1) “Perfect Harmony” debut, 8:30 p.m., NBC. Bradley Whitford (shown here) has just won his third Emmy – two for drama (“West Wing,” “Handmaid’s Tale”) and one for comedy (“Transparent”). Now he’s on the light side, in the year’s best new comedy. He’s plays a former Princeton prof, widowed and weary in small-town Kentucky. He’s ready to end it all … until he hears a choir that needs to be rescued and insulted. This has sharp comedy and great support, led by Anna Camp and newcomer Geno Segers.
2) “The Good Place” season-opener, 9 p.m., NBC. In just three seasons, this has whisked us through dizzying versions of the afterlife. Now the fourth – and, alas, final — season starts with a new challenge: Eleanor (Kristen Bell) is in charge and Michael (Ted Danson) helps; if they don’t get the right result, mankind will be destroyed. This opener is inconsistent, but has some great moments.
3) “The Unicorn” debut, 8:30 p.m., CBS. In the year since his wife’s death, Wade (Walton Goggins) has survived via his friends’ sympathy and casseroles. Now they want him to break loose; he’s something as rare as a unicorn – a good guy who’s single. This leaps between short scenes, some quite funny.
4) “Doc Martin” season-opener, any time, www.acorn.tv. Last season ended with Martin in crisis. His crankiness had made enemies; now he might lose his medical license. Tonight’s hour includes a high-octane medical crisis, but “Doc” mostly sticks to its specialty – warm drama involving good people in a quietly beautiful place. The best scene, near the end of the hour, involves the pub owner.
5) And more. It’s football on Fox and drama — “Grey’s Anatomy,” “A Million Little Things,” “How to Get Away With Murder” — on ABC. Mostly, though, this is about comedy collisions. At 8 p.m., it’s CBS’ Young Sheldon” and NBC’s “Superstore.” At 9, CBS’ “Mom” has a terrific episode set during the honeymoon of Bonnie and Adam. At 9:30, NBC’s promising-but-inconsistent “Sunnyside” faces CBS’ disappointing “Carol’s Second Act.”
— Mike Hughes, TV America