1) “Animal Control” season-opener, 9:01 p.m., Fox. This show deftly blends two kinds of comedy. Tonight, the character humor — is only moderately funny; it involves Frank and his current girlfriend, played (shown here, left and right) by Joel McHale and Sarah Chalke, but the sight gags are terrific: A zoo break leaves animals amok.
2) “Going Dutch” debut, 9:31 p.m., Fox. A hardened colonel (Denis Leary) taking over a softened Army base, run by his estranged daughter. The result tonight is surprisingly flat and moderately funny. Fortunately, next week’s episode is better.
3) “Only Murders in the Building,” 9-11 p.m., ABC. One of TV’s best shows slides from Hulu to ABC. Rerunning its second season, it packs 10 episodes (three tonight) into four Thursdays. In the first season, podcasters (Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez) solved a case; now they’re suspects. The season drew 11 comedy nominations, including best comedy.
4) “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” reboot, 8 p.m., ABC. Back in 2011, this ended a nine-season run. It returned in 2020, but only for six weeks. Now it’s back, with new carpenters and designers, but the same idea: Each week, one family home gets a mega-rebuild.
5) Football, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN. The college season persists, with bowls today, Friday and Saturday, followed by playoff semi-finals on Jan. 9 and 10. This one is the Gator Bowl, with Mississippi (ranked No. 14) and Duke.