Daily Best Bets

1) Halloween lite. There’s a long wait before trick-or-treating, so cable fills it. FX has all 31 “Simpsons Treehouse of Horror” (shown here) episodes — some family-friendly, some not — from 9 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Freeform has two each of “Twitches” (7 and 9 a.m.), “Halloweentown” (11 a.m. 1 p.m.) and “Addams Family” (5:10 and 7:15 p.m.) films, plus “Hocus Pocus” (3 and 9:20 p.m.) and the reboot of “Ghostbusters” (11:30 p.m.). Disney has “Zombies” movies at noon and 2 p.m. and a “Halloween House Party” at 5. Read more…

1) “Jazz at the Lincoln Center: A Swingin’ Sesame Street Celebration,” 9 p.m., PBS. From the start, “Sesame Street” has had sharp humor, vibrant visuals and great music. “I grew up loving the show,” Wynton Marsalis says. He’s guested on it and his trumpeter (Kenny Rampton) is in the “Sesame” band. Now the Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by Marsalis, offers a zestful hour of music, from “Sing” to “Rubber Duckie.” The “Sesame” stars – Bert and Ernie (shown here) and such – add dabs of humor. Read more…

1) “City So Real,” 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET, National Geographic. Here is an epic documentary, tackling an entire city (Chicago), with all its passion and quirks. It starts on July 4, 2018, a half-year before the mayoral primary. Some 21 candidates announce, 17 file petitions, 14 make the ballot. But it also involves the flavor of the city, from bars to barbershops. “Real” originally ended with the election, but Geographic added a fifth part – showing the new mayor encased in protest (shown here) and pandemic. Read more…

1) “American Housewife,” 8:30 p.m., ABC. As the season gradually emerges, here’s a boost: Now ABC has all of its Wednesday comedies in place. They range from “Goldbergs” at 8 to “Black-ish” at 9:30; now “Housewife” arrives a week later than the others. It starts with what was supposed to be last season’s finale: Kate scrambles to make sure Taylor (Meg Donnelly, shown here) graduates from high school. Also, her husband finishes his ghostwriting project and their younger-daughter agrees to try sleep-away summer camp. Read more…

1) “This Is Us” season-opener, 9-11 p.m., NBC. The best drama on broadcast TV is back – and sooner than originally announced. That has to be a good sign for viewers who want a dab of normalcy. When they last saw, Kevin was furious at Randall (Sterling K. Brown, shown here) for convincing their mother to leave town for an experimental Alzheimer’s treatment; he even blurted that he wishes his parents had never adopted Randall. Now we jump forward a few months, the the 40th birthday for both men and their sister Kate. Read more…

1) “Essential Heroes: A Momento Latino Event,” 9 p.m., CBS. While waiting for its shows to return, CBS is making good use of open spots on its schedule. Two shows – this Latino hour and Thursday’s “Every Vote Counts” –mix music and celebrities. Tonight, Gloria Estefan (shown here in an earlier photo) hosts (with Eva Longoria and Ricky Martin) and sings. Also performing are Pitbull, Juanes, Luis Fonsi and Kelsea Ballerini Read more…

1) “Scream” (1996), 9-11:30 p.m., CBS. We’re starting the final week (at last) before Halloween, with horror films everywhere. CBS has one of the best (airing a tad later than first planned). It began with a clever script from Kevin Williamson (“Dawson’s Creek”); then Wes Craven directed it beautifully, using a talented, young cast. Drew Barrymore has a great prologue; then the main body of the film stars Neve Campbell (shown here), Courteney Cox, Skeet Ulrich, David Arquette, Rose McGowan and more. Read more…

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. After three straight terrific episodes, “SNL” has a sort of diva summit: Adele (shown here) hosts, with H.E.R. as music guest. It’s the first time Adele has hosted “SNL” (or anything else) and only the third time she’s done the show. The first was on Oct. 18, 2008; she was 20 and Americans were about to elect Barack Obama. Now she’s back, shortly before another election. Read more…

1) “American Masters: Where Now Is,” 9 p.m., PBS. Michael Tilson Thomas was just 24, a California kid descended from cantors and Yiddish-theater stars, when he became assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony. The conductor became ill at intermission and he took over. He became a star … just as Leonard Bernstein once did, in similar circumstances, at 25. Like Bernstein, Thomas (shown here), 75, brings passion and telegenic flair. This film has warm personal moments and others that are mainly for classical buffs. Read more…

1) Presidential debate, 9-10:30 p.m. ET, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and news channels. This final match-up gained extra importance when the previous one was canceled: Unsure if Donald Trump had been infectious during the first face-off, the commission planned a virtual debate from separate locations. Trump refused; he and Joe Biden ended up in simultaneous town halls. Now the two have their second and last confrontation, 12 days before the election; alternatives include football (shown here) and movies. Read more…