Weekly Previews

1) “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” 9 p.m. Thursday, NBC. Last week, “Chicago Fire” had its 300th episode; now “SVU” (same producer and network) doubles that. This is the 600th, trailing only “The Simpsons” (815) and “Gunsmoke” (635). Mariska Hargitay (shown here) has been there the entire time; for this episode, Christopher Meloni — who did the first 12 seasons, left for a decade and now appears occasionally — returns as Stabler. Read more…

1) “St. Denis Medical” season-opener, 8 p.m. today, NBC. It was 36 years ago that David Alan Grier and Damon Wayans linked in the Emmy-winning “In Living Color.” Now they’ve re-united for one episode, a funny one: Ron (Grier, 70, shown here center in a previous episode) is recovering from heart surgery; his temporary replacement (Wayans, 66) spews slogans and pep talks. Read more…

1) “Newlyweds” debut, 8:30 p.m. Friday, NBC. Two gifted actors (shown here) cover turf they know. Tim Daly and Tea Leoni, 70 and 60, married last year, after a decade together; now they play people who marry quickly. She’s bold and instinctive; he’s not. Their fun world is spiced by his ex-wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) and his assistant (Bill O’Neill, a hilarious newcomer). Read more…

1) “The Lowdown” season-openers, 9 p,m, and 10:11-11:21 p.m. Wednesday, FX. Can Lee (Ethan Hawke, shown here) handle success? Mostly, no. He makes a mess of his award-acceptance speech; we also meet a new character (Tommy Lee Jones), capable of disrupting his world. Two great actors collide, in a show that’s sometimes overwrought, but mostly compelling. Read more…

1) “Cupertino” (shown here), 10 p.m. Thursday, CBS. He’s a veteran lawyer, big, confident and imposing; she’s a newcomer, a tad timid, from a deeply religious family. They have only one thing in common: Unfairly fired, they’re ready to clash with evil firms. The result is the season’s best new broadcast show. It’s from the “Elsbeth” producers, juggling humor and rage. Read more…

1) “Marshals” season-opener, 8:30 p.m. (but 8 p.m. PT) Sunday, CBS. This is when the new fall season is really here, CBS has held out, waiting to start its scripted shows Oct. 4-9. That begins with a high-stakes story: Kayce is starting to like Dolly Weaver (they’re shown here), but despises her dad, who wants to buy his ranch. That leads to a strong hour, high-octane and lethal. Read more…

1) “America’s Got Talent” finals, 10 p.m. Tuesday and 9-11 p.m. Wednesday, NBC. It’s been an odd year, with only two music acts — Nene Royal (shown here) and Lai Noelle, ages 16 and 14 — in the finals. There are four dance acts (including dogs, robots and light-up dancers), another dog act, two magic acts and an aerialist. They perform Tuesday and viewers vote; the next day, there’s a winner. Read more…

1) Emmy awards, 8 p.m. ET today, NBC. Mariska Hargitay hosts, after winning two Emmys in advance, for her documentary about her mother, Jayne Mansfield. She’s had eight acting nominations (and one win), but none in the past 15 years. Instead, the Emmys are now a streaming stronghold: NBC has 29 nominations; HBO Max has 122. At least, NBC can root for the Peacock version of “Traitors” (shown here with Tara Lipinski) to win, three days before the network version (see No. 3) debuts. Read more…

1) Football season-opener, 8:20 p.m. ET Wednesday, NBC. The pros are back, ready to gobble up our TV time. There’s a pre-game show at 7 p.m. and then a Super Bowl rematch, with the Seahawks (shown here last season) and Patriots. The next day, Netflix has the 49ers and Rams at 8:35. Then a stuffed Sunday will be capped by the Cowboys and Giants, at 8:20 p.m. on NBC. Read more…

1) “Marble Hall Murders” opener, 9 p.m. Sunday, PBS. For the third time, Anthony Horowitz has written a six-part mini-series on two levels: A book editor (Lesley Manville) probes a murder, while imagining chats (shown here) with a fictional detective … whom we see in a related novel. Like the others, this is a wondrously clever blend of character and mystery. Read more…