1) “9/11: One Day in America,” 9-10:30 p.m., National Geographic, rerunning at 11:30. This launches a three-night stretch of riveting television. Working with the 9/11 memorial (shown here), people dug through 950 hours of film from Sept. 11, 2001, added fresh interviews, then assembled it all with skill and restraint. There are deep waves of tragedy, but also surprising bursts of feel-good stories. Here is human nature at its best – heroism and stoic survival, mixed in with bursts of sheer luck. The stories are beautifully related.
2) “Wicked in Concert,” 9 p.m., PBS. The 18-month Broadway break is finally ending, with some shows re-opening Sept. 14. First, here’s a cleverly crafted celebration: Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, the original “Wicked” stars, sing a closing song and introduce others. There’s way too much empty talk here, but the music – performed in three cities – is superbly done by Jennifer Nettles, Ariana DeBose, Cythia Erivo, Amber Riley, Alex Newell, Ali Stroker, Isaac Powell and many more.
3) Football, 4 p.m. ET, CBS, and 8 p.m., NBC. The short, pre-season stretch ends today, with the Dolphins and the Bengals at 4 and the Browns and Falcons at 8. Also, there’s a tripleheader on cable’s NFL Network – Jaguars-Cowboys at 1 p.m. ET, Raiders-49ers at 4, Patriots-Giants at 6. Then everyone regroups, before the real games begin on Sept. 9 and 12.
4) “Walking Dead,” 9-10:14 p.m., AMC, rerunning at 11:14 p.m. and 12:28 a.m. In last week’s season-opener (rerunning at 7:53 p.m.), Maggie led a desperate search for food. That ended with her people fleeing to a subway tunnel, which they try to novigate tonight. Also at 9, TNT’s “Animal Kingdom” has Pope trying to help a new friend, while the other guys deal with the fall-out from past mistakes.
5) “Work in Progress,” 11 and 11:30 p.m., Showtime. This smart and likable show usually has lots of quiet moments, but tonight it cranks up the volume. First, Abby and Campbell daringly visit both of their eccentric families the same day. Then Julia Sweeney tries to make amends for flubbing a revival of her “It’s Pat” character. Both episodes are busy and funny, with a dab of warmth.