1) “America’s National Parks,” 8 and 9 p.m., today through Thursday, National Geographic, then 9 p.m. Friday. This starts with opposite worlds – the Everglades and the 277-mile-long Grand Canyon. It ends with the fury of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (shown here), where one volcano erupted for 35 years, burying a road under 100 feet of lava. There’s much more, beautifully filmed, with Garth Brooks as narrator. That includes Yosemite, at 9 p.m. Tuesday.
2) “The Bachelorette,” 8-10 p.m. today, ABC. The show pauses for “Men Tell All,” before its big weeks. On the next two Mondays, the women each invite three men for separate, overnight dates. Rachel Recchia, 25, a flight instructor, has tech executive Zach Shallcross, contractor Tino Franco and sales guy Aven Jones. Gabby Windey, 31, an intensive-care nurse, has three men in sales or finance — Erich Schwer, Jason Alabaster and Johnny DePhillipo.
3) “America’s Got Talent,” 8-10 p.m. Tuesday, 8-9 p.m. Wednesday, NBC. America may have talent, but so far, half the finalists are from elsewhere. Magicians Nicolas Ribs and Yu Hojin are from France and South Korea; singer Sara James is from Poland. They’ll be in the Sept. 13 finale, with musicians Drake Milligan, Avery Dixon and the Chapel Hart trio. Now 11 acts compete for two more spots; that happens again next week, completing the top 10.
4) “The Patient” (any time Tuesday, Hulu); “The Rings of Power” (9 p.m., Thursday, Amazon Prime) debuts. The big networks are three weeks from their new seasons, but streamers are stealing attention. Hulu has a quiet drama, with a therapist kidnapped and chained in a basement; Steve Carell and Domhnall Gleeson are subtly perfect. Prime has the sheer power of its “Lord of the Rings” prequel. Its eight-episode season starts with two on Thursday.
5) “Stargirl” season-opener, 8 p.m. Wednesday, CW. This can’t come close to the mega-budgets of “Rings of Power” or HBO’s “House of the Dragon.” Still, it’s one of the best of the superhero shows, with smart scripts, likable characters and a bonus: Luke Wilson as the dad (and crime-fighting colleague) of Stargirl. Last season, Starman (Joel McHale) was back from the dead and ex-villains vowed to reform. Now The Gambler is back, drawing suspicion.
6) College football, 8 p.m. ET Thursday, Fox, and beyond. Next week, the pros take over, dominating TV. For this weeek, however, college football gets prime time on the big networks. First, Fox has Penn State (7-6 last season) and Purdue (9-4). Then it’s ABC at 7:30 Saturday (Notre Dame and Ohio State) and Sunday (Florida State and Louisiana State). Friday includes ESPN games at 7 (Western Michigan-Michigan State) and 10 (Texas Christian-Colorado).
7) “Ghosts,” 8:30 p.m. Thursday, CBS. The ghosts, it turns out, really dislike Halloween. They’re insulted by the idea of kids under white sheets, with eye holes …. They’re appalled by “Ghostbusters” movies …. And they’re astonished by young vandals. Alas, their attempt to protect the home only makes things worse. This is one of the show’s best reruns and follows a good “Young Sheldon,” with Georgie’s pregnant ex-girlfriend invited to dinner.
8) “American Masters,” 9 p.m. Friday, PBS (check local listings). On July 22, Norman Lear – the writer-producer who transformed TV comedy – turned 100. That will be celebrated with a two-hour ABC special Sept. 22, but first this excellent documentary reruns. We see Lear emerge from a hard-scrabble boyhood (including a dad jailed for fraud) to be a gifted writer. His “All in the Family” soared, followed by “Jeffersons,” “Maude” and more
9) “Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert,” 10 p.m. Saturday, CBS; also from 11:30 a.m. ET, Paramount+. Hawkins was the Foo Fighters’ drummer for 24 years and was named “best rock drummer” by Rhythm magazine He died March 25, at 50; now stars link for a charity mega-concert, with highlights on CBS. It includes Foo Fighters, Travis Barker, Wolfgang Van Halen, Kesha, Chrissie Hynde, Mark Ronson, Stewart Copeland, Nile Rodgers, Dave Chappelle and more.
10) “The Chi” season-finale, 9 p.m. Sunday, Showtime. “Somebody’s got to be the bad guy,” Otis Perry, the ex-mayor, says. He fills that role, injecting himself in every life. Early in this hour, he startles Victor, the idealistic council candidate. Later, he ranges from tough-guy Bakari to Emmett, a decent soul trying to run a business and to co-parent with his ex-girlfriend. There are some tough moments early, but stick around for bits of season-ending joy.