Week’s top-10 for Sept. 30: music, murders and veeps

1) “American Music Awards 50th Anniversary,” 8-10 p.m. ET Sunday, CBS. Once a ratings powerhouse, this has stumbled, with no shows since 2022. Now it moves to CBS for a revival: New awards will be in May; first, this special has interviews, old clips and new performances from Mariah Carey (shown here in a previous performance), Kane Brown, Jennifer Hudson, Green Day, Brad Paisley and more.

2) Vice-presidential debate, 9 p.m. ET Tuesday, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS
and news channels; also, “The American Vice President,” 8 p.m., PBS. Tim Walz and J.D. Vance collide. First, a fairly good PBS documentary reminds us why this is important. It tells of VP’s who moldered in obscurity and ones (Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford) who changed history.

3) “Murder in a Small Town,” 8 p.m. Tuesday, Fox. While many networks have debate previews, Fox has the second episode of the year’s best surprise. In an appealing Canadian town, the police chief (Rossif Sutherland) has smarts, empathy and a lover (Kristin Kreuk). This week, homecoming brings high spirits, a returning ne’er-do-well and murder.

4) “Law & Order” season-opener, 8 p.m. Thursday, NBC. The 24th season puts Maura Tierney (“ER,” “Twisters”) in charge of the cops. That’s followed by “Law & Order: SVU,” with two new cops working for Mariska Hargitay. Sadly, these are followed at 10 by “Found.” Its captor-turned-captive has escaped now, but the season-opener still feels repulsive.

5) “All American: Homecoming” series finale, 8 p.m. today, CW. The new owners are tossing out CW’s slick, youth-oriented shows. Tonight, Simone defends her integrity; a week later, “Superman & Lois” starts its final season. “All American” (in 2025) is the only other show to survive the purge. Added are wrestling Tuesday and imported dramas (see No. 6) Wednesday.

6) “Sullivan’s Crossing” season-opener, 8 p.m. Wednesday, CW. After Maggie returned to Boston, life seemed to crumble at this little Canadian resort. Cal’s note was intercepted before it got to her; also, her dad was hospitalized and forgot his foreclosure crisis. It’s a well-made drama, as is “Joan” (debuting at 9), the true story of a British jewel thief.

7) “Survivor,” 8 p.m Wednesday., CBS. The best-known contestant, Jon Lovett (a podcaster) was the first ousted; TK Foster was the second. Now three people make a key decision. Then the “Summit” opener (which aired Sunday) reruns at 9:30 and will start new episodes a week later, It’s a lot like “Survivor,” but with less fun, more ordeal and New Zealand beauty.

8) “Mambo Legends,” 10 p.m. Friday, PBS. A potent, propulsive sound emerged in 1940s and ’50s New York. Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez and Machito led a merger of big-band horns and Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican rhythms. We hear great music here, mixed with a portrait of the era. That’s preceded at 9 by the second “American Historia” hour.

9) “The Little Mermaid (2023), 8-10 p.m. Sunday, ABC. A cartoon classic was remade as an adequate non-cartoon. Its star (Halle Bailey) and songs are fine, but there’s little visual beauty or emotional oomph. This was set for Sept. 29, then delayed a week; it launches a Disney movie night that will have light Halloween films and then “Coco,” “Moana” and more.

10) Halloween films. October finds Freeform in light-scare mode. “Beetlejuice” is at 6:45 p.m., Tuesday; 3:30 p.m., Wednesday; 9 p.m. Thursday; 6:45 p.m. Friday. This week has “Hocus Pocus” four times, “Haunted Mansion” three, more. Stronger stuff is on AMC or streaming, with the new “Gremlins” season starting Thursday on Max.