1) “9/11 United We Stand: 25 Years Later,” 9-11 p.m., ABC. Two former New York sports stars, Derek Jeter and Michael Strahan, produced this view of sports and entertainment after the Sept. 11 attacks (shown here). It includes Pete Davidson (whose dad, a firefighter, died that day), Jon Bon Jovi, Jon Stewart, Matthew Broderick, Robin Roberts, Jimmy Fallon and more. Read more…
1) “Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro” finale, 8 p.m., ABC. Three people remain in the running to become one of the pro dancers on “Stars.” There are two Los Angeles women — Selena Hamilton (shown here), 21, and Adele Zaikman, 24 — and a London guy, AJ Pritchard, 31. They dance tonight with Adam Rippon, Nev Schulman and Charli D’Amelio. Read more…
For actors, there seem to be two states of existence.
One is unemployment. That’s most of the people, most of the time.
The other is overemployment. For a long stretch, that was Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer. “It was a very hectic 18 months,” he said.
Now comes the pay-off: While rushing between other roles, they wrote, produced and starred in the final season of “Colin From Accounts” (shown here); all eight episodes — funny, warm and engaging — arrive Sept. 10 on Paramount+. Read more…
1) “The Walking Dead: Dead City,” 9 p.m., AMC, rerunning at 10:11. Here’s a remarkable detour, beautifully written and played. It imagines what might happen if Maggie (shown here) and Negen had met in a no-zombie world. She’s a cool-headed farmer, visiting her sister in the city; he’s calm and thoughtful … with rage still at the core. The result is compelling. Read more…
It will be a double Dolly night Sunday (Aug. 30) on TV.
Both CBS and ABC will have new Dolly Parton specials. ABC will also include her movie, “9 to 5.”
Parton (shown here) died Tuesday at 80, in the cancer wing of a Nashville hospital. There have been waves of tributes for her music, her philanthropy and the sheer joy of her personality.
CBS had a special that night, but will follow with another Sunday. “Remembering Dolly: A Rhinestone Life” will be at 8 p.m., nudging “Big Brother” to 9 and removing “Tracker.” Read more…
1) “Marble Hall Murders” opener, 9 p.m. Sunday, PBS. For the third time, Anthony Horowitz has written a six-part mini-series on two levels: A book editor (Lesley Manville) probes a murder, while imagining chats (shown here) with a fictional detective … whom we see in a related novel. Like the others, this is a wondrously clever blend of character and mystery. Read more…
1) College football. For most schools, the season is still a week away. A few start early, however, including two neutral-site games. At noon ET, ESPN has North Carolina and Texas Christian in Ireland. And at 7:30 p.m., ABC has the annual opener for historically Black schools; this time, it’s Howard (shown here last season) and Alabama A&M, in Atlanta. Read more…
1) Vienna Philharmonic, 9 p.m., PBS. Each year, PBS has a lush, end-of-summer concert (shown here), amid palace gardens. This time, Lorenzo Viotti, 36, a second-generation, Swiss conductor has a busy program, from a cavalry overture to encores with a high-octane Brazilian piece and a Strauss waltz. Also, baritone-bass Bryn Terfel ranges from Tevye to Satan. Read more…
Barbara Walters interviewed approximately three zillion people, but when I asked about her favorite, she didn’t hesitate.
It was Dolly Parton.
Yes, Dolly — who died today (Aug. 25) at 80 — had the three elements of great interviewees: They need to be open and unfiltered, of course, but they also need to have given some real thought to their life. And they need to have a great life to recount.
Parton (shown here) had them all, as people will keep reminding us. At 10 p.m. today, CBS has a special about her. The news channels, I’m sure, have much more. Search the streamers and you’ll find movies and dramas based on her songs, on Netflix and Peacock. You’ll also find “9 to 5,” “Steel Magnolias,” “Rhinestone,” “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” and more. Read more…
1) “Adults” season-openers, 9 and 9:34 p.m., FX and FXX. Five friends (shown here) share a house in Queens; in their mid-20s, they face the looming possibility of grown-up lives and jobs. That’s been done before (from “Real World” to “Friends”), but never with such exuberant twists. Some people will find it too gen-Z or too R-rated; others will find it hilarious. Read more…
Best-bets for Sept. 11: looking back at Sept. 1, outlaws and more 
Best-bets for Aug. 31: It’s time for two champions 
Best-bets for Aug. 30: drama, Dolly and gospel 
