1) Anniversary specials. Let’s celebrate the 50th anniversaries of places that range from soaring sopranos to talking mice. First (9 p.m. Thursday, CBS) is “The Price is Right,” which is actually 65, but moved to CBS on Sept. 4, 1972 – making this its 50th season. Then (8 p.m. Friday, ABC) is Disney World (shown here) – exactly 50 years after its Oct. 1, 1971 opening. Also (9 p.m. Friday, PBS) is the Kennedy Center, which started Sept. 8, 1971; performers include Renee Fleming, Keb’ Mo’ and Kelli O’Hara.
2) “Station 19” and “Grey’s Anatomy” season-openers, 8 and 9 p.m. Thursday, ABC. A crossover night starts with personal problems – big ones – at the firehouse. Just as Maya was marrying Stefania, she learned she’d been fired as captain; Andy blamed her own husband, Sullivan. Those issues and others are interrupted by crises at a festival. That takes us to the hospital, with its own woes. Bailey has trouble hiring doctors; Meredith meets a guy who knew her late mother … who lingers in her mind.
3) “Big Brother” finale, 9-11 p.m. Wednesday, CBS. Only two summer artifacts continue on the big networks. ABC’s “Bachelor in Paradise” continues from 8-11 p.m. Tuesday, ending a week later; and “Big Brother” ends now, naming a $750,000 winner. It started with 16 people and eventually reached its final four (a lawyer, a safety officer, a sales director and an account executive), with one more to dump before the finale. “Tough as Nails” arrives next week, with “Survivor” continuing at 8 p.m.
4) “Grantchester” season-opener, 9 p.m. Sunday, PBS. Usually a summer pleasure, this mystery series returns from a COVID delay. Now it’s expanded from six episodes to eight … with a personal crisis wrapping through many of them. Things start pleasantly, with a week at a summer resort. That includes Geordie, the cop, with his wife and kids; Will, the vicar; Leonard, the curate; and Daniel, Leonard’s secret lover, at a time when homosexuality was illegal. A murder mystery – a good one – soon appears.
5) “American Experience: Citizen Hearst,” 9-11 p.m. today and Tuesday, PBS. Fueled by money from his obliging mother, William Randolph Hearst created a string of 28 big-city newpapers and more. He invigorated a stodgy business with sharp writers and human-interest stories. He also cheapened it with rants and exaggerations. He built a castle, dated a movie star, ran for office, became the backer-turned-enemy of Franklin Roosevelt. This terrific film describes an epic life that crumbled in the Depression.
6) “The Good Doctor” season-opener, 10 p.m. today, ABC. Lea is a mere layman, surrounded by doctors, but she was at the core of last season’s finale in Guatemala. She helped save a baby and then proposed to Shaun. Now comes the engagement party; also Dr. Mateo Osma learns if he can work at the hospital, despite an old marijuana arrest. Also on ABC, “Big Sky” opens its season at 10 p.m. Thursday: Cassie and Jenny work new detective cases, while Ronald (and, maybe, Rick’s twin) looms.
7) “La Brea” debut, 9 p.m. Tuesday, NBC, rerunning at 8 p.m. Saturday. “Lost” had a plane crash, dumping people into a strange world. Now “La Brea” is quicker: The ground opens up, buildings crumble, people flee; some escape and others plunge into a netherworld, with ancient creatures. Eve (Natalie Zea) tries to help her teen son, while his sister and dad are top-side, surrounded by soldiers with sedrets. It’s a fascinating start … clouded by NBC’s habit of canceling sci-fin shows mid-story.
8) “Rhodes to the Top” debut, 10 p.m. Wednesday, TNT. Cody and Brandi Rhodes provide an appealingly modern face for wrestling. He’s a second-generation star, given to dapper clothes and near-platinum hair; she’s the first Black woman to run a wrestling group. This fairly interesting show acknowledges the fakery, with wrestling storylines carefully worked out. But it also visits the realities: During the season, Brandi, 37, has her first baby, then prepares to return to wrestling; Cody, 36, deals with some harsh injuries.
9) “S.W.A.T.” season-opener, 8 p.m. Friday, CBS. After four years of intense, urban action, we don’t expect to see Hondo moseying on horseback in Mexico’s ranchland. Last season, he talked to the press about racism in the police department; he was demoted and now retreats to a friend’s vacation home – and, in the cowboy tradition, helps some strangers. It’s a two-week tale that helps “SWAT” move to its new night. That’s followed by the season-openers of “Magnum P.I.” and “Blue Bloods” at 9 and 10.
10) “iHeart Radio Music Festival,” 8-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, CW. Here’s an annual custom: Ryan Seacrest hosts two days of concerts in Las Vegas; that’s edited into a two-night special. The Vegas shows had a little country (Darius Rucker, Sam Hunt, Russell Dickerson, Florida Georgia Line), some long-time bands (Cheap Trick, Journey, Maroon 5, Weezer) and lots of newer stars – Billie Eilish, Khalid, Dua Lipa, Lil Baby, Olivia Rodrigo, Nelly, The Kid Laroi, Saweetie, Gabby Barrett and more.