1) Election night, Tuesday. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET (an hour before most Eastern polls close) on most network stations. But the news channels will cover it all day … and the counting may go on all night. While waiting, you can try CW – “Swamp Thing” (8 p.m.), isn’t bad; “Tell Me a Story” (9) is – or movies. Great ones are: “The Godfather” (shown here) and its sequel (9 a.m. and 1 p.m., 5:30 and 9:30 p.m., AMC); “Rocky” (7 p.m., Paramount); and “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” at 8 p.m. on HBO.
2) “B Positive” debut, 8:30 p.m. Thursday, CBS. Drew is a divorced dad who needs a kidney donor; Gina is someone from his past who has a kidney to spare. They have little in common – he’s a therapist, she’s rough-around-the-edges – but a mismatched friendship begins. This is a promising comedy from Chuck Lorrte, whose shows range from good (“Two and a Half Men”) to great (“Big Bang,” “Mom”). Thomas Middleditch (“Silicon Valley”) and Broadway’s Annaleigh Ashford (a Tony-winner) star.
3) “The Bachelorette,” 8-10:01 p.m. Thursday, ABC. Rumors have circulated that Clare Crawley throws the show off-course; she decides early and exits … forcing “Bachelor” to bring in another woman to date the 15 guys left. ABC hints that this episode (transplanted from Tuesday) is when it happens. Crawley – a hairstylist, 39, who was runner-up in the 2014 “Bachelor” – makes her move with Dale Moss, 32, a former football receiver on four NFL practice squads and (briefly) in the Arena League.
4) “The Good Doctor” season-opener, 10 p.m. today, ABC. This strides firmly into the pandemic. Dr. Shaun Murphy loves Lea, but now that he’s working with COVID patients, she can’t be near. Also Dr. Reznick, banned from surgery, navigates around the clinic, putting herself and others in danger. There’s more, in this start of a two-parter: Dr. Park prepares to return to Phoenix, to be closer to his family. Dr. Brown tries to work through her grief, after Dr Melendez was killed in the season-ending earthquake.
5) “Frontline: The Choice” and/or “Saturday Night Live Election Special,” 9-11 p.m. today, PBS; 10:01 p.m. today, NBC. On election eve, past moments – serious or satirical – rerun. It’s the third time PBS airs “Choice,” with richly detailed biographies of Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Meanwhile, “SNL” assembles some of its election-time sketches. It’s been a strong year for the show, with Alec Baldwin as Trump, Jim Carrey as Biden and others (including Larry David and Maya Rudolph) helping out.
6) “American Ninja Warrior” finals, 9-11 p.m. Wednesday, NBC. Usually a summertime ratings hit, this had a late start because of the COVID shutdown. It was confined to eight weeks, one location (St. Louis) and a $100,000 top prize. Now we see a winner, on a night overrun with competitions. At 8 p.m., NBC has “The Wall,” CBS has back-to-back episodes of “The Amazing Race” and Fox has “The Masked Singer” and “I Can See Your Voice.” NBC’s Chicago dramas start their seasons next week.
7) “Young Sheldon” and “Mom” season-openers, 8 and 9 p.m. Thursday, CBS. TV’s best comedy night is finally back. Sandwiched around the “B Positive” debut are two more Chuck Lorre productions. At 8, Sheldon graduates from high school … and, for the first time, has doubts about going away to college. At 9, there’s one less mom; Anna Faris, as Christy, has left the show. Bonnie plans a game night with her friends. For more comedy, NBC has a bleak “Superstore” at 8 and “Connecting” at 8:30.
8) “Great Performances: One Man, Two Guvnors,” 9 p.m. Friday, PBS. James Corden is a terrific talk-show host, but this show – taped in 2011, but belatedly reaching the U.S. now – shows he’s also immensely gifted at broad comedy. Based on a 1743 farce, “One Man” has a chap secretly working for two people who must be kept apart. The show is only so-so; some bits that might seem funny onstage can seem terribly over-the-top onscreen. But Corden, who won a Tony award in the role, is a marvel.
9) “Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame,” 8 p.m. Saturday, HBO. Here is a night filled with rock history. We see tributes to the inductees – Whitney Houston, the Doobie Brothers, Depeche Mode, T.Rex, Nine Inch Nails and Notorious B.I.G – delivered by such stars as Alicia Keys, Sean Combs, Luke Brian, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ringo Starr. If you prefer vintage Ringo and the Beatles, switch to “Hard Day’s Night” (1964) at 8 p.m. ET on Turner Classic Movies. Director Richard Lester gave it great flair.
10) “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “NCIS: New Orleans” season-openers, 8 and 9 p.m. Sunday, CBS. Two more shows arrive … with a lot more coming next week. In Los Angeles, word arrives that a Russian bomber apparently crashed in the U.S. desert, Callen and Sam rush to find its weapons and secrets, betore they are destroyed. Then we find COVID sweeping through New Orleans. Dr. Wade is overwhelmed in the morgue; also, a humanitarian ship has a virus outbreak and a suspicious death.