1) “The Simpsons” season-opener, 8 p.m., Fox. The only thing that can save the school is getting a British author (Emma Thompson) to Springfield. And the only one who can do it, alas, is Homer (shown here with her). This, of course, requires car theft, jail break and freeway chaos There are plenty of funny moments, plus a clever shift into styles of children’s-book artwork.
2) “Video Music Awards,” 7:30-9:30 p.m. ET, CBS, MTV and Paramount+. Two mega-stars are featured: Taylor Swift gets the first Artist Director honor; Madonna, one of the first Video Vanguard winners (40 years ago), opens the show. Snoop Dogg hosts, with music by Shaboozey, Lisa, Gunna and more, including a big George Michael tribute.
3) “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” 7 p.m., ABC. The 37th season starts with looks at summer plans gone awry. That’s followed by a rerun at 8:01 and then by the season-opener of the Sunday movies. This one is “Inside Out 2” (2014), a clever look at Anxiety entering a crowded head.
4) “Marble Hall Murders,” 9 p.m., PBS. Things escalated last week, when a drunken Elliot said he knows who killed his grandmother … then was struck bya car. Now there are new suspects — including Susan; she probes Elliot’s novel-in-progress for clues. That’s followed by “Trespasses”; Cushla’s affair with a crusading (and married) lawyer intensifies.
5) ALSO: CBS nudges “Big Brother” back to 9:30 p.m., four days before its finale. And Fox has three more openers — an OK “Animal Control” at 8:30, a dreary “Universal Basic Guys” at 9 and a kinda-interesting, parody-stuffed “Grimsburg” at 9:30.