1) “All Creatures Great and Small” season-opener, 9 p.m. Sunday, PBS. A good series starts its sixth season with its best episode yet, deeply moving on multiple fronts. Since Mrs. Hall’s departure, Siegfried (shown here) finds his home and life in shambles … a sheepdog’s ailment endangers the flock … and World War II is in its sixth year. The final minutes here are superb.
2) Football. First, the college guys have their semi-finals. That’s 7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday (Fiesta Bowl) and Thursday (Peach), filling spots in the Jan. 19 championship. Then the pros start their playoffs. There are wild-card games Saturday (4:30 p.m., Fox, 8 p.m., CBS), Sunday (daytime, CBS and Fox, 8:15 p.m., NBC) and 8:15 Jan. 12 on ABC.
3) “Best Medicine” opener, 8 p.m. Tuesday, Fox. “Doc Martin” was a terrific show about a surgeon, devoid of people skills, suddenly hired as the only doctor in an English village. Here’s the opening episode (which also aired post-football Sunday) of a reboot. It copies the plot, but not the droll, dry charm. In its own way, however, it’s an excellent show, filled with neatly eccentric folks and a mixed bag of odd stories.
4) “Brilliant Minds” return, 10 p.m. today, NBC. Just as Van had fallen back in love with his ex-wife, she had a fierce car crash. Now, after a month-long break, the show resumes with her being rushed to surgery. There are clumsy plot moves, involving the other driver and Van’s reactions. But then “Minds” rights itself, wrapping up a pivotal and emotional hour.
5) “Will Trent,” 8-11 p.m. today, then season-opener, 8 p.m. Tuesday. After months on the shelf, this well-made cop show returns. Tonight reruns last season’s final three episodes, culminating in a terrorist group’s biological attack. Then Tuesday starts the fourth season: Will goes rogue again, this time when someone from his past escapes from prison.
6) More ABC. All of the network’s scripted shows return in one busy week. Tuesday has “High Potential” at 9 p.m. and the “Rookie” season-opener at 10. Wednesday has comedies — “Shifting Gears” at 8, “Abbott Elementary” (after its pipes broke, the school moves into an old mall) at 8:30. Thursday has “9-1-1,” “9-1-1: Nashville” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”
7) “The Hunting Party” season-opener, 10 p.m., NBC. The first villain in this second season is way to similar to the second one in the first season. He’s also too creepy, albeit well-played by Eric McCormack. It’s a nasty hour, but gets a big lead-in: From 8-10 p.m., a crossover of “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” finds the leaders clashing.
8) U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Four weeks before the Winter Olympics, the U.S. finds its stars. After early rounds Wednesday and Thursday on USA, the finals are on NBC from 8-11 p.m. Friday (women and pairs) and Saturday (men and free-dance). Then the Olympic skaters will be announced at 2 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC.
9) “Bookish” debut, 10 p.m. Sunday, PBS. In one two-hour gulp, this opener would be almost adequate. Instead, it’s spread over two weeks; the first half leaves viewers with a tangled mess (further confused by thick accents), involving a crime-solving book-store owner. By comparison, the “Miss Scarlet” season-opener (8 p.m.) tells a sharp story in one hour.
10) ALSO: Wednesday is crowded: At 8 p.m., the two-hour opener of Fox’s “Masked Singer” …. at 9, an ABC tribute to “Golden Girls” … at 10, CBS debuts a true-crime series with author Harlan Coben. On Thursday, HBO Max has the season-opener of the Emmy-winning “The Pitt” — which is a nominee at the Golden Globes, from 8-11 p.m. Sunday on CBS.