Mike Hughes on TV

1) “Secret Celebrity Renovation” season-opener, 8 and 9 p.m., CBS.. Fresh from hosting and producing “Tough as Nails,” Phil Koeghan has a personal task. He’s a New Zealand native, but spent part of his childhood in the island nation of Antigua. He returns there to help a former neighbor renovate a hospice center (shown here). Then Max Thieriot borrows his “Fire Country” timeslot (9 p.m.) to help with a home renovation for his boyhood best friend, who is a firefighter. Read more…

1) Pro football, 8 p.m. ET, NBC. In a strike-shattered year, football will be crucial for NBC. There’s the season-opener Sept. 7 and the Sunday-night games, starting Sept. 10. First is this pre-season opener, pitting teams that last year had 7-10 records and quarterback issues. The New York Jets (shown here) solved theirs by getting Aaron Rodgers. The Cleveland Browns had traded for Dashaun Watson; he missed a season and a half amid, sexual accusations, then had a rough return. Read more…

1) “Big Brother” opener, 8-9:30 p.m., CBS. This is what CBS has been pointing toward for months: Its summer shows get a late start, letting them sprawl into a reality-stuffed fall season. Tonight, Julie Chen (shown here) introduces the new housemates. The show continues at 9 p.m. Thursdays and 8 p.m. Sundays. Another reality show (“Secret Celebrity Renovation”) arrives at 8 p.m. Friday, with two more next week and several others (old and new) this fall. Read more…

1) “Southern Storytellers” finale, 9 p.m., PBS. We see talented people – writers Jesmyn Ward and Michael Waldron, singer-songwriters Justin Moore, Thao Nguyen and “Tank” Ball – express love of the South; we also see Natasha Tretheway (shown here) discuss love and hate. She was born (to parents whose mixed marriage was illegal in Mississippi), in town dominated by Robert E. Lee’s statue. The statue has been removed; a new memorial denotes her time as U.S. poet laureate. Read more…

1) “Cruel Summer” finale, 10 p.m., Freeform. Flashing between three times, each six months apart, we’ve seen teens transform. Megan (Sadie Stanley, shown here) and Luke went from platonic to passionate; then she hardened, covering up details of the night he died. This has required deft writing and acting; now, at last, we learn which people (directly and indirectly) were responsible for his death. Stick with this one to the final twist; it’s a strong finish to a surprisingly good tale. Read more…

1) “Dark Winds” season-opener, 9 p.m., AMC. Under his stoic exterior, police Lt. Joe Leaphorn has deep layers of emotion. A mining explosion killed his son – his only child, because many Navajo women (including his wife, now a nurse) were sterilized after giving birth. Now he has a case that may be linked to the explosion. Like the first season, this is a six-week story, beautifully crafted and perfectly played, especially by Zahn McClarnon (shown here) as Joe. Read more…

1) “Dawn” finale, 8-10 p.m., Lifetime. The first three movies (rerunning at 2, 4 and 6 p.m.) battered Dawn emotionally. Now she has actually found joy – a warm husband, a sweet-16 daughter Christie (shown here) and a comfy estate. This, of course, must change. The final film offers tragedy, then propels Christie to New York and to the eerie plantation where she was born. Surrounded by relatives who are berserk, even by soap standards, she gropes for a normal life. Read more…