1) “MTV Video Music Awards,” 8 p.m., MTV, BET, CMT, Comedy Central; also, MTV has a preview at 6:30, repeats awards at 11. Megan Thee Stallion (shown here) hosts and performs. Also performing: Katy Perry (the Video Vanguard winner), Lenny Kravitz, Sabrina Carpenter, Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello, LL Cool J, Halsey and more. Read more…
In a war of words, Anthony Horowitz could easily top Alan Conway.
Both are writers, but Horowitz is sharper, smarter and more real. Conway, his fictional creation, is an unpleasant chap.
He’s “the exact opposite of me,” Horowitz told the Television Critics Association. “And I have a lot of fun having a dig at him.”
Conway was killed in PBS’ “Magpie Murders.” He’s back (via flashbacks) in “Moonflower Murders” (shown here) at 9 p.m. on six Sundays, starting Sept. 15 — again implying that mystery writers are a nasty bunch. No one should marry one, he says, because they’re the most self-centered people in the world.
In real life, Jill Green did marry a mystery writer and seems happy about it. She and Horowitz have been married for 36 years; she’s the producer for many of his shows, including “Foyle’s War,” “Alex Rider,” “Moonflower” and more. “We can still argue in a room, … but I love it,” she said. Read more…
1) Presidential debate, 9-10:30 p.m. ET, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS, BET and news channels. It’s a high-stakes night at the Constitution Center (shown here) in Philadelphia, under firm rules. David Muir and Linsey Davis ask the questions; Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have two minutes each to reply, and are muted otherwise. Trump won a coin flip and goes last in closing remarks. Read more…
1) “Monday Night Football” season-opener, 8:20 p.m. ET, ABC and ESPN. A year ago, the Jets’ expectations soared. They had traded for Aaron Rodgers, a four-time MVP with the highest career quarterback rating. Rodgers (shown here) threw one pass (incomplete) and, on his fourth play, was injured. He returns tonight, facing the 49ers. Read more…
TV has a few things that seem permanent and unyielding.
There’s “NCIS” and “Law & Order,” Judge Judy and Charles Barkley and the Hallmark Channel. Except, now even Hallmark is changing.
The basics will stay the same. This season, the cable channels (Hallmark and Hallmark Mysteries) will combine for about 100 new movies, 40 of them with Christmas themes. Attractive young men and women will still bicker briefly, before deciding they kind of like each other.
But beyond that are the changes, including:
— Streaming. Hallmark Movies Now expands to become Hallmark+, with lots of old shows and some new ones. It starts Tuesday (Sept. 10) with a series (“The Chicken Sisters”), a movie trilogy (“Love on the Danube,” shown here) and a reality show (“Celebrations with Lacey Chabert”); there will be more soon. Read more…
1) “Tulsa King,” 8 p.m., CBS. It’s time for a showdown, with Dwight (Sylvester Stallone, shown here) and his crew facing Waltrip and his motorcycle gang. Also, a flashback shows why Dwight went to prison, 25 years ago. That wraps the first season; the second starts next Sunday on Paramount+, where this episode aired 20 months ago. Read more…
1) Emmy awards. 8 p.m. ET Sunday, ABC (5 and 8 p.m. on the West Coast.. It’s time to honor the best of a strike-shattered season … then move on to a better one. Eugene and Dan Levy are the father-son hosts. Netflix has 107 nominations, but FX has the top individual shows – “Shogun” (shown here) for drama (25), “The Bear” for comedy (23). Read more…
1) “Ghost” (1990), 6 p.m., CMT; 6:45, Showtime. The world seems to really want us to see Demi Moore (shown here) and Patrick Swayze film, airing it on two networks. It is a good one, richly romantic. More romance is available all day on Hallmark (including Lacey Chabert’s new “His & Hers” at 8) and on Great American Family. Read more…
CBS is taking its first, hesitant steps toward having a longer morning show.
On Sept. 30, “CBS Mornings Plus” will debut at 9 a.m. ET. Tony Dokoupil, one of the “CBS Mornings” hosts, will stick around for the third hour, joined by Adriana Diaz. (They’re shown here.)
But the network says the show will only be on a few stations it owns – in Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Miami and San Francisco – plus the streaming service, CBS News 24/7. Presumably, it could expand to others. Read more…
1) “WWE SmackDown,” 8-10 p.m. Friday. Virtually every week for five years, this has been Fox’s Friday show. Even during summers, strikes and Covid, it’s been there. Now that ends; next week, “SmackDown” (shown here) returns to the USA Network. It’s been there before, and at UPN, CW, Syfy and MyNetwork. Read more…
