Weekly Previews

1) “Madam Secretary” series finale, 10 p.m. Sunday (Dec. 8), CBS. Back in 1974, Cicely Tyson won two Emmys for playing Jane Pittman. Tyson, then 49, portrayed the fictional Pittman, 110, recounting a life that went from slavery to civil rights. And now? Tyson, 94, plays someone who was born 99 years ago, when women got the right to vote; she watches a female president (Tea Leoni, shown here in the Dec. 1 episode) start a landmark initiative. The finale also has Tyne Daly, the U.S. women’s soccer team and music from Peter Frampton. Read more…

1) Thanksgiving Day Parade, 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, NBC and CBS, Even if you’re not into parades, this represents something important: It’s the start of a packed day (see next item) and of the crowded Christmas-TV season. And the parade? It has 11 bands, 1,000 clowns, 1,200 cheerleaders and dancers and 26 floats, many bearing lip-syncing stars. Networks also add separate acts, especially early. CBS has Miranda Lambert; NBC opens with “Sesame Street” Muppets and has the casts of four musicals. Read more…

1) “American Music Awards,” 8 p.m. Sunday, ABC. Taylor Swift (shown here), who already has 23 AMA’s, will be crowned “artist of the decade” and will perform. She’s up for artist of the year, against Post Malone (who leads with seven nominations), Ariana Grande, Halsey and Drake. Ciara hosts, Selena Gomez has her first TV performance in two years and Shania Twain has her first AMA one in 16 years. Also performing: Thomas Rhett, Billie Eilish, Camila Cabello, Dua Luppo, Lizzo, Kesha and Big Freedia Read more…

1) Country build-up, Tuesday and Wednesday, ABC. Dolly Parton, Barbara Walters has said, is the perfect interviewee; she has candor, intelligence and great stories to tell. We’ll see that at 10 p.m. Tuesday, when Robin Roberts hosts a Parton documentary. The next morning, Roberts and “Good Morning America” will be in Nashville. That night, at the Country Music Association awards, Parton joins the mega-opener and also does a gospel number; there’s more ahead, including a series (shown here) based on her songs, Nov. 22 on Netflix. Read more…

1) “The Resident,” 8 p.m. Tuesday, Fox. When the World Series went a full seven games, we lost two Tuesdays and Wednesdays on Fox. Now they’re back, starting here with airline troubles – a pilot with a drinking problem; a tough flight for Dr. Bell. Some hospital scenes are cliché (the patient resisting treatment) or unlikely (mid-surgery sniping), but the non-medical scenes are excellent: Mina ponders fresh responsibility; The Raptor (Malcolm-Jamal Warner, shown here in a previous episode) hesitantly considers meeting his birth mother. Read more…

1) “The Conners”(shown here), 8 p.m. Tuesday, ABC. Here’s the start of a holiday deluge — eight ABC comedies in two days, each with a Halloween episode. This show savored the holiday when it was “Roseanne” ; now the Roseanne character is dead and her sister tries to re-open their Lunch Box diner. “Bless This Mess” (8:30) has bat-bite scares; “Black-ish” (9:30) has a family-costume dispute. And on “Mixed-ish” (9 p.m.), Rainbow, one of the only blacks in school, is asked to go as Tootie from “Facts of Life,” Read more…

1) “American Housewife,” 8 p.m. Friday, ABC. It’s time for an ABC tradition: Each comedy has a Halloween tale for its last episode before the holiday. That peaks with eight of them on Oct. 29-30, but “Housewife” is first: Greg tries a pumpkin contest (shown here) and advises Katie to avoid the zombie maze; naturally, she ignores the advice. And on “Fresh Off the Boat” at 8:30, Louis is still trying to convince his wife that this odd American holiday is fun; also, people try to agree on a family costume. Read more…

1) “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago Med” and “Chicago P.D.,” 8-11 p.m. Wednesday, NBC. It’s crossover time, flipping the order of the first two shows. Things start with firefighters and paramedics, rushing to a bacteria outbreak at a Bears game; a fire at a university causes Sevaride to suspect there’s something bigger. Then “Med” has an apartment complex under quarantine; Will comes across a bioterrorism suspect. That leads to “P.D.”(shown here) and a massive manhunt. Read more…

1) “Batwoman” debut, 8 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 6), CW. The next great TV hero (shown here) has all the usual qualities – strong and silent, smart and solemn and terribly attractive, while smashing tough men and loving a beautiful woman. It all sounds like a cliche, except that it’s tautly written and beautifully filmed … and this hero is female. Ruby Rose (variously described as gender-fluid and a lesbian) is superb in the role. Dark, angry and violent, this isn’t for everyone; still, it’s skillfully executed, with movie-quality visuals. Read more…

1) “Modern Family” (9 p.m. Wednesday, ABC) and “The Good Place” (9 p.m. Thursday, NBC) season-openers. Two of TV’s best comedies begin their final seasons. For “Modern Family,” it’s the 11th, covering a broad swath; Haley, barely a teen when this started, is now arguing with her parents about how to raise her twins. For “Good Place” (shown here) it’s only the fourth, but there have been wild changes. Now an experimental afterlife begins; the opener is inconsistent, but includes some very funny moments. Read more…