1) Emmy awards, 8-11 p.m., NBC. Kenan Thompson (shown here in a “Saturday Night Live” sketch) hosts, with plans for a big opening number. He’s not much of a monologue guy, but other “SNL” people (past and present) will be there. They include Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon and Vanessa Bayer. Others range from Will Arnett to Natalie Zea, plus two people from “Squid Game,” a first-year show that’s up for best drama, in a field led by “Succession.”
2) “Independent Lens: Hazing,” 10 p.m., PBS (check local listings). Hazing can be a crisis anywhere, Byron Hurt says – but the problem is harshest at historically Black fraternities. He’s seen that from his own experience (on both ends of hazing) and he includes a vivid example here. Hurt has directed and narrated a jolting look at a sort of group-think that can turn tragic.
3) “Days of Our Lives,” any time, Peacock. Ever since 1965, this has been an NBC mainstay. Now it has jumped to a streaming service (a corporate partner of the network), replaced by a news hour. That leaves NBC soapless … and leaves only three daily soaps on the networks.
4) Football, 8:15 p.m. ET, ABC. For the next three weeks, ABC and ESPN will share “Monday Night Football.” That starts with a high-interest game – Russell Wiison’s first as the Denver quarterback, visiting Seattle – the team he led for a decade, including a Super Bowl championship. The game kicks “Bachelorette” to Tuesdays for the season’s final two episodes.
5) “The Jennifer Hudson Show” and “Sherri” debuts (check local listings). This is changeover day for daytime shows. “Days of Our Lives” leaves … many returning shows start their seasons … and these two debut. One has Hudson, an Oscar-winner and (like talk-show leader Kelly Clarkson) a powerhouse singer. The other has Sherri Shepard and bears the same name as her 2009 situation comedy.