1) “Murder in a Small Town” season-opener, 8 p.m., Fox. This was one of last season’s best surprises, filled with subtlety and humanity. There’s a soft-spoken police chief, his librarian lover (they’re shown here) and diligent deputies. The second season starts with a domestic dispute gone bad. With the exception of an out-of-sync character (the mayor), it’s an excellent hour. Read more…
1) “The Voice,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. For reality shows, this is a pivotal week. There are finales (“America’s Got Talent” on Wednesday, “Project Runway” Thursday, “Big Brother” Sunday) and eight season-openers. That includes “Voice,” with its people — Snoop Dogg (shown here in tonight’s opener), Reba McEntire, Michael Buble and Niall Horan — starting to find their singers. Read more…
1) “A Grammy Salute to Earth, Wind & Fire: The 21at Night of September,” 8-10 p.m. ET, CBS. With its vibrant blend of pop, jazz, R&B and more, EWF (shown here) has had seven top-10 singles; one asks: “Do you remember the 21st night of September?” Now, on Sept. 21, we get EWF, Stevie Wonder, Janelle Monae, Jon Batiste, the Jonas Brothers and the London Philharmonic. Read more…
1) “The Groomsmen: Last Dance,” 8-10 p.m., Hallmark. This wraps up a sunny trilogy that has three pals (shown here)looking for love in Europe. The first film (rerunning at 10:01) focused on Pete (B.J. Britt), the second on Danny (Jonathan Bennett). Now Jackson (Tyler Hynes) moves to Italy, to be near his children. Read more…
1) CBS fall preview, 9 p.m., CBS. This is the one place that has much to preview. The other three big networks, combined, have only four new shows (only one of them scripted) this fall. But CBS has a sharp comedy (“DMV,” shown here), two cop dramas (the strong “Boston Blue” and so-so “Sheriff Country”) and a promising music competition (“The Road”). Read more…
1) “Law & Order” (shown here) and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” 8 and 9 p.m., NBC. Next week, these shows begin their 25th and 27th seasons. First, here are reruns of the season-finales, involving the murder of a model and sexual assaults on female psychiatrists. At 10, “L&O” reruns a January episode, focusing on the murder of a music mogul. Read more…
1) “MasterChef” finale, 8-10 p.m., Fox. Three-course dinners offer broad choices. We see shrimp, salmon, lobster, short ribs, torte, mousse and more. Stretched over two hours, this feel-good finale does gets repetitious. Still, the duos — Julio Figuerdo and Rachel Sanchez (shown here), Jessica Bosworth and Jesse Rosenwald, Aivan Tran and Tina Duong — are impressive. Read more…
1) “The 1% Club” season-finale, 8 and 9 p.m., Fox. This is a great way to end a terrific season. Each hour brings back 100 people who were ousted on a previous show — ranging all the way from early losers (missing a question that 90 percent of people got) to people who reached the finals. With fun contestants and banter from Joel McHale (shown here), it’s a delight. Read more…
1) “Celebrity Weakest Link” debut, 9 p.m., Fox. Celebrity versions may work for some games, but not this one. “Weakest Link” is a dog-eat-dog game, based on dumping the others and getting the money. It doesn’t work with friends playing for charity. (Tonight has former “Glee” co-stars including, shown here, Jenna Ushkowitz and Amber Riley.) Jane Lynch adds quips, but it feels forced, a variation on her “Glee” character. Read more…
1) Emmy Awards, 8-11 p.m. ET, CBS. Nate Burgatze hosts on CBS … which has few nominations, beyond reality shows and Stephen Colbert. Instead, streamers dominate: Apple TV+ has two best-comedy nominees (“The Studio, “Shrinking”) and two for drama (“Severance,” “Slow Horses”). HBO has “White Lotus” (shown here) and “The Last of Us,” plus two for HBO Max. Read more…
