Courtesy of Passion Planet Ltd.All Times Eastern. PBS programming varies regionally.
Wednesday, Sept. 6
Evolution Earth
PBS, 10pm
New Series!
Evolutionary biologist Shane Campbell-Staton, who hosted PBS’ fascinating recent series Human Footprint, is back as host of this equally compelling program that finds him on a global expedition to reveal the animals that are keeping pace with a planet changing at superspeed. Across five episodes, Campbell-Staton tracks how animals are moving, using ingenuity to adapt their behavior and evolving in unexpected ways, perhaps even showing us a path toward a sustainable future for Planet Earth.
I'm so fortunate to share stories of nature's response to our changing planet as the narrator of @PBS's newest natural history series, #EvolutionEarthPBS – 5 breathtakingly beautiful
episodes featuring animals, scientists and local experts worldwide! https://t.co/L3ixxiCfem— Shane Campbell-Staton, Ph.D. (@SCampbellstaton) August 22, 2023
I Am Groot
Disney+
Season Premiere!
Five new animated shorts find Marvel’s beloved tree-like character Baby Groot (Vin Diesel reprising his voice role from the Guardians of the Galaxy feature films) getting into more mischief as he explores the universe and beyond aboard the Guardians’ spaceships.
The Little Mermaid
Disney+
Feature Film Exclusive!
The latest of Disney’s live-action re-imaginings of its past animated classics offers a new take on 1989’s The Little Mermaid and its tale of mermaid Ariel (Halle Bailey), who makes a deal with evil sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) to be with the human prince (Jonah Hauer-King) she has fallen in love with. Like the earlier film, this one also has musical interludes, with famous songs by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, and some new lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Disney+ streaming of the film will feature special bonus content, including a scene where King Triton (Javier Bardem) performs the song “Impossible Child,” with music by Menken and lyrics by Miranda. Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina and Jacob Tremblay also star.
Infamy
Netflix
New Series!
After years of living in the U.K., teenage Roma girl Gita (Zofia Jastrzębska) and her family move back to their native Poland. After returning, she tries to find herself and discover her passions, while at the same time trying to live the life of a normal 17-year-old. But when she falls in love, she will have to balance the modern world of teenagers and traditional family rules.
Predators
Netflix
New Series!
Tom Hardy narrates this heart-pounding, five-episode natural history series that follows five predator species around the world as they work to survive in their environments. Experience life through the eyes of cheetahs, polar bears, wild dogs and more.
Reporting for Duty
Netflix
New Series!
This Brazilian workplace comedy follows the quirky events at a police station in the Tijuca neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, where a new — and bumbling — chief (Leandro Hassum) has just started.
Scouts Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts of America
Netflix
Through compelling onscreen interviews and verité filmmaking techniques, this investigative documentary reveals the institutional coverup and follows the whistleblowers fighting to bring justice against what was once one of America’s most beloved and trusted institutions.
Ancient Empires
History, 8pm
Miniseries Finale!
This three-night look at some of the ancient world’s most famous and infamous rulers concludes with a look at Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. Her untold story is one of a ruthless genius who did anything necessary to cling to power in the face of an aggressively expanding Roman Empire. But as Cleopatra increases her influence across the Mediterranean, her ambitions grow — and new enemies rise up against her.
Ultimate Cowboy Showdown
INSP, 8pm
Season Premiere!
The fourth season of this cowboy competition series is an all-stars edition. Contestants from the previous three seasons are back and in battle for an awe-inspiring prize: their own herd of cattle, valued at $50,000; top-of-the-line cattle and ranch gear; and the Ultimate Cowboy Showdown belt buckle. Trace Adkins hosts and serves as a judge.
America’s Got Talent: “Qualifiers 3 Results”
NBC, 8pm Live
Find out which two acts from last night’s show will move on to the final round of competition.
America Outdoors With Baratunde Thurston
PBS, 8pm
Season Premiere!
Bestselling writer Baratunde Thurston is back for a second season of traveling across the United States to uncover more stories about how we work, play and interact with the outdoors. In tonight’s premiere, Thurston journeys downstream on the Suwannee, one of the last wild rivers in America, starting at its headwaters in the Okefenokee Swamp, encountering jet skiers, herpetologists, manatees and snapping turtles as he learns how this unique environment inspires a wide range of passions.
Star of the Month: Dirk Bogarde
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!
Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde wisely decided to go by the much more manageable professional name of “Dirk Bogarde” when he embarked upon the first, and most renowned, of his artistic careers: acting. (At various points in his life, Bogarde also painted, with one of his works hanging in the British Museum; wrote novels, poetry and memoirs; and even recorded an album of love songs.) As an actor, the British star was a matinee idol early on, then later became an impactful and acclaimed presence in art house cinema. Each Wednesday night in September, Turner Classic Movies salutes Bogarde with several of his films grouped by a particular theme. In tonight’s lineup, you’ll first see him alongside Judy Garland in the 1963 musical-drama I Could Go on Singing, followed by the drama The Spanish Gardener (1956); Song Without End (1960), a biopic about Franz Liszt led by Bogarde as the famed composer; and The Angel Wore Red (1960), an Italian-American war drama costarring Ava Gardner and Joseph Cotten.
Crime Scene Confidential
Investigation Discovery, 9pm
Season Premiere!
The true-crime docuseries is back for Season 2, with each of the eight episodes following forensic expert and former CSI Alina Burroughs as she journeys into controversial murder cases ripped from the headlines. In the season premiere, Burroughs travels to Mansfield, Ohio, to investigate the January 1988 killing of single mother Margie Coffey.
Archer: “Plaque Removal”
FXX, 10pm
The team travels to England to stop a thief who is stealing cursed artifacts in the new episode “Plaque Removal.” Can Archer (voice of H. Jon Benjamin) break the curse before it breaks him?
Thursday, Sept. 7
Dear Child
Netflix
New Series!
Lena and her two children spend years in captivity under the supervision of a mysterious “he,” until Lena manages to escape. After an accident sends her to the hospital, she wakes up to find parents who’ve been searching for her for 13 years. And that’s where this chilling limited series from Germany truly begins. The six episodes look at both the awful rigidity of the kids’ imprisonment and the nightmare of trying to find a way back to living once you’re free.
Gamera: Rebirth
Netflix
New Series!
Gamera, the beloved giant turtle who was a “friend to all children” and appeared in a series of live-action Japanese monster movies for about 30 years starting in 1965, is back in this anime series that finds him facing off against five of his most memorable kaiju opponents from those movies.
Top Boy
Netflix
Season Premiere!
The British crime drama returns for its third and final season. Sully’s (Kane Robinson) actions at the end of Season 2 have rewritten his business rules with Dushane (Ashley Walters). As new shared problems arise, everything they’ve built comes under threat from both outside forces and those within their empire.
Virgin River
Netflix
Season Premiere!
Season 5 of this romantic drama based on Robyn Carr’s novels features surprising new relationships, a shocking breakup, a difficult court trial, a heartbreaking goodbye and a wildfire that threatens the town, bringing some people of Virgin River together while tearing others apart. The season will be divided into two parts; Part 1, consisting of the first 10 episodes, drops today, while the remaining two installments, which are holiday episodes, will be available Nov. 30.
Star Trek: Lower Decks
Paramount+
Season Premiere!
In Season 4 of the adult animated series, an unknown force is destroying starships and threatening galactic peace. Luckily, the crew of the USS Cerritos isn’t important enough for things like that. Instead, Ensigns Mariner (voice of Tawny Newsome), Boimler (Jack Quaid), Tendi (Noël Wells) and Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), and Provisional Ensign T’Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz), are keeping up with their Starfleet duties, avoiding malevolent computers and getting stuck in a couple of caves — all while encountering new and classic aliens along the way. The series has been renewed for Season 5.
Tennis: US Open: Women’s Singles Semifinals
ESPN, 7pm Live
The four remaining women’s singles players compete at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York, to advance to Saturday’s final match.
WNBA Basketball: Los Angeles at New York
Prime Video, 7pm Live
Prime Video’s final exclusive live WNBA broadcast of this season sees the L.A. Sparks traveling to Barclays Center in Brooklyn to take on the N.Y. Liberty.
Peter Lawford 100th Birthday Celebration
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!
To celebrate what would have been Peter Lawford’s 100th birthday, tonight’s lineup will feature some of the English actor’s greatest films. First up is Good News (1947), a lighthearted musical costarring June Allyson, followed by It Happened in Brooklyn (1947), a musical romance costarring Frank Sinatra and Kathryn Grayson; Little Women (1949), an adaptation of the classic Louisa May Alcott novel, which again costars Allyson; Son of Lassie (1945), one of the many film sequels to the beloved pet drama Lassie Come Home; and, lastly, On an Island With You (1948), a comedy/musical costarring Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban.
NFL Football: Detroit at Kansas City
NBC, 8:15pm Live
The NFL regular season kicks off on NBC with Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Super Bowl LVII champion Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Detroit Lions in a primetime spectacular.
Christina on the Coast
HGTV, 9pm
Season Finale!
