Tonight's TV Hot List for Sunday, April 19, 2009

Miss USA Pageant
7 pm/ET NBC
It's a crowning moment when Billy Bush and My Name Is Earl's Nadine Velazquez host the 58th annual gala, which features 51 young women vying for pageantry honors in swimsuit, evening-gown and interview segments. Miss USA 2008 Crystle Stewart is on hand to crown her successor at the event, which is marked by performances by singer Kevin Rudolf, who performs the song "Let It Rock," and the pop duo the Veronicas, who render their song "Untouched." From the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. —Dean Maurer
Desperate Housewives
9 pm/ET ABC
Matthew Applewhite. Carolyn Bigsby. Wayne Davis. Ida Greenberg. Sylvia Greene. Alma Hodge. Martha Huber. Al Kaminsky. Victor Lang. Ellie Leonard. Curtis Monroe. Monique Polier. Bradley Scott. Rebecca Shepherd. Lillian Simms. "Mama" Solis. Rex Van De Kamp. George Williams. Then there's Mary Alice Young, who's pilot-episode suicide gave Wisteria Lane its first taste of desperation. After her shocking, if not surprising accident, you can add Edie Britt to the honor roll, and look back over her life on the Lane tonight. —Paul Droesch
The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler
9 pm/ET CBS
Anna Paquin gives a powerful performance in the title role of this emotionally wrenching but ultimately uplifting account of Polish social worker Irena Sendler, who smuggled 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw ghetto during World War II before they could be deported to death camps. Sendler posed as a nurse to gain access to the ghetto, where she convinced Jewish parents to entrust their children to her care. In turn, she placed her charges with Polish families and in convents. Marcia Gay Harden and Goran Visnjic also star in the Hallmark Hall of Fame production. —Tim Holland
In Plain Sight
10 pm/ET USA
Spunky WITSEC marshal Mary Shannon returns tonight in the second-season premiere. After trudging through a potentially career-ending mess stirred up by her sister, not to mention a terrifying kidnapping, Mary is keeping a low profile on administrative leave. But her dull new role doesn't last long when one of her witnesses turns up dead. She quickly begins investigating the case and realizes she'll also have to deal with a few personal demons along the way. —Brie Hearn
Sit Down, Shut Up
8:30 pm/ET FOX
Will Arnett and Jason Bateman lead the voice cast of a new animated comedy from executive producers Mitchell Hurwitz (Arrested Development) and Eric and Kim Tannenbaum (Two and a Half Men) that follows the lives of the dysfunctional faculty of a high school in a northeastern fishing town. In the pilot, Knob Haven High has money woes, and the pressure's on to win the big football game — and spur alumni donations. Meanwhile, pills confiscated from a student's locker wind up in the vice principal. That's putting the "vice" in vice principal. —Fred Mitchell
Cake Boss
10 pm/ET TLC
Buddy Valastro's created some of the most mouthwatering and elaborate cakes, including Britney Spears' circus-themed 27th birthday cake. Now, he's got his own half-hour show that will focus on managing his booming business, Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, NJ, along with his big Italian family. TLC airs a sneak-peek pilot of Cake Boss on Sunday, April 19, and will resume as a series in early June.