1) “The Mandalorean,” 8 p.m., ABC, Freeform and FX. Here’s the first episode of a “Star Wars” spin-off (shown here) that has made a big splash. In each of its first two seasons, it won seven Emmys, for sets and stunts and such; in the second, it also was nominated for best drama series. Now this sampling will try to lure us to sign up for Disney+ and see those seasons, plus the third, which starts Wednesday.
2) “Great Performances: The Magic of Spirituals,” 9 p.m., PBS. In the opera world, once all-white, this was revolutionary: In 1990, two Black women (Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle) were the best-known Americans. They were opposites vocally, physically and temperamentally, but both loved spirituals. That led to an epic concert; this hour has soaring highlights, plus current comments.
3) “Party Down” season-opener, 9 p.m., Starz, rerunning at 10:30 and midnight. For two seasons, this had semi-known actors playing unknown actors working for a caterer. It was canceled and many of its people soon found fame – Adam Scott, Jane Lynch, Ryan Hansen, Ken Marino, Lizzie Caplan and more. Now – 13 years later – all of them (except Caplan) are back. Hansen’s character lands a big role and hires the others to cater the celebration.
4) “We Have a Ghost,” Netflix. Already playing the police chief on “Stranger Things,” David Harbour now sees even stranger things in this movie: The ghost in his house is big on the Internet. Also today, Netflix has the second season of a documentary series (“Formula 1: Drive to Survive”), arriving two days after its documentary series about Alex Murdaugh, the politically prominent lawyer and politician, accused of corruption and murder.
5) More streaming: Eugene Levy says he’d rather stay home; now he’s “The Reluctant Traveler,” even visiting frigid Finland. That’s on Apple TV+, alongside the six-episode “Liaison.” Amazon Prime has Christoph Waltz, an Oscar winner for “Inglourious Basterds” and “Django Unchained,” as an ominous boss in a drama series, “The Consultant.” On Thursday, Peacock started the second “Bel Air” season, alongside a terrific “Poker Face” episode.
— Mike Hughes, TV America