Back in the day, and perhaps still in our own time, the beach was the place for male preening and showoff behavior intended to impress the female of the species. Such shenanigans launched a million beach movies and perhaps resulted in some real love matches in the dunes.
Similar sentiments hold sway on “Big Shark Energy” (8 p.m., Discovery), the latest installment in this year’s Shark Week festival of nature documentaries. “Energy” sees a competition staged by marine biology experts Dr. Riley Elliot and Kori Burkhardt that pits alpha males against each other in feats of strength, hunting and fearlessness. A variation on “Survivor” for the predator set, a “winner” gets to swim off with the most fetching female. Or so we are told. “Big Shark Energy” is set in New Zealand.
— From the mating rituals of “Big Shark Energy” we move to the 21st season of “The Bachelorette” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG). Jenn Tran presides over the ersatz mansion as 25 suitors arrive in limousines and make awkward small talk.
For those who follow such things, Jenn was apparently a standout on the Joey Graziadei season of “The Bachelor.” Apparently, ABC has lost count and just uses names now. For the record, he starred on season 28.
The network folks have also included a biography. Apparently, Jenn likes “reading, paddleboarding and traveling.” She’s dedicated her life to “helping others” and is studying to become a physician’s assistant. Bilingual in English and Vietnamese, she lives in Miami.
Her 25 suitors seem to range from their mid-20s to early 30s. Jenn is 26, so that makes sense.
After 50 or so seasons of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” you’d think somebody would actually make a permanent connection. The last time I checked, there had been exactly one actual marriage to emerge from these proceedings. I was amused but not really shocked that people seem so upset that the personalities from “The Golden Bachelor” weren’t in it for the long haul. Have they been paying attention? It’s a little like being disappointed when Lucy pulls the football away from the ever-determined Charlie Brown. There’s a difference between optimism and delusion. And fans of the “Bachelorette” franchise appear to have opted for the former.
— The second helping of tonight’s Shark Week fare returns to mating rituals. In stark contrast to the soporific hot tub shenanigans on “The Bachelorette,” the action on “Shark Frenzy: Mating Game” (9 p.m., Discovery, TV-PG) gets downright frothy.
Dr. Craig O’Connell explains how feeding frenzies spark arousal in the ancient sea creatures, making them essential not only as trips to the cafeteria but a vital spark guaranteeing the survival of the species. I’d say that’s how they make baby sharks, but then that dreadful song might get stuck in your head.
Far from the lovey-dovey, the night’s final installment, “Great White Serial Killer: Sea of Blood” (10 p.m., TV-14) looks at efforts to identify and track some of the deadliest predators in the Sea of Cortez.
— Fox announces the syndicated newsmagazine show “Strange & Suspicious,” a glance at unexplained phenomena from the TMZ angle. Check local listings.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Jimmy has a gut feeling about a missing donor organ on “NCIS” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
— Breakfast items and bake sales set the agenda on “The Great American Recipe” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-G, check local listings).
— A grieving beauty finds new purpose when she traces the roots of her garden gnome to its ancestral home in the 2023 romance “My Norwegian Holiday” (9 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— Terrorists shower bioweapons on the Aloha State on “NCIS: Hawai’i” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
— The “POV” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings) documentary “Is There Anybody Out There?” follows a filmmaker with a rare disability discussing her condition with those who have had the same experience.
CULT CHOICE
Winona Ryder received an Oscar nomination for her role in the 1994 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” (9 p.m., BYUtv).
SERIES NOTES
On two episodes of “The Neighborhood” (CBS, r, TV-PG): old and cranky (8 p.m.); sick and tired (8:30 p.m.) … “American Ninja Warrior” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … “Name That Tune” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … “Password” (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … Patton Oswalt hosts “The 1% Club” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … “The Wall” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … Athena’s son gets in legal trouble on “9-1-1” (10 p.m., ABC, r, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
Jimmy Fallon welcomes Scarlett Johansson, Joey King and Sublime on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Tyler Perry and Alex Cooper visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Taylor Tomlinson hosts “After Midnight” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
