1) “Abbott Elementary” (shown here) season-opener, 9:30 p.m, ABC. Stranded between a reality show (“Golden Bachelorette”) and a news report, this is a lonely comedy island. It deserves more; in each of its first three seasons, it was the only broadcast show nominated for the best-comedy-series Emmy. Now the school year starts amid some nearby construction chaos. Read more…
Our screens used to be populated by quietly heroic loners.
There was Shane and Paladin and Johnny Yuma and more, including The Man With No Name. They roamed the Old West, sometimes saving people.
They vanished in the age of anti-heroes, but sometimes re-appear. The key show is “Tracker” (shown here) which returns at 8 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 13), to launch CBS’ belated fall season. Read more…
1) “An Oprah Special: The Presleys,” 8 p.m., CBS. Riley Keough’s life has been hectic lately. Her mother (Lisa Marie Presley) died at 54. Keogh won legal fights for control of the estate of her grandfather, Elvis Presley. She was Emmy-nominated for “Daisy Jones and the Six” (shown here). And she finished a memoir her mother started; she discusses that with Oprah Winfrey. Read more…
1) “Brilliant Minds,” 10 p.m., NBC. Dr. Wolf (Zachary Quinto) again probes odd recesses of the human mind. He again has some great moments … then pushes things to excess. That’s typical of a character (and a show) that sometimes tries too hard. Still, this emotional episode (shown here) – centering on a biker with memory loss – is worth watching. Read more…
Jesse L. Martin is becoming an expert on the wonderful weirdness of the human psyche.
In “The Irrational” – which starts its second season at 10 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 8) on NBC — he’s a professor who helps catch crooks while offering details about behavior..
“It’s like all these little nuggets,” said Travina Springer, who plays his sister. “Every episode, there’s moments like that.”
That’s ironic, because Martin (shown here) made one of life’s most irrational choices – becoming an actor. Read more…
1) “American Music Awards 50th Anniversary,” 8-10 p.m. , CBS. From its 1974 debut, this spent decades as a ratings powerhouse. Then it stumbled; there have been no awards since 2022, with none planned until May. First, here are interviews, old clips and new performances from Mariah Carey, Kane Brown, Jennifer Hudson, Green Day, Brad Paisley (shown here) and more. Read more…
1) “Tracker” season-opener, 8 p.m. Sunday, CBS. Three weeks later than usual, CBS launches its fall season. It starts with a ratings-leader, a solid show with Colter (Justin Hartley) tracking people. This opener spends a lot of time setting up an ongoing story and a re-mix of the office team (shown here, with Velma and Reena); then it solves its case-of-the-week quickly. It’s a fairly good start to what could be a terrific season. Read more…
The American Music Awards had a foolproof route to high ratings.
It honored popular people, many of whom performed on the show. Viewers saw Michael moonwalk, Prince rock, Mariah soar. It couldn’t fail.
And then it did. Ratings crashed; the AMA’s almost vanished. The next awards (in May of 2025) will be the first in 30 months.
Before that, a special – 8-10 p.m. ET Sunday (Oct. 6) on CBS – will be the first step in a comeback attempt. It will have lots of new performances (including Jennifer Hudson, shown here), plus clips that go back 50 years Read more…
1) Horror films. On the first weekend of October, cable is in Halloween mode. On the light side, Freeform has the clever “Beetlejuice” (1988, shown here) at 6:45 p.m. and the bland “Haunted Mansion” (2023) at 8:50. Heavier? AMC has “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter” at 8 a.m. — then five films that followed it. The 1980 original is 8 p.m., with sequels at 10 and midnight. Read more…
1) “Mambo Legends, 10 p.m. , PBS. A propulsive sound emerged in 1940s and ’50s New York. It merged big-band horns with Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican rhythms, under the leadership of Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez and Machito. Now some of their musicians have revived the sound with the Mambo Legends band (shown here). This film has snatches of great music, plus a portrait of the era. Read more…
