Wednesday's Best Bets on TV

“America’s Got Talent” (9 p.m., NBC): Susan Boyle and her fellow British standouts have thrown down the gauntlet, and now it’s time for America to respond. Does the United States have the acts to match them? We’ll find out beginning this week when singers, dancers and various other performers begin parading into our living rooms while dreaming a dream of show-biz superstardom. But, as usual, we’ll also be watching for the freaks and weirdos. New host Nick Cannon joins returning judges David Hasselhoff, Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan.

“The Philanthropist” (10 p.m., NBC): In the new drama “The Philanthropist,” James Purefoy stars as a billionaire bad boy who becomes determined to distribute riches to the needy. Just call him a one-man stimulus package.

“The Real World” (10 p.m., MTV): For its 22nd season, “The Real World” heads south of the border to a resort in Cancun, Mexico. Just a wild guess, but we don’t expect to see much in the way of clothing.