ABBOTT ELEMENTARY - “Pilot” – In this workplace comedy, a group of dedicated, passionate teachers — and a slightly tone-deaf principal — are brought together in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life. Though these incredible public servants may be outnumbered and underfunded, they love what they do — even if they don’t love the school district’s less-than-stellar attitude toward educating children. (ABC/Prashant Gupta)

Best-bets for Aug. 17: an “Abbott” mini-marathon

1) “Abbott Elementary,” 8-10 p.m., ABC Arriving at mid-season, “Abbott” has soared. It swept the Television Critics Association awards – program of the year, plus best new show, comedy and comedy individual (Quinta Brunson, shown here); it also has seven Emmy nominations, including best comedy. Now ABC celebrates with four reruns, starting with the pilot. At 8:30, Janine (Brunson) tries to know her colleagues better. Then come a step-dance class and “desking. Read more…

1) “Abbott Elementary,” 8-10 p.m., ABC Arriving at mid-season, “Abbott” has soared. It swept the Television Critics Association awards – program of the year, plus best new show, comedy and comedy individual (Quinta Brunson, shown here); it also has seven Emmy nominations, including best comedy. Now ABC celebrates with four reruns, starting with the pilot. At 8:30, Janine (Brunson) tries to know her colleagues better. Then come a step-dance class and “desking.”

2) “MasterChef,” 8 and 9 p.m., Fox. “So You Think You Can Dance” has ended its season, so Gordon Ramsay gets the whole night. Last week’s episode (rerunning at 8 p.m. Thursday) trimmed the field to 12 home chefs. Now they pick partners and try to make items from Ramsay’s restaurants. In the second hour, they work with GrubHub to elevate a take-out meal. Then the show will have its top 10.

3) “Password,” 9 p.m., NBC. After the “America’s Got Talent” results show at 8, we get some fun when an exuberant Martin Short faces Jimmy Fallon. The first half-hour includes two people who won on “Password” decades ago. One played with the master (Betty White), whose husband (Alan Ludden) was hosting.

4) “Resident Alien,” 10 p.m., Syfy. Harry thought he was doing Asta a favor by wiping her memory of a tough day. Harry, of course, is often wrong; outer-space aliens frequently are. Now he faces the aftershocks, in a solid and serious episode that has light moments around the edges.

5) Movies. There are some popular recent ones, including “Despicable Me” (2010), at 7 p.m. on Nickelodeon, “The Hangover” (2009) at 8 on FX and the epic “Black Panther” at 8 on FX. But the real pleasure could be when the Spencer Tracy marathon on Turner Classic Movies peaks with two comedies putting Tracy with Katharine Hepburn – “Adam’s Rib” (1949) at 8 p.m. ET and “Pat and Mike” (1952) at 10.

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