Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Oct. 7: “Tracker” leads a spurt of openers

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…

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. Read more…

Week’s top-10 for Sept. 23: Debuts, country and a vital “Choice”

1) “The Choice,” 9-11 p.m. Tuesday, PBS. Each presidential year, the “Frontline” people create a profile of the candidates. The result – in the PBS tradition – tends to be deep, detailed and even-handed. Now comes the third “Choice” portrait of Donald Trump and the first of Kamala Harris. Even in a week stuffed with debuts (including “Murder in a Small Town,” shown here), this is the most important telecast. Read more…

Week’s top-10 for Sept. 16: “Matlock” leads start of new shows

1) “Matlock” debut, 8 p.m. Sunday, CBS. This may be the best new show on any of the broadcast networks. In a tradition that goes from Miss Marple to Elsbeth, it gives us an older woman who’s underestimated until she solves the case. Then, however, it flips that cleverly. Kathy Bates (shown here) is perfect as a lawyer who bears the same surname as an old TV lawyer. Read more…