1) “Cupertino,” 10 p.m., CBS. The season’s best new, broadcast-network show starts with a great pairing (shown here): He’s a veteran lawyer, big, confident and imposing; she’s a first-year lawyer, a tad timid, from a deeply religious family. For different reasons, they’ve been fired by an evil firm. The result, from the “Elsbeth” producers, ripples with rage and fun. Read more…
1) “Abbott Elementary” season-opener, 8:31 p.m. ABC. For broadcast networks, this is the only scripted, primetime show noticed by Emmy voters. It’s had 37 nominations (including this year for best comedy, plus three actors and more) and four wins. Now Gregory (James Tyler Williams, one of the nominees, shown here) starts his duties as assistant principal. Read more…
1) “NCIS: New York” debut, 9 p.m., CBS. For 342 episodes, LL Cool J, has played NCIS agent Sam Hanna in California and Hawaii. Now (shown here) Sam returns to his home town of New York. “Hasn’t changed much,” he says, amid a gun battle. After a dazzling little solo mission, he meets his new colleagues; the pairing with Scott Caan is excellent. Read more…
1) “Private Eyes West Coast” debut, 8 p.m., CW. The producers of CW’s fun “Wild Cards” launch another Canadian crime tale. In their “Private Eyes,” Jason Priestley and Cindy Sampson (shown here) worked for a Toronto detective agency. Now they quit their jobs and move to the serenity of Victoria, in British Columbia. There, of course, they find a murder. Read more…
1) “Marshals” season-opener, 8:30 p.m., CBS (but 8 p.m. on the West Coast). Other networks began earlier, but CBS held its scripted shows until now. It has 14 of them in the next six days (including “Tracker” at 9:30 today), starting here: Kayce likes Dolly Weaver (they’re shown here), but hates her dad, who wants to buy his ranch. The result is high-octane and lethal. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. It’s a busy time for Dakota Johnson. She stars in Taylor Swift’s new video and (with Anne Hathaway) in “Verity” (shown here), which reached theaters Friday. And now is her third time as “SNL” host. Turnstile — which won Grammys for best metal performance (“Birds”) and rock album — has its first turn as music guest Read more…
1) “Asco: Without Permission,” 10 p.m., PBS. In 1970, four Chicano teens (shown here a few years later) began guerrilla art in Los Angeles. They did parades, performances, graffiti, more. They called their group Asco, expanded it, then folded it in ’87, for separate careers. Now their early work is in the art galleries they mocked. It’s a great story, told with a few unneeded detours. Read more…
1) “Coven Academy” debut, 8-10 p.m., Freeform. Ready or not, “31 Nights of Halloween” is starting. There are movies — “Edward Scissorhands” at 11:30 a.m., “Addams Family” films at 1:55 and 3:55, “Hocus Pocus” at 5:55. Then “Coven” begins, with teen witches (shown here). You can catch it over three Thursdays, or all 10 episodes Friday on Disney+ and Hulu. Read more…
1) “Scrubs” season-openers, 8 and 8:30 p.m., ABC. Half-hour comedies are scarce now. This is the first broadcast-network one (cartoons excluded) with new episodes this fall. It juggles the serious — Dr. Cox has an incurable autoimmune condition — and the fun: Elliot (second from right) finds fresh confidence; J.D. (second from left) schemes an insurance workaround. Read more…
1) “Comics Unleashed” anniversary special, 9-11 p.m., CBS. At 18, Byron Allen was the youngest comedian to be on Johnny Carson’s show; at 65, Allen (shown here at one of his shows) has a company that owns stations, The Weather Channel, BuzzFeed and more. At the core are micro-budget shows like “Unleashed,” which was obscure until it took over Stephen Colbert’s spot; it marks its 20th year. Read more…
