1) “American Rust” debut, 10 p.m,, Showtime. As a soldier and as a Pittsburgh cop, Del (Jeff Daniels, shown here) was battered emotionally. He retreated to become police chief of a small town in rural Pennsylvania; there, it turns out, the problems are more personal and more painful: His sometimes-lover (Maura Tierney) faces foreclosure; her son becomes a murder suspect. Based on a much-praised novel, “Rust” is written and played with the sort of understated power that Daniels masters.
2) “60 Minutes” season-opener, 7:30 p.m., CBS. The TV season doesn’t officially begim until Sept. 20, but this ratings-leader gets an early start. Joining (one day late) the 20th-anniversary coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks, it talks to New York firefighters about the 343 colleagues who were killed that day.
3) MTV Music Video Awards, 8 p.m., MTV, CW, VH1, CMT, Pop, Paramount Plus, more; MTV also has a preview at 6:30 and a rerun at 11. We’re back to live performances – lots of them. Doja Cat hosts, performs and is up for artist of the year. Also nominated are two others who will perform (Justin Bieber and Olivia Rodrigo) plus Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Mega Thee Stalllion. Also performing: Li’l Nas X, Camila Cabello, Kacey Musgraves, Jack Harlow, Polo G, Machine Gun Kelly and many more.
4) “Guilt” conclusion, 9-11 p.m., PBS. Last week’s opener saw two brothers returning from drinking heavily at a wedding; an old man stepped in front of the car and was killed. Jake wanted to report it, but Max created a cover-up … which became complicated when Jake fell for the victim’s niece. It was a great start – with hints near the end that everyone (except Max) is hiding something. Now the new layers pile up, in a far-flung – but thoroughly entertaining – story.
5) Football, all day. It’s the first Sunday of the pro season. The Bucs and Cowboys played Thursday and the Ravens and Raiders wait until Monday, but that leaves 13 games this afternoon and one at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC: The Los Angeles Rams – 10-6 last season, now with Matthew Stafford as their new quarterback – host the Chicago Bears, who were 8-8 last year.