1) “MasterChef” finale, 8-10 p.m., Fox. This amiable show is strictly for home chefs. This year’s 15 contestants ranged from a student, 22, to a hospice nursing assistant, 59; they included a construction worker, an animal trainer and a lifestyle coach. Now we have the final three – Autumn Moretti (shown here), 27, a bartender; Suu Khin, 30, a food-blogger; and Kelsey Murphy, 32, a physical therapist. Read more…
1) “America’s Got Talent,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. The ratings-leader is ready to pick a champion. Tonight, the 10 finalists perform and viewers vote; Wednesday’s finale (9-11 p.m.) will name the winner. Singers won in five of the first six years, then went two for nine. This year’s final-10 has three singers and a nurses’ chorus (shown here), plus two comedians, two magicians, an acrobat and a taekwondo team. They range from singer Victory Brinker, 9, to Josh Blue, 42, and already a “Last Comic Standing” winner. Read more…
1) “Hell’s Kitchen” (Fox) and “American Ninja Warrior” (NBC) finales, 8-10 p.m. Next Monday, the new season officially starts. First, there’s a flurry of finales – these two, plus “Lego Masters” Tuesday and “MasterChef” and “America’s Got Talent” Wednesday. This edition of “Hell’s Kitchen” is confined to young pro chefs, 24 and under; tonight, that’s trimmed to two, who each lead the preparation of a five-course dinner. Also, “Ninja” (shown here in a previous episode) wraps its three-parter, as people face the final obstacle course. Read more…
1) “American Rust” debut, 10 p.m,, Showtime. As a soldier and as a Pittsburgh cop, Del (Jeff Daniels, shown here) was battered emotionally. He retreated to become police chief of a small town in rural Pennsylvania; there, it turns out, the problems are more personal and more painful: His sometimes-lover (Maura Tierney) faces foreclosure; her son becomes a murder suspect. Based on a much-praised novel, “Rust” is written and played with the sort of understated power that Daniels masters. Read more…
1) 9/11 (shown here) coverage, all day. Twentieth-anniversary ceremonies start at 8:30 a.m.ET in New York and 9:45 a.m. in Shanksville, Pa., with the broadcast networks and cable news channels covering. There’s much more, with 9/11 marathons starting at 7 a.m. on History, 9 a.m. on Discovery and 12:30 p.m. on National Geographic. Reruns will dominate, but there are also new specials we’ll mention next. Read more…
1) “Race Against Time: The CIA and 9/11,” 8-10 p.m., CBS, and more. On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the 9/ll attacks (shown here), the biggest networks jump in. CBS views the CIA’s failure to spot the attack in advance … and its success in finding Osama bin Laden. ABC counters with “20/20”: At 9 p.m., David Muir talks about the ways 9/11 shaped American life; at 10. Diane Sawyer talks with 40 families that lost husbands and fathers that day. And at 10, NBC’s “Dateline” talks to the families of people whose loved ones died in the Shanksville, Pa., crash. Read more…
1) Pro football season-opener, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC, with pre-game at 7:30. A new season begins, just when we all need (and deserve) a distraction. Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs had a slow start last year, then finished with eight straight wins and the Super Bowl championship. They host the Dallas Cowboys, with Dak Prescott back. Last year, the Cowboys were 2-3 before his inury, 4-7 afterward. Read more…
1) “Riverdale,” 8 p.m., CW. Great music and a so-so story combine, for what could be a pilot for a new series – and a good one. Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray) did the first few “Riverdale” seasons – mostly singing, alone or with the Pussycats. She left for the “Katy Keene” series, then disappeared … until now. The story is rather monotone, repeating similar emotions from each character and scene. But the music – six numbers, ranging from “Little Shop of Horrors”(shown here) to a Nina Simone ballad– is sensational. Read more…
1) “Impeachment: American Crime Story” opener, 10 p.m., FX; rerunning hourly. Five years after he triumphed with the O.J. Simpson mini-series, Ryan Murphy has one that’s almost as good. It’s both funny and enraging, as Monica Lewinsky (shown here in real life) — sweet-spirited and emotionally fragile — inadvertantly shattered Bill Clinton’s presidency. Sarah Burgess’ script will leave viewers loving Lewinsky (a consultant on the project) and Paula Jones and hating Linda Tripp – perfectly played by Beanie Feldstein, Annaleigh Ashford and Sarah Paulson. Read more…
1) “Harry and Meghan: Escaping the Palace,” 8 p.m., Lifetime. It’s a trilogy now, for Lifetime’s favorite couple (shown here in real life). The fairly charming “Harry and Meghan: A Royal Romance” (2018) reruns at 3 p.m., with “Harry and Meghan: Becoming Royal” (2019) at 5:30; then this new film arrives. Surprisingly, different actors play the couple each time. At 10:03 p.m. is a new special, “The American Royal Baby.” Read more…
