1) “The Groomsmen: Second Chances,” 8-10 p.m., Hallmark. Jonathan Bennett planned this three-week mini-series as a reflection of his own life — a guy who’s gay, with best friends who aren’t. In least week’s opener, Danny (Bennett, right) convinced a friend center) to pursue a woman he’d just met. Now Danny ponders telling his best friend Zach that he loves him. Read more…
1) “The Rainmaker,” 10 p.m., USA. By the end of this hour — the mid-point in a 10-week story — there’s a key change. First, Rudy (shown here with his hard-edged boss) and his girlfriend face each other in court. What Rudy really needs is to find two witnesses, both nurses; right now, one holds the other captive. Despite flaws — including a stereotypically close-minded cop — it’s a strong hour. Read more…
1) 9/ll films. There have been some bracing documentaries about the Sept. 11 attacks (shown here). Now, 24 years later, those films rerun on History (7 a.m. to 4 a.m.) and National Geographic (8 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.) Especially powerful are History’s “102 Minutes That Changed America” (10:04 p.m.) and Geographic’s “9/11: One Day in America” (8 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.). Read more…
1) “MasterChef,” 8 p.m., Fox. After choosing its three finalists last week, the show now pauses. This episode (which reruns on Friday) offers season highlights, plus profiles of the remaining duos. Two are married — Zach and Michelle Lamb and (shown here) Rachel Sanchez and Julio Figuerdo; Jessica Bosworth and Jesse Rosenwald have been together for eight years Read more…
1) “America’s Got Talent,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. The final eleven acts vie for the last four spots in the semi-finals. Ages range from 10 (in the Birmingham Youth Choir) to 66 (in the Funkateers dancers, shown here). There are four more music acts and another dance one, plus a magician, a bodybuilder, acrobats and a laser act. We’ll get the results Wednesday. Read more…
1) Football, 8 p.m. ET, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2. “Monday Night Football” was an ABC bedrock for 35 years. It slid over to ESPN for 14 years, then returned to help ABC during the pandemic, the strikes and general hard times. Now it’s on both networks, starting with the Minnesota Vikings (shown here in a previous season), 14-3 during the regular season last year, at the Chicago Bears, 5-12. Read more…
1) “MTV Video Music Awards,” 8 p.m. ET, CBS, MTV and Paramount+. After 40 years on MTV, this adds CBS, with LL Cool J hosting. There are special awards for Mariah Carey (shown here) and Ricky Martin. They’ll perform, as will Post Malone, Jelly Roll, Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat, Tate McRae and more, including an Ozzy Osbourne tribute with Steve Tyler and Joe Perry. Read more…
1) “The Groomsmen: First Look” (shown here), 8-10 p.m., Hallmark. Here’s the start of an ambitious trilogy that helped launch the Hallmark+ streamer last year. Pete, a pediatrician, meets Chelsea, a doctor. She lives overseas, so they don’t feel this could work. His friends, Danny and Jackson; disagree; over the next two Saturdays, they’ll have their own romance movies. Read more…
1) “Highest 2 Lowest,” Apple TV+. With TV in its pre-season lull, streamers are bringing their top stuff. For this movie, Spike Lee directed Denzel Washington (shown hgere) in a remake of a Japanese crime classic. That follows Thursday’s terrific “The Paper” (Peacock) and “NCIS: Tony & Ziva” (Paramount+); coming Tuesday is Hulu’ “Only Murders in the Building.” Read more…
1) Football, 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC. . The pro season begins, promising to dominate TV viewership. This opener has the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles (shown here in a previous season), 14-3 in the regular season, host the Dallas Cowboys 7-10, with a pre-game show at 7. Most of the other teams start Sunday. Read more…
