1) “Let’s Make a Deal Primetime” opener, 8 p.m., CBS. For the final month of summer, CBS nudges closer to having all-new Fridays. “Deal” (shown here), originally planned for Wednesdays, nudges “Lingo” to 9 p.m. The lone rerun is “Blue Bloods” at 10: Frank frets when the daughter of his best friend is jailed.
2) “American Ninja Warrior,” 8 p.m., NBC. After being dumped for the Olympics on three straight Fridays, NBC’s shows return, via rerun, First is this “Ninja” from July 8; then “”Dateline” is 9-11 p.m.
3) “Better Human, Better Dog” season-opener, 8-11 p.m., National Geographic. In a late-summer surge, Nat Geo has its biggest stars – James Cameron on Sunday (with an underwater series) and Cesar Millan today. The first hour, he says, involves his toughest case; gentler ones follow.
4) “The Union,” Netflix. Halle Berry, who just turned 58, and Mark Wahlberg, 53, play former high school sweethearts, now enmeshed in her spy adventure. That comes a day after Netflix released five new “Emily in Paris” episodes. Also streaming this week – “Bad Monkey” on Apple TV+ and “Jackpot” on Amazon Prime.
5) More movies. Steven Spielberg’s masterful “Jurassic Park” (1993) is 8 p.m. on TNT. Also: John Candy films on IFC, with “Uncle Buck” at 5:45 and 10 p.m., “The Great Outdoors” at 8 p.m. and 12:15 a.m. …. Jane Russell films on Turner Classic Movies, includlng “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (with Marilyn Monroe) at 8 p.m. ET.
— Mike Hughes, TV America