1) “Tracker” season-opener, 8 p.m., CBS. In its first season, this jumped to No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings. Now it makes new-season changes: Velma is helping Reeme start her law office; Colter (Justin Hartley, shown here) obsesses on a long-running case. That takes time, so the case-of-the-week – an interesting one – is solved quickly. It’s a fairly good start to a promising season. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Two generations of singers combine: Ariana Grande (shown here), 31, hosts; Stevie Nicks, 76, is music guest. It’s odd that Grande — with six No. 1 albums — isn’t singing, but she’s also a comedy actress. She did 92 Nickelodeon episodes, plus musicals on Broadway, on TV and in the upcoming “Wicked” movies. Read more…
1) “NCIS,” 9 p.m., CBS. Three days before a prequel debuts, here’s the final episode (shown here) with Mark Harmon as Gibbs. That was in October of 2021, when he headed to Alaska. We’ll get a partial glimpse of him in the excellent “NCIS: Origins” opener, from 9-11 p.m. Monday. After that, he’s strictly the narrator. Read more…
1) “Matlock” and “Elsbeth” reruns, 9 and 10 p.m., CBS. In the old days, CBS had Angela Lansbury solving murders. Now it doubles up – two terrific shows with folksy women outsmarting the bad guys. For “Matlock,” this is the third run of the pilot film, with a clever twist at the end; for “Elsbeth,” it’s the season-finale (shown here), complete with an offbeat fashion show. Read more…
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…
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…
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) 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…
