ABC, 9:00 p.m. ET
SEASON PREMIERE: Ellen Pompeo is back as Meredith Grey for this new season of Grey’s Anatomy, which begins tonight on ABC with an expanded episode. And this is Season 17, so Meredith, the former medical newbie, by now has clocked enough hours to be not just one expert, but close to two, according to Malcolm Gladwell’s definition. (I’m talking fictional life hours, not TV hours.) Also clocking time the whole time: Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey.
NBC, 10:00 p.m. ET
SPECIAL PREMIERE: This is a very clever, extremely focused premise for a Paley Center for Media TV special. Instead of just looking at the Law & Order NBC franchise in general, it’s looking very specifically at the guest stars who have appeared over the decades. Because the flagship series is shot in New York (at least was, pre-pandemic; stay tuned), Law & Order always has been a welcome and reliable quick paycheck for off-Broadway actors and struggling artists trying to make it there. Among the now-familiar faces who appeared as guest stars or bit players on Law & Order: Samuel L. Jackson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Claire Danes, Bradley Cooper, the aforementioned Ellen Pompeo, and (pictured) Julia Roberts.