ABC
9-1-1
The long-running first-responder drama opens its ninth season with a tribute to the 118’s fallen leader, Bobby Nash (Peter Krause), as the crew prepares to dedicate the firehouse in his memory. But duty never stops calling, and they snap back into action for an emergency involving a billionaire tech giant in critical peril.
The Golden Bachelor
The second season of The Golden Bachelor is available Wednesdays on ABC and streaming next day on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+. It’s the senior spin on the beloved dating reality show, with 66-year-old former NFL linebacker and lawyer Mel Owens searching for his later-in-life lover. This season is hosted by Jesse Palmer, a former Bachelor and NFL player himself. Fingers crossed he can help Owens find love.
Disney/Jake Giles Netter
9-1-1: Nashville
It’s a sign of the times, and the state of broadcast TV, that ABC’s only new scripted series this fall is that most reliable of standbys: a spinoff. Chris O’Donnell, who starred in one of TV’s most successful spinoffs (NCIS: LA), leads the ensemble as Captain Don Hart of Fire Station 113. In the premiere, he and his crew respond to a franchise favorite — a weather emergency — when a tornado rips through Music City, threatening a country-music festival. Jessica Capshaw (Grey’s Anatomy) co-stars as Don’s wife Blythe, whose well-heeled family brings a Dynasty vibe to Don’s working-class world when a scandalous family secret is revealed.
Disney / Anne Marie Fox
Grey’s Anatomy
Another year, another cliffhanger to resolve. Which is how Grey’s Anatomy kicks off its 22nd season, TV’s longest-running prime-time medical drama. The opener is in full crisis mode, and it’s all hands on deck as Grey Sloan’s staff scrambles in the wake of an explosion on the surgical floor. Link (Chris Carmack) appeared to be the doctor most immediately in danger, but we’ll know soon enough who gets to operate another day.
Netflix
Boots
“This is not like summer camp,” laments Cameron Cope (Parenthood‘s Miles Heizer), a closeted gay man who follows his best friend Ray (Liam Oh) into the Marines in 1990, when homosexuality was strictly forbidden (even predating “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”). Cameron also soon realizes that the “buddy system” isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be in a system designed to break down recruits and shape them into soldiers. This eight-part dramedy, based on Greg Cope White’s memoir The Pink Marine, has moments of whimsy — especially when Cameron’s anxiety-ridden inner self speaks out — but is also unexpectedly compelling in its coming-of-age story as Cameron makes unexpected alliances in his quest to discover what it is to be a man. “I’m such a Rose,” this Golden Girls fan sighs — which is probably something he should keep to himself for the time being.
Netflix/YouTube
Victoria Beckham
The road from musical stardom as Posh Spice to celebrated footballer’s wife to being accepted as a fashion designer hasn’t always been easy, says Victoria Beckham in a three-part documentary profile. “I have never forgotten where I come from,” she says, revealing her insecurities and desires as she prepares for “the biggest fashion show I have ever done.”
Sarah Stier / Getty Images
Saquon
With Martin Scorsese as executive producer, an intimate documentary spotlights Saquon Barkley, the Super Bowl champion running back for the Philadelphia Eagles. The film covers his career highs and lows (injuries) while also following him off the field as a devoted husband and dad. “It’s not who you are when you get knocked down,” says the resilient superstar athlete. “It’s who you are when you stand back up. That’s why I play the game.”
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