NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET
Lengthening the blind auditions has worked for this series, maintaining its popularity while giving viewers even more of the entertaining power shifts that result when judges hit their buttons, swivel their chairs, then beg to be chosen as mentors. And even after two weeks of shows so far this season, we still have quite a while to go before the four judges have filled their team quotas.
CBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
SEASON PREMIERE: This is the start of the 25th cycle for this long-running, influential reality competition series – but 25, for me, is a few too many, and I’ve dropped this series from my regular viewing list. In case you haven’t, however, there remain some reasons to watch, including three castaways from previous editions, as well as one new celebrity contestant, Lisa Welchel (pictured) from The Facts of Life. That’s not compelling for me, either – but there you go.
Encore, 8:00 p.m. ET
Part 3. I hope you’re watching, and enjoying, this classic miniseries, starring Richard Chamberlain as a British sailor who learns and absorbs the customs of 17th-century Japan. They don’t make many miniseries like this one. But they should.
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
Another classic Marilyn Monroe comedy, this one from 1953, co-stars Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall as three savvy gold diggers setting traps for wealthy men, using themselves as very appealing bait.
More Max, 9:00 p.m. ET
This 2003 comedy, written and directed by Richard Curtis, interweaves the stories of eight different couples, in a way that makes you care about, and root for, each. And what a cast: the talented players here include High Grant, Bill Nighy, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Martin Freeman, Laura Linney and Colin Firth.