1) “Single Drunk Female” season-opener, 10 and 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Freeform. Sam (Sophia Black-D’Elia, shown here) starts the second season on her 29th birthday, 549 days into sobriety. She likes her job, tolerates her parents (Ally Sheedy and Ian Gomez) and clings to her AA sponsor. But now there are big changes at work and for her friends. The result is a sharp blend of clever dialog and quiet moments that give this comedy some sharp bits of drama.
2) “Grey’s Anatomy,” 9 and 10 p.m. Thursday, ABC. Earlier this year, Meredith left the hospital, ending Ellen Pompeo’s 18-plus year run. Now Maggie Pierce, Meredith’s half-sister and the head of cardio-thoracic surgery, leaves after nine years. She and Winston Ngu decide the future of their wobbly marriage. That’s in a busy, two-episode night: Jo faces a tough diagnosis, Levi helps a patient celebrate a milestone and the Amelia/Kai relationship is tested.
3) Basketball playoffs, all week. Now that the colleges are done, the pros are ready to take over. First are the “play-in” games for the final spots. They’re at 7:30 and 10 p.m. ET Tuesday (TNT), Wednesday (ESPN) and Friday (first TNT, n ESPN). Then the real action begins, with games Saturday on ESPN (1, 3:30 and 6 p.m.) and ABC (8:30 p.m.). On Sunday, ABC’s game is at 3:30 p.m. ET; TNT has games at 4:30, 7 and 9:30 p.m.
4) “Masterpiece: Sanditon,” 9 p.m. Sunday, PBS. With just two episodes left in this elegant (and brief) series, a crisis builds. Edward has schemed to marry Colbourne’s wealthy niece; the others race to intervene, before he can bed – and, thereby, ruin – her. (Remember, this is Jane Austen-era England.) That comes as all the match-ups are wrong. Charlotte, who loves Colbourne, is with her hometown fiance; Georgiana prepares a fake marriage to a gay paramour.
5) “The Neighborhood” 100th episode, 8 p.m. today, CBS. Lots of comedies sputter and fade. “I’ve been part of shows that lasted 9, 10 episodes,” said Cedric the Entertainer. But this one – with Cedric as producer and one of the stars – has been renewed for its sixth season, next year. Once about distrusting the white newcomers to a Black neighborhood, it’s now about neighborly friendship. Jerry O’Connell guests here, in a story about tickets to “The Talk.”
6) Game shows, NBC. Now that “Quantum Leap” has finished its season, games are a bigger part of NBC. On Mondays, “The Voice” (down to once a week) is followed by another music-oriented show, Jimmy Fallon’s “That’s My Jam.” There’s a fun rerun tonight (Jason Derulo and Nicole Scherzinger vs. Kelsea Ballerini and Julia Michaels) and a new episode next week. Then Tuesday has two season-openers — “The Wall” at 9 p.m. and “The Weakest Link” at 10.
7) “Nature: The Hummingbird Effect,” 8 p.m. Wednesday, PBS. Barely the size of West Virginia, Costa Rica has more than 50 hummingbird species, many with specialized beaks. They flutter and feed constantly, pollinating verdant forests. This gorgeous hour, showing a vibrant animal kingdom, leads a strong non-fiction week for PBS. “My Grandparents’ War” (9 p.m. Tuesday) opens its season with a fascinating look at all four of actor Kit Harington’s grandfolks.
8) “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” season-opener, Friday, Amazon Prime. A brilliant show starts its final season with big strokes. There’s a flashforward to a grown Esther; then we’re back to the 1950s and her mom Midge in despair, her comedy career sputtering. Her agent Susie must move quickly, focusing on a latenight talk show. The opener also has an odd Thanksgiving and, as usual, crackling-good dialog. There’s much more ahead, including big twists for Susie.
9) “The Equalizer,” 8 p.m. Sunday, CBS. This is a terrific series, but an elusive one. It took a three-month winter break, came back with six episodes and then was displaced on two Sundays by music – country one week, Beach Boys the next. Now it’s back, with the season’s final five episodes in a six-Sunday stretch. First, a Venezuelan immigrant is accused of killing a congresswoman whom he and his wife were staying with. Robyn tries to clear him.
10) “Barry” season-opener, 10 and 10:30 p.m. Sunday, HBO.. There’s already a great Sunday line-up on HBO, with “Succession” at 9 p.m. (rerunning at 11:36) and John Oliver at 11:01. Now comes more: “100-Foot Wave,” the surfing documentary, starts its season at 8; later, “Barry” starts its final season. Each of its three seasons has drawn a best-comedy Emmy nomination. There have been nine wins, including Bill Hader (twice), as a hit man and would-be actor.
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