Daily Best Bets

1) “The Simpsons” season-opener, 8 p.m., Fox. In a burst of self-discovery, Mr. Burns finds that his workers don’t like him. His solution is in the “Undercover Boss” style: With an elaborate disguise, pretend to be a new worker. The result is darkly funny and a reminder that animation shows weren’t stopped by COVID. The season-opener of “Bless the Harts,” “Bob’s Burgers” and “The Family Guy” follow at 8:30, 9 and 9:30 p.m.
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1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. A week before launching its new season, “SNL” reruns one of its best episodes. Eddie Murphy (shown here) had stayed away from the show (not counting an anniversary special) for 35 years. Once he returned, however, he did all of his best characters – including a brilliant “Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood” bit in which he swiped Amazon packages in his gentrified neighborhood. He won an Emmy (his first) for best comedy guest; Lizzo is the music guest Read more…

1) “Greatest #AtHome Videos” return, 8 p.m., CBS. Alongside lots of dead-serious shows today, we get an amiable trifle. This began as a one-shot special in May, showing how some people used their pandemic time to create videos – funny (including the “Les Miserables” take-off shown here), quirky, sometimes even emotional. That came back for four summer Fridays and now is a temporary series. Tonight, we see a high school principal’s version of M.C. Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” … followed by a suprise virtual visit from Hammer. Read more…

1) “Star Trek: Discovery” opener, 10 p.m. CBS. For six previous series – scattered over 54 years – “Trek” focused on the captains. This one – which previously aired on CBS All Access – centers on the science officer (Sonequa Martin-Green, shown here). A human raised in the Vulcan culture, she has Spock-ian logic and Kirk-ian passion … nudging her near mutiny tonight. The hour feels a bit cold and militaristic, but has an epic look. This is big-screen stuff, spectacular in its visuals and in its villains. Read more…

1) “The Masked Singer” opener, 8 p.m., Fox. Last season (shown here), this was a ratings hit – No. 12 in the overall Nielsen ratings and No. 3 – trailing only two football nights, among viewers 18-49. Now it’s the key to Fox’s makeshift fall schedule. It has all the usual oddities … plus, this time, a two-headed mask. Read more…

1) “Frontline: The Choice,” 9-11 p.m., PBS. Even “America’s Got Talent” finalists (shown here)  can’t match the impact of the America’s-got-politics finalists. This is biography at its best, bouncing between the lives of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and finding huge contrasts. Biden faced immense troubles, from boyhood stuttering to the death of his wife and two of his children; Trump was sent to military school, where he savored being in command. Biden made big mistakes, including plagiarism; he apologized and adjusted. Donald Trump had bankruptcies, divorces, rants and more; he admits no mistakes. Read more…

1) “L.A.’s Finest” debut, 8 p.m., Fox. The fall TV season gets off to a quick, slick start. “Finest” – which aired previously on the Spectrum system – is descended from the “Bad Boys” film and has a big-movie look. Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba (shown here) play police detectives. The opener has clever dialog and big chase scenes and shoot-em-ups – so big that the show often strains believability. Read more…

1) Emmy awards, 8-11 p.m. ET, 5-8 p.m. and 8-11 p.m. PT, ABC. The sheer size of the TV world makes this a challenge. Producers Ian Stewart and Reg Hudlin (shown here) have sent camera kits to 130 nominees around the country (plus Tel Aviv, Berlin and more). There will be humor (Jimmy Kimmel does the opening monolog) and music, with H.E.R. singing during the “In Memoriam” segment. And others will help, including Oprah Winfrey, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Patrick Stewart, Anthony Anderson, RuPaul, and Count Von Count, of “Sesame Street” fame. Read more…

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Will Ferrell spent seven years at “SNL,” doing silly things – cheerleader skits (shown here) and such – and them portraying George W. Bush and Alex Trebek and more. A 2014 poll named him viewers’ all-time favorite on the show. He and Adam McKay (a former “SNL” head writer) took a Bush show to Broadway, created the Funny or Die video channel and made movies, from “Elf” to “Anchorman.” Here’s a rerun of Ferrell’s fifth time as host; King Princess is the music guest. Read more…

1) “Great Performances: Now Hear This” season-opener, 9 p.m., PBS. For almost 30 years, Joseph Haydn worked for a mega-rich family in rural Hungary and Austria. The bad news was that he was a servant – wearing a uniform, traveling with the family, sometimes even pouring drinks. The good: He was the music-master and had his own small orchestra. Now violinist Scott Yoo (shown here) visits and plays in the rooms where Haydn molded string-quartet music; he also visits influences, from bagpipers to gypsy bands. Read more…