CNN, 8:00 p.m. ET
Former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina is moving up from the kids’ table, joining the Top 10 candidates in tonight’s prime-time Republican presidential debate – televised this time by CNN. The remaining four Republican candidates will appear in a mini-debate at 6 p.m., but for that one, the whole world is not watching. In prime time, the top three, based on all qualifying polls for the month since the first debate on Fox News, are Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Jeb Bush, with Fiorina tied for 7th place with Mike Huckabee. Barely making it onto the stage at the Reagan Library tonight, in 10th place? Chris Christie. With Rick Perry out of the race, and Jim Gilmore not qualifying for this month’s debates even though he appeared last month, here’s where to see whom: In the early debate at 6 p.m. ET, it’s Rick Santorum, George Pataki, Lindsay Graham and Bobby Jindal. In prime time, in addition to the leaders, Fiorina and Huckabee and the barely-made-it Christie, the participants are Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, John Kasich, and Rand Paul. Eleven in all. Moderating the debate: CNN chief Washington correspondent Jake Tapper.
NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET
SEASON FINALE: On CNN tonight, it’s one kind of popularity contest. Here on NBC, it’s another, as the network presents the winner of cycle number 10. A one-hour summary of the final acts is followed by a two-hour live finale, in which America chooses among a couple of comics, a couple of magicians, a mentalist, a ventriloquist and a few other acts, including some singers and one, um, regurgitator. If you watch only one America’s Got Talent this season, this is the one. But if you don’t watch one, that’s okay, too…
PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET
It seems like just the other day that this paleoanthropological discovery made headlines: a formerly unknown cache of early hominid bones, discovered deep in a cave near Johannesburg and rewriting history about our human ancestors. In fact, it was just the other day – but here’s a ripped-from-those-headlines PBS Nova special, which takes us on the trip, with the excavating team, as it encounters and recovers this very significant find. Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones… Check local listings.
Comedy Central, 10:00 p.m. ET
SEASON PREMIERE: Season 19 of South Park begins with the school introducing a new principal – but with the show’s principle of finding humor almost anywhere daringly intact. Tonight, the boys of South Park are forced to confront their prejudices – which leads to an embracing of the “Stunning and Brave” (this opener’s episode title) example of Caitlyn Jenner.
Comedy Central, 10:30 p.m. ET
SERIES PREMIERE: Comedy Central describes this new animated series as “an absurdist, retro-futuristic ’80s cop extravaganza” – whatever that means. What it means, sort of, is Miami Vice by way of A Clockwork Orange and vintage album cover art. The stars lending their vocal gifts here are Elizabeth Banks as Pizzaz Miller, Rob Lowe as Dazzle Novak, Will Forte as Rad Cunningham, and Kate Mara as Chrysalis Tate. The names of the characters should indicate, all by themselves, how firmly in cheek the collective tongues are here.
CBS, 11:35 p.m. ET
Tonight’s show has a guest roster that could be spread out to fill an entire week: Kevin Spacey (seen here on The Colbert Report, when he ran off with the host’s Emmy statuette), Carol Burnett, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer of Comedy Central’s Broad City, and Willie Nelson. Sounds like the best TV green room of the year since – well, since Jon Stewart’s farewell show.