, Sean Spicer was the White House spokesman. Kel Mitchell was Kenan Thompson’s comedy partner; Lamar Odom was a basketball star, married to a Kardashian. In age, they range from 24 (Hannah Brown) to 75 (Wilson), in height from 5-foot (singer Ally Brooke) to 6-10 (Odom). Others include Ray Lewis, James Van Der Beek and more.
5) “So You Think You Can Dance” finale, 8-10 p.m. today, Fox. While one dance show starts its season on ABC, another – a much better one, actually – wraps up on Fox. This started with lots of genres, from tap and ballroom to salsa and hip-hop; still, contemporary dancers fill most of the final four, as usual. There are three – Sophie Pittman, 18, and Mariah Russell, 19, from Tennessee and Gino Cosculluela, 18, from Miami. The fourth — Bailey Munoz, 18, of Las Vegas – is a “b-boy” or breakdancer.
6) More finals, today through Wednesday. Yes, we’re at finals overload. At 8 p.m. today, NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior” has lots of finalists. At 10:01 p.m. Tuesday, “Bring the Funny” has two standups (Tacarra Williams and Ali Siddiq) and three groups, Valleyfolk, Lewberger and The Chris and Paul Show. And from 8-10 p.m. Wednesday, Fox’s “MasterChef” has three chefs – Nick DiGiovanni, 22, a student; Sarah Faherty, 31, a former Army interrogator; and Dorian Hunter, 45, a textile worker.
7) “Bachelor in Paradise” finale, 8-11 p.m. Tuesday. It’s been a big summer for love (and/or lust) on ABC. In a sunny resort, attractive people have scrambled for mates. Now four couples, ABC says, will spend one more night in “fantasy suites.” Things go badly for one couple, but the others show promise. Also, ABC will reveal the next “Bachelor” star, amid speculation that (in its 24th edition) it will finally have its first black bachelor — Mike Johnson who barely missed the final four on “Bachelorette.”
8) “The Paley Center Salutes: The Good Place,” 9 p.m. Thursday, NBC. Life is rarely fair. While some comedies last forever – nine seasons for “Alice,” 12 for “My Three Sons” — “The Good Place” plans to make its fourth season the last. It’s a wonderfully weird show, with Ted Danson and alternate afterlives. Last year, the Television Critics Association named it TV’s best comedy; this year, “Good Place” has a best-comedy Emmy nomination. NBC tentatively set this special for a week before its season-opener.
9) “Schitt’s Creek,” 1-8 p.m. Saturday, Pop. Like “Good Place,” this comedy is leaving too soon; it has said its sixth season (starting in January) will be its last. That comes just as the show – with a once-rich family in a tattered town — is belatedly being noticed. Snubbed by the Emmys until now, it’s nominated for best comedy and for its costumes and stars, Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara; TV Guide named it the best current show. It’s not THAT good, but it is above average. Here, the entire past season reruns.
10) “NCIS: Los Angeles,” 9:30 p.m., CBS. Back in 2005, “JAG” finished its long run. It had done 10 seasons and had spun off “NCIS” … which soon had spin-offs of its own. David James Elliott returned to his native Canada; Catherine Bell became the biggest star on the Hallmark networks. Now both are back, playing their old “JAG” characters. This reruns Elliott’s second episode on the show and Bell’s first, as they seek terrorists and information. Both will be back for the season-opener, a week later.