1) “True Lies” debut, 10 p.m. Wednesday, CBS. In the 1994 movie, Jamie Lee Curtis didn’t know her husband (Arnold Schwarzenegger) was a master spy. In this amiable series, that part vanishes quickly. The wife (Ginger Gonzaga) learns (shown here) about her husband (Steve Howey) … then trains to work with him. This gets a tad silly at times; master criminals seem awfully easy to defeat. Still it offers a rare mixture — action and glamour, mixed with bits of humor.
2) “Survivor” opener,” 8-10 p.m. Wednesday, CBS. It’s a big night for CBS, with “True Lies” preceded by the start of the 44th edition of this show. Contestants range from Donny Massa, 32, a muscular Bronx firefighter,to Jaime Lynn Ruiz, 35, an Arizona yogi. It’s a farflung group: Yam Yam Arocho, 36, is a giddy salo- owner in Puerto Rico; Kane Fritzler, 25, is a law student from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where the temperature was once minus-54 Farenheit.
3) “Black Broadway,” 8 p.m., Tuesday, PBS (check local listings). Imagine the best ballad you’ve ever heard. Multiply by 10 and you have this potent concert. After a bland overture (the only weak point), Corbin Bleu blasts a “Ragtime” anthem; soon, Nova Payton sings from “The Color Purple” and “Dreamgirls.” Stephanie Mills does a “Wiz” ballad she debuted 49 years ago, but mostly these are new stars. Violinist Leah Flynn, 15, does “Summertime,” which debuted 87 years ago.
4) “Alaska Daily” return, 10 p.m. Thursday, ABC. Hilary Swank, a two-time Oscar-winner, plays a former star reporter, rebuilding her career at an Anchorage paper. She’s exposed officials’ corruption and their indifference to the disappearance of native women; she’s also made an enemy, who calls himself Concerned Citizen. In the previous episode, he showed up with a gun. Now, after a 15-week break, her colleagues scramble to save her.
5) “Grand Crew” season-opener, 8:30 p.m. Friday, NBC. The first season was so-so, but the second has a terrific start, focusing on the two best characters. Noah (Echo Kellum) is a hopeless romantic, ready to marry his girlfriend so she doesn’t get deported to Canada; Nicky, his sister, is skeptical about love and hiding her current romance. Noah has a funny flight of imagination and then a frantic rush to the altar, while friends have their doubts.
6) “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” finale, 8 and 9 p.m. Monday, Fox. From the start, this has been intense: After their son Keith vanished, Jason and Nikki drifted apart. She became a missing-persons cop, engaged to a colleague; years later, they found a teen who seems to be Keith. Now these two hours wrap things up, while also handling other cases. The two villains are way too similar and overwrought, but if “Alert” doesn’t return, it’s had a strong finish.
7) “Young Sheldon,” 8 p.m. Thursday, CBS. Already a funny show (and TV’s most-watched comedy), this got much better with the pregnancy of Mandy (the talented Emily Osment). Georgie had lied about his age – he was 17, she was 28 – and they broke up, but he’s a surprisingly sweet guy, determined to be a good dad. She’s been staying with his family, away from her disapproving mom. But now she goes into labor; his family is gone and only hers can help.
8) “Kids Choice Awards,” 7 p.m. Saturday, Nickelodeon, CMT, TV Land, more. We can expect music (Bebe Rexha and Young Dylan), stars and slime. Nate Burleson, of “NFL Slimetime,” hosts with digital star Charli D’Amelio – who was slimed at the awards two years ago. We can also catch “Saturday Night Live” (football’s Trace Kelce hosts) at 11:29 on NBC, but some “SNL” favorites (Pete Davidson, Melissa McCarthy) will be at “Kids’ Choice.”
9) “Gone With the Wind” (1939) and “Casablanca” (1942), 5 and 8 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. With the Academy Awards coming Marcn 12, TCM fills the entire month with Oscar-winners and nominees. That starts Wednesday, including Humphrey Bogart’s “African Queen” (1951) — No. 65 on the American Film Institute’s best-film list — at 10 p.m. ET. It peaks Sunday: “Wind” and Bogart’s “Casablanca” are No. 6 and No. 3 on the AFI list.
10) SEASON-FINALES: Last week, “La Brea” fans were startled to see the tower explode, destroying a way back; now Gavin and Eve try a desperate trek to a new home. That’s 9 and 10 p.m. Tuesday on NBC … which concludes “America’s Got Talent: All-Stars,” from 8-10 p.m. Monday. Also wrapping is “Walker Independence,” 9 p.m. Thursday on CW. Peacock’s “Poker Face” wraps a week later, but its second-to-last episode (Thursday) is superb.
You may also like
-
Week’s top-10 for Oct. 14: CBS loads up with debuts and more
-
Week’s top-10 for Oct. 7: “Tracker” leads a spurt of openers
-
Week’s top-10 for Sept. 30: music, murders and veeps
-
Week’s top-10 for Sept. 23: Debuts, country and a vital “Choice”
-
Week’s top-10 for Sept. 16: “Matlock” leads start of new shows