1) “Law & Order” (shown here) and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” 8 and 9 p.m., NBC. Next week, these shows begin their 25th and 27th seasons. First, here are reruns of the season-finales, involving the murder of a model and sexual assaults on female psychiatrists. At 10, “L&O” reruns a January episode, focusing on the murder of a music mogul. Read more…
1) “MasterChef” finale, 8-10 p.m., Fox. Three-course dinners offer broad choices. We see shrimp, salmon, lobster, short ribs, torte, mousse and more. Stretched over two hours, this feel-good finale does gets repetitious. Still, the duos — Julio Figuerdo and Rachel Sanchez (shown here), Jessica Bosworth and Jesse Rosenwald, Aivan Tran and Tina Duong — are impressive. Read more…
1) “The 1% Club” season-finale, 8 and 9 p.m., Fox. This is a great way to end a terrific season. Each hour brings back 100 people who were ousted on a previous show — ranging all the way from early losers (missing a question that 90 percent of people got) to people who reached the finals. With fun contestants and banter from Joel McHale (shown here), it’s a delight. Read more…
1) “Celebrity Weakest Link” debut, 9 p.m., Fox. Celebrity versions may work for some games, but not this one. “Weakest Link” is a dog-eat-dog game, based on dumping the others and getting the money. It doesn’t work with friends playing for charity. (Tonight has former “Glee” co-stars including, shown here, Jenna Ushkowitz and Amber Riley.) Jane Lynch adds quips, but it feels forced, a variation on her “Glee” character. Read more…
1) Emmy Awards, 8-11 p.m. ET, CBS. Nate Burgatze hosts on CBS … which has few nominations, beyond reality shows and Stephen Colbert. Instead, streamers dominate: Apple TV+ has two best-comedy nominees (“The Studio, “Shrinking”) and two for drama (“Severance,” “Slow Horses”). HBO has “White Lotus” (shown here) and “The Last of Us,” plus two for HBO Max. Read more…
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…