Christina Hall previously helped clients Eric and Gina renovate their kitchen. Now, in “New Bathroom, New Baby,” the couple needs Christina to upgrade their outdated primary bathroom, and Christina’s friend Cassie has a baby boy on the way and enlists her help to convert a spare bedroom into a nursery and add a bathtub to the home.
The Dead Files
Travel Channel, 10pm
New Episodes!
The paranormal investigation series’ 15th season returns with its remaining seven new episodes starting tonight, picking up where the season left off, with psychic medium Cindy Kaza joining former NYPD homicide detective Steve DiSchiavi as lead investigator. Tonight’s episode finds a woman seeking Steve and Cindy’s help in finding answers to the terrifying paranormal activity that has been tearing her family apart since her adult daughter moved back in.
Friday, Sept. 8
Star Trek Day 2023
Various Networks/Streaming Services
Paramount is holding its fourth annual Star Trek Day to commemorate the iconic franchise that began 57 years ago with the premiere of Star Trek: The Original Series on Sept. 8, 1966. Among other events, Jerry O’Connell, who voices Commander Jack Ransom on the animated Star Trek: Lower Decks, will host a special program that looks back at memorable Trek moments over the past nearly six decades; celebrates 50 years of Star Trek animation (Star Trek: The Animated Series debuted in 1973); pays tribute to Star Trek: Discovery ahead of its final season; and more. This special will be available to watch online at StarTrek.com/Day, YouTube (on the official Paramount+ and Star Trek pages), Twitch (@ParamountPlus) and Facebook (@StarTrekOnPPlus and @StarTrek). It can also be streamed on Paramount+, Pluto TV (on the Paramount+ Picks, Star Trek, More Star Trek and Pluto TV Sci-Fi channels) and Mixable. The CBS broadcast network will also air the first two episodes of the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds this evening. Visit StarTrek.com/Day for more info.
Burning Body
Netflix
New Miniseries!
This Spanish miniseries, based on a true event, looks at a scandalous crime of passion. Sex, violence and deceit play roles in the brutal murder of a policeman (José Manuel Poga). After his charred body is found in a reservoir in Barcelona, an investigation unravels a deeper mystery concerning two of his colleagues (Úrsula Corberó and Quim Gutiérrez). Was there a stronger motive for the homicide than originally thought?
Selling the OC
Netflix
Season Premiere!
Reputations, romances and relationships are on the line when The Oppenheim Group’s Orange County team returns for Season 2 of this reality series. The young and hungry agents will risk everything while navigating a hot real estate market and even hotter rumors.
Spy Ops
Netflix
New Series!
This true-crime series features interviews with real-life intelligence operatives, from MI6 to the CIA, who share insider stories of spy craft, Cold War campaigns and coups carried out by covert agents.
Sentinelle
Prime Video
Original Film!
François Sentinelle (Jonathan Cohen) leads a double life. During the day, he is the most media-exposed cop on the Island of Réunion, known for his tough methods and floral shirts, chasing criminals in his famous yellow Defender. But outside of working hours (and often during them), Sentinelle has another profession: variety singer. All Réunionnais have danced to “Le Kiki,” a hit song he had in his youth, which is now somewhat embarrassing. For the past 15 years, he has been trying to regain his fame by preparing a new album, without success. However, Sentinelle doesn’t want to choose between the police and music. While he remains busy with his concerts and the release of his album, a wave of violent crimes shakes the island. A prominent figure from the local elite is kidnapped, and another one is murdered. For any cop, it would be the case of a lifetime. But Sentinelle, who is completely absorbed in his music, doesn’t really have the inclination to investigate.
Sitting in Bars With Cake
Prime Video
Original Film!
Inspired by true events, this film follows best friends Jane (Yara Shahidi) and Corinne (Odessa A’zion) as they navigate life in Los Angeles in their 20s. Corinne, the ultimate extrovert, convinces her shy but extremely talented home baker best friend Jane to commit to a year of baking cakes and bringing them to bars with the goal of meeting people and developing confidence — also known as “cakebarring.” During their year of cakebarring at some of L.A.’s most colorful watering holes, Corinne receives a life-altering diagnosis, and the pair face a challenge unlike anything they’ve experienced before.
Tennis: US Open: Men’s Singles Semifinals
ESPN, 3pm Live
ESPN airs both semifinal matches to determine which men’s singles players will square off in Sunday’s final at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York.
TCM Spotlight: Coming of Age: “Growing Up in Poverty” & “All in the Family”
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!
