1) “Agents of SHIELD” series finale, 9 and 10 p.m. Wednesday, ABC. An ambitious show ends in the relative obscurity of summer. “SHIELD” began with 22-episode seasons on the main schedule; it ends with a pair of 13-episode summers. Still, it all adds up – seven seasons, 136 episodes, a story leaping across planets and time. Last week ended with double evil – Sybil in the computer system, Malik in space, guiding laser shots toward the SHIELD bases. NowDaisy (Chloe Bennett, shown here) and friends have two TV hours to save the world.
2) “Stargirl” season-finale, 8 p.m. Tuesday, CW. The evil master plan is almost complete now: A massive signal is sent out, seizing people’s minds. Fortunately, it only works on adults … and we have a teen team, ready to fight back. Courtney’s mom is frozen in place and her dad is going rogue inside his mega-robot, but her friends are still fighting. Yes, this all sounds silly. Still, “Stargirl” is smartly written and well-cast, including Luke Wilson as the dad. It ends well, setting up next summer’s season.
3) “Lovecraft Country” debut, 9 p.m. Sunday, HBO. While those two science-fiction shows are ending, another one arrives. It brings a big budget, top producers – including Jordan Peele (“Get Out”) and J.J. Abrams (“Lost”) – and a unique concept: In the 1950s, a Black man (Jonathan Majors) has a cross-country mission to find his father and his legacy. He brings his friend (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and uncle (Courney Vance), confronting racism and the sort of monsters envisioned by author H.P. Lovecraft.
4) Documentaries. Alongside all that sci-fi, we get real-life horror and monsters. Tonight, Lifetime has the second half of “Surviving Jeffrey Epstein,” focusing on the women who survived sexual abuse in their early teens; that’s 9-11 p.m., with the first half rerunning from 7-9. At 10 p.m. Tuesday, PBS’ “Frontline” views personal stories of people struggling with COVID. And Investigation Discovery has “Impact of Hate” from 9-11 p.m. Wednesday, the third anniversary of the clash in Charlottesville, Va.
5) “The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons – Ever!” 8-11 p.m. today, ABC. “The Bachelor” was supposed to create love and marriage and such. The results so far? In 24 editions, it has only led to three marriages … and in two of them, the guy broke up with his original choice and married the runner-up. Here’s the first of those: Jason Mesnick – a real-estate agent, divorced, with a son – was a “Bachelorette” runner-up. He got his own “Bachelor” domain, proposed … then changed his mind.
6) “America’s Got Talent,” 8-10:01 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. Now “AGT” tries something new – acts performing live, in a social-distanced way. On each of the next four Tuesdays, 11 acts will perform and viewers will vote; at 8 p.m. Wednesdays, we’ll learn who reaches the semi-finals. This opener has three singers, a singing duo and a ukulele player. It also has three dance acts (one of them a contortionist), plus a comedian, a daredevil duo and a pig act … leaving us pondering socially distanced pigs.
7) “World of Dance,” 10:01 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. Six acts compete for the last two spots in next week’s final-four championship. There’s a 13-year-old, with moves so extreme that one judge (Derek Hough) calls her “my little alien.” And two big groups, one with a wildly funny bit that even includes table tricks. And two duos, one helped by its clever costumes. And a trio that brings another judge (Jennifer Lopez) to tears. It’s a great night (despite the usual cliches from judges), pointing to a big finish.
8) “Cake” or “Tacoma FD,” 10 p.m. Thursday, FXX or TruTV. Television’s funniest night lost most of its laughs this summer. NBC and Fox shelved their Thursday situation comedies; now CBS shelves half its sitcoms to make room for “Big Brother.” At 10 p.m., however, there’s quirky fun: “Cake” has short bits, some – the animated “Dicktown,” the one-actor “Auditions” – excellent. “Tacoma” is a standard sitcom, with occasional laughs. This week is the OK start of a two-parter, leading to the Fireman’s Ball.
9) “The Godfather” (1972, 5 p.m Saturday, AMC. Here’s a great movie – No. 2 (after “Citizen Kane”) on the American Film Institute’s all-time list. “Godfather, Part II” (1974) — No. 32 and the only sequel on the 100-movie list – is 9 p.m.; they rerun at 10:30 a,m. and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, More greatness? “An American in Paris” (1951), No, 9 on the AFI’s musicals list, is 8 p.m. PT Saturday on Turner Classic Movies. And Starz has “Little Women” (2019) at 5:44 p.m. Wednesday and 8:27 p.m. Saturday.
10) More. For fun, try “Greatest #AtHome Videos,” at 8 p.m. Friday on CBS. It’s the last (unless CBS orders more) of four hours, showcasing clever videos people made in isolation. And new mysteries? “Coroner” (9 p.m. Wednesday, CW) has another good hour; Dr. Jenny Cooper uses her own experience as a young widow to pierce the facade of someone whose husband was slain. And after a so-so opener last week, “Endeavour” (9 p.m. Sunday, PBS) has a sharper story, centering on a Pakistani family.