1) “Grantchester” season-opener, 9 p.m., PBS. On one level, this is an uncommonly bright hour: The crimesolving vicar vacations at a summer resort with his housekeeper (plus her husband), his curate (plus his secret lover) and his Geordie (they’re shown here) the cop (plus wife and kids). A solid murder mystery ensues – while planting the seeds for wrenching moments in the weeks ahead. There’s a lot of that sometimes; the “Call the Midwife” season-opener, at 8 p.m., is exceptionally grim.
2) “Animal Kingdom” season-finale, 9 p.m., TNT; rerunning at 10. This is what the show has been pointing toward – a daring, multi-million-dollar daytime heist. The result is exciting and high-octane, while straining believability at every turn. We also get glimpses of the brooding and brutal Pope now and as a boy, in flashbacks with two now-dead people – his mother and sister.
3) “Billions” season-finale, 9 p.m., Showtime, rerunning at 12:30 a.m. The three-way battle between Chuck, Axe and Prince accelerates, while Taylor reaches a decision point. This wraps a season that was split by a COVID shutdown. “Billions” plans to quickly start the new season in January.
4) “Star Trek” (2009), 8:30 p.m., CBS. “Equalizer” and the other Sunday dramas start their seasons next week; first, CBS has one more movie night. This popular prequel shows Kirk and Spock (Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto) forming a duo-of-opposites. Two more fantasy epics, both from 2019, are – dark (“Joker,” 6:15 p.m., TNT) and light (the clever “Captain Marvel,” 7:30 p.m., TNT).
5) “Fox News Channel: 25 Years,” 10 p.m. ET, Fox News. Thursday marks the 25th birthday of FNC, the controversial ratings-leader. There will be features throughout the week, but this special includes many of the most polarizing figures – Tucker Carlson, Jeanine Pirro, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Pete Hegseth, Ainsley Earhardt and more, including some of the people who were there at the start.