Best-bets for Sept. 21: on the brink of new season

1) “American Ninja Warrior,” 9-11 p.m., NBC. In two weeks, NBC will fill this spot with new episodes of “Transplant” (a fairly good Canadian drama) and reruns of “Dateline.” For now, it reruns the “Ninja” special (shown here) from Monday – a relay race involving people who are couples in real life. That’s preceded at 8 p.m. by a “Password” rerun that has Jimmy Fallon and Meghan Trainor. Read more…

1) “American Ninja Warrior,” 9-11 p.m., NBC. In two weeks, NBC will fill this spot with new episodes of “Transplant” (a fairly good Canadian drama) and reruns of “Dateline.” For now, it reruns the “Ninja” special (shown here) from Monday – a relay race involving people who are couples in real life. That’s preceded at 8 p.m. by a “Password” rerun that has Jimmy Fallon and Meghan Trainor.

2) “Sex Education,” Netflix. Two years after the third season arrived, the fourth and final one is finally here. This centers on Otis, a teen who wants to be a sex therapist like his mom (Gilliam Anderson). With another student, he set up a sex-therapy clinic for their classmates. Now everything has changed. Maeve is studying in the U.S.; Otis and friends are in a new school; and his mom hates being single.

3) “Buddy Games,” 9 p.m., CBS. Last week’s debut was kind of fun, in a loose, fill-the-schedule-void kind of way. Now these campers (adults who are longtime friends) try “find the flag” and a variation on cornhole, with teammates as part of the target. It gets odder; next week is a prom.

4) Sports films, MGM+. Two of the all-time great sports films are back-to-back, followed by a so-so one. “Seabiscuit” (2003), at 5:35 p.m., is based on the true story of an undersized racehorse and oversized rider. “Hoosiers” (1986), at 8, was inspired by the story of a small-town Indiana basketball team. They’re gems, followed by the merely adequate “Blue Chips” (1994), with Nick Nolte as a basketball coach, ready to bend rules.

5) Movie double-headers, cable. There are three action franchises to choose from. Freeform has Andrew Garfield as “The Amazing Spider-Man” at 2:10 (2012) and 5:20 p.m. (2014). FX has “Iron Man” ones at 6 p.m. (2008) and 9 p.m. (2010). USA has “John Wick” films at 7 (2014) and 9 (2017).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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