Chuck Barney’s TV and streaming picks for Sept. 22-28
DON’T MISS: 71st Primetime Emmy Awards — The final season of “Game of Thrones” didn’t exactly have every fan bending the knee in praise. Still, HBO’s bloody swords-and-dragons fantasy is expected to collect plenty of gold during TV’s big bash. In other developments, you’ll have to direct those hate-tweets at someone other than the host because … there isn’t one! Yes, the Emmys are following in Oscar’s footsteps and going without a joke-spewing emcee. (5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET, Sunday, Fox).
Other bets:
MONDAY: For the first time in 17 seasons, Adam Levine won’t be part of the coaches panel on “The Voice.” But Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and John Legend are back in the big red chairs — along with Gwen Stefani — as the blind auditions begin. (8 p.m., NBC).
MONDAY: In the Season 3 opener of “The Good Doctor,” Dr. Shaun Murphy follows up what he believes was a disastrous first date with Carly by proposing a radical surgery to save a newlywed woman’s life. (10 p.m., ABC).
TUESDAY: “NCIS” fans are thrilled over the return of Cote de Pablo’s Ziva David. In the Season 17 opener, Ziva surprises Gibbs with a cryptic warning, prompting him to question why she remained underground for years while being presumed dead by family and friends, and what led to her return. (8 p.m., CBS).
TUESDAY: Break out the tissues. “This Is Us” returns for what should be another heart-wrenching season. In the opener, Jack meets Rebecca’s parents and several new characters are introduced. (9 P.m., NBC).
WEDNESDAY: Past “Survivor” winners Boston Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine are back as a new season begins. But instead of playing, they’ll be serving as mentors to 20 new castaways trying to back-stab and blindside their way to $1 million. (8 p.m., CBS).
WEDNESDAY: Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother”) gets to be a kick-butt leading lady in “Stumptown,” one of the fall’s best new shows. She plays Dex Parios, a brash army veteran who now works as a private investigator in Portland, Oregon, and manages to get into a lot of trouble. (10 p.m., ABC).
THURSDAY: Put a fork in it. The beloved afterlife comedy “The Good Place” launches its fourth and — sadly — final season. In the opener, our dearly departed pals adapt to the challenges facing them when four test subjects inhabit a new neighborhood under their supervision. (9 p.m., NBC).
THURSDAY: Emmy-winner Patricia Heaton returns to TV in the comedy “Carol’s Second Act.” She plays a 50-year-old single mother who embarks on a second career as a medical intern. (9:30 p.m., CBS).
FRIDAY: Prolific producer Ryan Murphy presents his first streaming series — “The Politician.” The over-the-top satire follows Payton Hobart (Ben Platt), an obsessive rich kid who will stop at nothing to become student body president at his fancy private high school. (Netflix).
FRIDAY: The groundbreaking, if annoyingly uneven, “Transparent” offers its fans some closure. It comes in the form of a two-hour musical that has the Pfeffermans mourning the death of Maura in song and dance. (Amazon Prime).
SATURDAY: We’ll miss the laugh-out hilarity of Leslie Jones, but, as always, “Saturday Night Live” keeps chugging along. The show kicks off its 45th season with Woody Harrelson hosting and Billie Eilish as musical guest. (11:30 p.m., NBC).
Contact Chuck Barney at cbarney@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/chuckbarney and Facebook.com/bayareanewsgroup.chuckbarney.