This evening’s lineup focusing on families living in poverty begins with the four-time Oscar-nominated drama Sounder (1972), about a family of sharecroppers coming of age in the South during the 1930s, followed by Wild Boys of the Road (1933), a film about Depression-era train-hopping teens. Next, Spencer Tracy stars as Father Flanagan, the founder of a home for neglected children, in the biopic Boys Town (1938), followed by Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), a musical comedy starring Judy Garland and directed by her future husband Vincente Minnelli. Lionel Barrymore stars as Judge Hardy in A Family Affair (1937), the first of many Hardy family films, and to end the lineup is the very first (non-silent) feature film adaptation of Little Women (1933), starring Katharine Hepburn and Joan Bennett.
Guiding Emily
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9pm
Original Film!
Emily’s (Sarah Drew) life veers off course when she becomes blind after a rock-climbing accident. But when she is paired with a guide dog named Garth (voiced by Eric McCormack), Emily may finally be ready to take on her biggest challenge yet: opening her heart.
American Masters: “Bella! This Woman’s Place Is in the House”
PBS, 9pm
Follow the meteoric rise of firebrand politician and lawyer Bella Abzug, and discover how her commitment to women’s rights and progressive causes upended the status quo in Washington, D.C.
Minx
Starz, 9pm
Season Finale!
The comedy following the creators and staff of Minx, the first erotic magazine for women, finishes its second season with “Woman of the Hour.” Ophelia Lovibond, Jake Johnson and Jessica Lowe star.
Heels: “The Things That Matter”
Starz, 10:10pm
Ace (Alexander Ludwig) begins to lose himself in the myth of his character, and Staci (Alison Luff) digs further into the Dome’s sordid secrets in the new episode “The Things That Matter.”
Saturday, Sept. 9
College Football
ABC, CBS, ESPN & FOX, beginning at 12pm Live
Top college football action today includes Nebraska at Colorado (FOX), Utah at Baylor (ESPN), Notre Dame at NC State (ABC), Iowa at Iowa State (FOX), Texas A&M at Miami (ABC), UNLV at Michigan (CBS), Texas at Alabama (ESPN), Wisconsin at Washington State (ABC), UCLA at San Diego State (CBS) and Stanford at USC (FOX).
Musical Matinee: “Jailhouse Rock”
TCM, 12pm
Catch a Classic!
Once the successful use of “Rock Around the Clock” in 1955’s Blackboard Jungle showed Hollywood it was safe to incorporate that new “rock ’n’ roll” sound the kids were listening to in its films, it was only natural that a full-blown movie musical largely featuring rock music would be made. And it was equally natural to have that film star the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, Elvis Presley. That movie was 1957’s Jailhouse Rock. It was Elvis’ third film, but the first to really let him cut loose with his mesmerizing energy and physical moves. Those moves — including the pelvic gyrations that already had some parents worried about the King’s influence on their kids — were the centerpiece of this musical drama’s iconic dance sequence set to the killer title tune, choreographed by Elvis himself and unlike anything seen in musicals before. That song was one of several belted out in the film by Elvis that were penned by legendary songwriters Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller (who played the band’s pianist in the film), along with “Treat Me Nice,” “I Want to Be Free” and “(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care.” Blackboard Jungle may have ushered in the use of rock music on a film soundtrack, but Elvis and Jailhouse Rock ensured that rock was here to stay as a cultural force in movies as well as on records.
Tennis: US Open: Women’s Singles Final
ESPN, 4pm Live
The US Open’s two remaining women’s singles players compete for the title at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York.
9/11: In Memoriam Marathon
Nat Geo, beginning at 6pm
National Geographic Channel begins its commemoration of the upcoming 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks with an evening of documentaries it has aired in years past. Tonight’s lineup begins with Inside 9/11: War on America and includes Inside 9/11: Zero Hour, National Geographic Investigates: The Fall of Osama bin Laden and George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview. The network will also have more anniversary programming over the next two days.
Fourth Down and Love
Hallmark Channel, 8pm
Original Film!
Sparks are reignited when a single mother (Pascale Hutton) and a pro football player (Ryan Paevey) coincidentally meet again on her daughter’s flag football field after his career is interrupted by a sports injury.
Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet
Nat Geo Wild, 10pm
Season Premiere!
This docuseries that follows Dr. Michelle Oakley, the only all-species veterinarian across the remote and inhospitable Yukon terrain, returns for Season 12 with “Runaway Reindeer.” The episode finds Dr. Oakley herding a group of unruly reindeer and treating a breeding mini ram with a limp. Meanwhile, back in Haines, the team treats a dog with a mass and a supersized cat with painfully matted fur.