1) “American Ninja Warrior” finale, 8-10 p.m., NBC. Over the past three weeks, 32 people have survived head-to-head competition. Now (shown here) they compete, bracket-style, for the championship. Read more…
1) “Unforgotten” season-opener, 10 p.m., PBS. Each year, this has a deep and demanding story. Now solemn cops — one divorced, the other fuming at her cheating husband and sister — tackle a tough one. There’s a widow, her daughter and a right-wing commentator (shown here), plus Afghan refugees, an Albanian loan shark and more. The result is compelling. Read more…
1) College football season-openers. Most teams start next week, but there are exceptions, including five games today on national TV. The first has Kansas State (shown here last season) and Iowa State, ranked No. 17 and 22 in a pre-season poll, in Dublin (yes, that’s in Ireland) at noon ET on ESPN. Read more…
1) “Islam’s Greatest Stories of Love,” 9 p.m., PBS. Shattered by her father’s death, a Harvard grad student (shown here) visits five epic stories involving her faith. The first three are gorgeously filmed, but are sometimes grim and violent, told in a clumsy, stop-and-start way. The fourth is a passionate story of a sister’s love for a troubled boy who became the towering Malcolm X. Read more…
1) “Peacemaker” season-opener, HBO Max. James Gunn and John Cena are a perfect match. Gunn is the writer-director of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “Superman” and “Peacemaker,” with Cena as a jingoistic superhero (shown here) and/or supervillain. Both men blend action and humor neatly. Now, three-and-a-half years later, the second season finally begins. Read more…
1) “Elsbeth,” 10 p.m., CBS. This was one of the best episodes in a smart season: A video installation lets people in Manhattan commune with a tiny town in seaside Scotland. Elsbeth is soon drawn to a handsome Scottish musician (Ioan Gruffudd, who has portrayed Horatio Hornblower, Lancelot and Mr. Fantastic) who — from 3,000 miles away — is a witness. She confers (shown here) by long-distance phone. Read more…
1) “Alien: Earth,” 8 p.m., FX, rerunning at 9:17, 10:34, 11:52. Awesome visually and intense emotionally, this ratchets up the impact. The minds of dying kids were inserted into synthetic bodies; now one synth tries to save her brother, in a crashed ship with creatures. Adult synths loom, for bad (shown here) or good, plus a young genius obsessed with discovery. Read more…
1) “Lego Masters Jr.” debut, 8 p.m., Fox. Kids finally get to play with the toys. After five seasons with grown-ups, there’s a new age group (9-14) and host (Kelly Osbourne, right). For this four-week tournament, each kid duo gets a sorta-celebrity. The talent is huge; so is the hype. After a 10-minute intro, we see likable kids do great work. Read more…
1) “Nautilus” (shown here) season-finale, 9 p.m., AMC, rerunning at 11:07. Two large — and very different — episodes are back-to-back. First, Nemo and friends finally find the treasure land … and big trouble. Then, surprisingly, we get a corporate battle. Both hours strain credibility (especially the second). Still, this tends to be an oddly entertaining romp. Read more…
1) “Match Game,” 8-11 p.m., ABC. This show (shown here), hosted by Martin Short, is getting a big push. It has only had four hours (9 p.m. Wednesdays), but now three of them rerun here. Caroline Rhea and Constance Zimmer repeat as panelists at 8 and 10 p.m.; Triumph the Comedy Insult Dog is at 9. Read more…
