Weekly Previews

1) “B Positive,” 9:30 p.m. Thursday, CBS. After a good first season, this had a drastic makeover. The focus is still on the good-hearted (but sometimes-daft) Gina, brilliantly played by Annaleigh Ashford. But now she has inherited $48 million – and has bought the retirement home where she worked. That brings a flock of Tony-winners – Ashford, Ben Vereen, Linda Lavin, Priscilla Lopez – plus Jane Seymour (shown here with Veree ) and Hector Elizondo. At 10 p.m., switch to FX for the “What We Do In the Shadows” season-finale. Read more…

1) “The Blacklist” season-opener, 8 p.m. Thursday, NBC. As the eighth season ended, Red (James Spader, shown here) told Liz (Megan Boone, who was leaving the show) she shoot him an then read a letter revealing his secrets. Instead, a gunman killed her; Red killed him and fled. Now, on a new night, we jump ahead two years. Red vanished, the task force folded, but a new threat brings them back together. It’s the 175th episode; then again, at 9 p.m., NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” has its 500th. Read more…

1) “Succession” season-opener, 9 p.m. Sunday, HBO. The first two seasons were deluged with praise, including one Emmy for best drama series and two for best drama writing. Then – right after Kendall Roy (shown here)had a blistering statement against his dad – came a two-year, COVID-prolonged pause. Now the show is back and going at full-speed. Kendall plots while his dad considers stepping back. But who would fill in? His three offspring lobby, in an hour filled with schemes plus some bursts of humor. Read more…

1) “Ghosts” debut (shown here), 9 and 9:30 p.m. Thursday, CBS. Ever since “Big Bang,” CBS has stuck to a comedy formula. It has sharp, verbal shows; most are produced by Chuck Lorre, most have a studio audience. Now it detours – no Lorre, no audience, lots of sight gags. The result works wonderfully. In “iZombie,” Rose McIver showed she’s perfect at sci-fi humor. Now she plays a young wife who has a near-death experience; after surviving, she’s the only living person who can see the ghosts in her historic house. Read more…

1) Anniversary specials. Let’s celebrate the 50th anniversaries of places that range from soaring sopranos to talking mice. First (9 p.m. Thursday, CBS) is “The Price is Right,” which is actually 65, but moved to CBS on Sept. 4, 1972 – making this its 50th season. Then (8 p.m. Friday, ABC) is Disney World (shown here) – exactly 50 years after its Oct. 1, 1971 opening. Also (9 p.m. Friday, PBS) is the Kennedy Center, which started Sept. 8, 1971; performers include Renee Fleming, Keb’ Mo’ and Kelli O’Hara. Read more…

1) “NCIS: Hawaii” debut, 10 p.m. today, CBS. Yes, the TV world has too many spin-offs and reboots. This one, however, gets it right. It starts with great Hawaiian backdrops and a likable star, Vanessa Lachey (shown here), as the bureau chief. Then it surrounds her with strong support; Alex Tarrant, a New Zealand actor with Maori roots, is especially good as the team’s only native Hawaiian. The stories are also solid; that starts with a mysterious plane crash that leads to confrontations with dangerous outsiders. Read more…

1) “America’s Got Talent” finale, 8-10 p.m. Tuesday and 9-11 p.m. Wednesday, NBC. Singers use to dominate this ratings-leader, winning the championship in five of the first six years. Since then, however, they’ve only won two of nine. This year’s final-10 has three singers and a nurses’ chorus, plus two comedians, two magicians, an acrobat and a taekwondo team. The youngest is Victory Brinker (shown here), 9, a singer; the oldest is comedian Josh Blue, 42, who has already won a “Last Comic Standing” title. Read more…

1) “Race Against Time: The CIA and 9/11,” 8-10 p.m. Friday, CBS. On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks (shown here), there will be a surge of new films, alongside strong reruns. “Detainee 001” is a so-so look at the American captured with the Taliban; it’s 9 p.m. Friday on Showtime, preceded at 8 by a new report from Afghanistan. Also Friday: History has “9/11: The Legacy” at 7 p.m. and “Rise and Fall: The World Trade Center” at 8. And Vice has “Too Soon: Comedy After 9/ll,” from 8-10 p.m. Read more…

1) “CMA Summer Jam,” 8-11 p.m. Thursday, ABC. For two summers, the Fan Fest was cancelled because of COVID. This year, however, the gap was filled by a two-day mega-concert in Nashville. Dierks Bentley sang at his club, Eric Church on a pedestrian bridge, Darius Rucker on a downtown stage and others at an amphitheater. That includes two Lukes (Bryan and Combs) plus Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani (shown here), Carrie Underwood, Gwen Stefani, Mianda Lambert, Jimmie Allen, Mickey Guyton and Thomas Rhett. Read more…

1) “9/11: One Day in America,” 9-10:30 p.m. Sunday, National Geographic, rerunning at 11:30; continues Aug. 30-31. Here’s the start of six hours of riveting television. In a three-year project, people dug through 950 hours of film from Sept. 11, 2001(shown here) and added fresh interviews. There are deep waves of tragedy, of course, but also surprising bursts of feel-good stories. This is human nature at its best – heroism and stoic survival, mixed in with bursts of sheer luck. The stories are beautifully related. Read more…