Best-bets for Oct. 17: “Succession” (at last) and “Baptiste” return

1) “Succession” season-opener, 9 p.m., HBO. We’re back – at last – to the story of a media mogul and his offspring and minions … each hoping to take over the empire. When the second season ended, his son Kendall (shown here) had publicly said he’s corrupt. The show won seven Emmys (including best drama), then had a long COVID pause. After a two-year absence, it’s back, simultaneously rippling with humor and intense drama. Kendall fidgets, then plans his next move; his siblings and others jockey for position. Read more…

1) “Succession” season-opener, 9 p.m., HBO. We’re back – at last – to the story of a media mogul and his offspring and minions … each hoping to take over the empire. When the second season ended, his son Kendall (shown here) had publicly said he’s corrupt. The show won seven Emmys (including best drama), then had a long COVID pause. After a two-year absence, it’s back, simultaneously rippling with humor and intense drama. Kendall fidgets, then plans his next move; his siblings and others jockey for position.

2) “SEAL Team,” 10:30 p.m. ET 10 p.m. PT, CBS. Last week, the team started a near-impossible task: Help a North Korean woman guide a weapons scientist to safety … while leaving no signs that Americans were involved. Now things go awry, in a taut and well-made hour.

3) “Baptiste” season-opener, 10 p.m., PBS. For three seasons – two in cable’s “Missing,” one in this show – we’ve seen the fictional Julien Baptiste trace people who disappeared. Now comes a case seen at two times: He tries to help a desperate official (the superb Fiona Shaw); 14 months later, now a ruined man, he’s asked to try again. This is well-made, but painful; that’s also true of tonight’s episodes of “Call the Midwife” and “Grantchester,” which precede “Baptiste” at 8 and 9 p.m.

4) “Diana,” 9 p.m. and midnight ET, CNN. The opener (rerunning at 8 and 11 p.m. ET today) introduced Diana as a well-liked but lonely kid who obsessed on romance novels with fairy-tale endings. Then she had her real-life romance with Prince Charles. Tonight, we see the wedding – and the signs of trouble. As she said, there were always three people in the marriage; the third was Camilla Parker-Bowles, Charles’ past and future lover.

5) ALSO: By switching channels, you can catch new Hallmark shows. At 8 p.m., the Hallmark Channel has the season-finale of “Chesapeake Shores.” From 9-11 p.m., Hallmark Movies & Mysteries debuts “Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Vows We Have Made.” A decade after her “Touched by an Angel” ended, Martha Williamson began these feel-good stories about people rescuing letters that weren’t delivered. This is the 13th movie, following a 10-hour series.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *