1) “Kung Fu” debut, 8 p.m., CW. This reboots the 1972 series, but borrows only the basic notion: A Chinese-American studies at a monastery in China, then returns home after a teacher is slain. This time, there’s a modern spin: It’s an all-woman monastery; Nicky (shown here in a rendering) returns to San Francisco with stunning skills and a hint of the supernatural. The visuals and fights are spectacular, but “Kung Fu” also has balance: Nicky’s brother, sister and ex-boyfriend are far from her martial-arts world, adding human depth.
2) “Hemingway” finale, 8-10 p.m., PBS, rerunning at 10. As World War II ended, Ernest Hemingway seemed to be fading. He couldn’t match the war-reporting zest of his third wife, Martha Gellhorn. He alienated friends; critics began to dismiss him. And then, in 1952, “The Old Man and the Sea” was called a masterwork; he won Pulitzer and Nobel prizes. Right to the end – his suicide in 1961, at 61 – Hemingway offered fascinating contrasts, beautifully captured in Ken Burns’ documentary.
3) “Home Economics” debut, 8:30 p.m., ABC. This idea started with Michael Colton’s real life: He was a TV writer, collecting unemployment … his sister did social work … and their brother, a finance guy, had just sold his company for $7 million. Fictionalizing heavily, Colton co-created this series about siblings who love each other, despite huge gaps in their income. This opener is fairly funny, with Topher Grace (“That ‘70s Show”) starring as the struggling writer.
4) “Queen of the South” season-opener, 10 p.m., Syfy. In the first four seasons, we saw Teresa transform from an overlooked girlfriend to a fierce druglord. As the final season begins, she’s in New Orleans, where Judge Lafayette controls crime and a mysterious foe wants Teresa dead. Desperate to go legit, she needs quick cash. The result has some fierce action scenes, alongside poorly acted drama.
5) “Snowfall,” 10 p.m., FX, rerunning at 11:13. Like “Queen of the South,” this is about a regular person who becomes a drug kingpin; unlike “Queen,” it’s brilliantly written, directed and acted. Now it’s at a crisis point: The CIA’s secret aid to Contra fighters in Nicaragua has failed; a newspaper story has begun, telling how that helped fund the Los Angeles cocaine trade. (In real life, that’s an allegation that has been argued for decades.) Tonight brings schemes, betrayals and reprisals.