1) Pro football season-opener, 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC. With most scripted shows sidelined by the strikes, NFL games should soar. The season starts now, with a preview at 7 p.m. and then the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (shown here) hosting the Detroit Lions, who had a 9-8 record last year. The rest of the teams start Sunday afternoon (CBS and Fox), Sunday night (NBC) and Monday (ABC and ESPN).
2) “Project Runway” finale, 9-10:30, Bravo. First, we can re-watch most of the season, starting at 6 a.m. It’s an “all-star” edition, with two of the younger designers in the final three. Bishme Cromartie (who finished fourth in 2019-20) and Brittany Allen (in a fifth-sixth tie in 2019), are each 32. They face Laurence Basse, 47, who was third in 2016.
3) “Young Sheldon,” 8 p.m., CBS. Here’s the rerun that was bumped last week by a Bob Barker special: Sheldon’s dad lost his job as football coach, but now he’s needed; also, Mandy learns that Georgie (father of her baby-to-be) and his grandmother have a secret casino. That’s followed by a “Ghosts” rerun, with a visit from Alberta’s defendant.
4) “Reservation Dogs,” Hulu. This series has touched lightly on the supernatural, with teen-age Bear talking to a long-departed warrior and (this year) Deer Lady. But now it’s his mother’s turn; facing a big decision, she’s suddenly talking to the departed. It’s a good episode … with a great one next week.
5) ALSO STREAMING: Opposite shows arrive today on Netflix: For kids, a new season starts for “Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight.” Not for kids, “Dear Child” is a dark German mini-series about captivity, kidnapping and more. Somewhere between those extremes, Paramount+ has the season’s first two episodes of “Star Trek: Lower Decks”; it’s animated, as is “Kung Fu Panda.”