1) “The Cleaning Lady,” 8 p.m., Fox. This show has killed two interesting FBI agents; now it has its best character yet. An assistant district attorney, he brims with false folksiness, Columbo-style. Perfectly played by Robert Cicchini (shown here), he squeezes Thony … who has much to hide, including a mercy killing. It’s a terrific episode, with a big twist near the end.
2) “Will Trent,” 8 p.m., ABC. In the season-opener, Marla Gibbs, 93, (the former “Jeffersons” co-star) played Ms. Pearl. She was the good soul who raised Will alongside her grandson, Rafael. Now Rafael, a gang leader, reports that Ms. Pearl has died and needs a spledid funeral.
3) “American Masters,” 10 p.m., PBS. Art Spiegelman was surrounded by tragedy. His parents survived the Holocaust, his mother killed herself in the U.S., where Art was briefly in a mental institution. Emerging from this was his graphic novel “Maus,” a 13-year, Pulitzer Prize-winning project. This profile is compelling at first, then becomes repetitious.”
4) Basketball, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT. The pros’ “play-in” portion begins with the Hawks and Magic (ranked No. 7 and 8 in the East). The winner goes directly to the play-offs; the loser gets a second chance, against the winner of Wednesday’s 9-10 game. The same thing, in the West, starts at 10 p.m. today.
5) ALSO: There’s some pretty good music at the end of the “Night Court” rerun (8:30 p.m., NBC): The gang comes up with a rousing opening number for a Broadway show about Dan’s life. And there’s great music in “Coal Miner’s Daughter” (1980), at 8 p.m. ET on Turner Classic Movies. This tells the fascinating story of country star Loretta Lynn.