1) “The Simpsons,” 8 p.m. Sunday, Fox. “Treehouse of Horror,” an annual delight with three offbeat tales, will be Oct. 30. A week earlier, here’s a fresh twist: “Treehouse presents” a half-hour take-off on Stephen King’s “It.” We see Homer join other self-described “high school losers” (shown heere), battling a killer clown; 27 years later, they re-unite to try again. The Homer/Marge romance is flipped, in a tale that’s too gory for some viewers, but great fun for many.
2) Figure skating, Friday through Sunday, NBC and USA. Over the next two months, skating events will be held in seven countries. (Ones in Russia and China were canceled.) That starts with the U.S,: At 7:30 p.m. Friday on the USA Network, it will be men and pairs. At 3 p.m. Saturday on NBC (and 8 p.m .rerun on USA) are the men’s and pairs finals, plus women and rhythm dance. At 2 p.m. Sunday on NBC are the women’s finals, free dance and closing gala. (Times in this paragraph are ET; in western time zones, check local listings.)
3) “Documentary Now” season-opener, 10 and 10:31 p.m. ET Wednesday, IFC. Forty years ago, Werner Herzog’s “Fitzcarraldo” made men carry a 320-ton ship over a hill in the Peruvian jungle. His star got sick, so he cast Klaus Kinski … who fought him fiercely, as he had in three other films. That was captured in documentaries and is satirized brilliantly here. Alexander Skarsgard plays a guy filming a rustic documentary AND a sitcom pilot.
4) “Criss Angel’s Magic With the Stars” debut, 8 p.m. Saturday, CW. Each week, Angel will coach two stars, who try his tricks. A panel – magician Lance Burton, comedian Loni Love and Angel – will give one of them the “golden wand.” That starts with two singer-dancer-actors – Corbin Bleu, 33, a star of “High School Musical” movies, and Miles Brown, 17, called Baby Boogaloo. The “World’s Funniest Animals” season-opener follows at 9.
5) “Bob (Hearts) Abishola,” 8:30 p.m. today, CBS. After big detours, this terrific show may return to its norm. Bob had his mid-life crisis, avoided his job, bought a big boat … and realized that wasn’t what he wanted. His sister was hired by a competing company, then tricked into sleeping with an employee and fired. After “Bob,” switch to PBS for two minority portraits – “Rising Against Asian Hate” is at 9 p.m., with “POV” visiting American Muslims at 10.
6) Baseball playoffs. The league-championship round begins, determining who will be in the World Series. National League games are on Fox or Fox Sports1, with the American League on TBS. It will be National on Tuesday, both on Wednesday, American on Thursday, National on Friday, and both on Saturday and Sunday. Each can go as long as seven games, possibly stretching to Oct. 26. On Oct. 28, the best-of-seven World Series begins on Fox.
7) “Monarch,” 9 p.m. Tuesday, Fox. In the soap tradition, episodes end with jolts. Last week’s was a dilly: Albie (Trace Adkins) was told that his late wife set a barn fire, trapping his mistress inside. This week also has a big jolt – then takes us (at last) to the start of the night when someone is killed and the body is buried and stolen. We still won’t know who it is or how it happens; soaps are like that. Also: at the start of the hour, a lame plot twist is tossed aside.
8) “Secrets of the Dead,” 10 p.m. Wednesday, PBS. Last week’s opener was a bland look at a mild dig, finding little. Now we get the opposite – a sharply edited look at years of research in Pompeii. Stones poured down at a fierce pace – a half-foot an hour – crushing a society. Researchers find a carriage called “the Lamborghini of the ancient world”; they see an elaborate set of shops and fast-food spots. We even show a long tunnel dug by modern looters.
9) “Walker Independence,” 9 p.m. Thursday, CW. In theory, this is about Abby (an ancestor of Walker the Texas Ranger), widowed in the old West. But this week, her role is minor; the focus goes to Hoyt, who’s like the modern Hoyt (and played by the same actor). A preacher, robber, lover, drinker and poker cheat, he stirs lots of action. It’s an entertaining show, in an overcrowded slot that has “Grey’s Anatomy,” “So Help Me Todd” and “Law & Order: SVU.”
10) “House of the Dragon” season-finale, 9 p.m. Sunday, HBO, rerunning at 10:01, 11:02 and 12:05. The first phase of an epic era concludes. This is the year mega-projects seized attention. “The Power of the Ring” (Amazon) wrapped Oct. 14; now “Dragon” (HBO and HBO Max) does the same. While we wait for next season, other big projects are here, including Shantaram (Apple TV+) and “Interview With the Vampire” (10:03 p.m. Sunday, AMC, also AMC+).