ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET
SEASON PREMIERE: Time flies. It’s Season 7 for this underrated ABC sitcom, and the Hecks, once again, are sending a child off to college. This time it’s Sue (Eden Sher), who leaves much more prepared than most incoming freshmen, and with some makeover plans as well. Meanwhile, that leaves her parents, and little brother Brick, responding to her absence in very different ways.
CBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
SEASON PREMIERE: This is cycle 31 for this granddaddy of the modern reality competition TV shows – and 15 years after it premiered, Survivor is welcoming back 20 former contestants from the previous 30 series of contests. They’re contestants who didn’t win the first time around, but made enough of an impression, with CBS if not with viewers, to be asked back. And here they are. The more players you recognize, the more you've been watching Survivor.
ABC, 9:00 p.m. ET
SEASON PREMIERE: This is the first time in six years that this ABC series has launched a new season without having a shiny new Best Comedy Emmy in its trophy case. That doesn’t mean, however, that this Season 7 opener will be any less funny and clever than the rest. It remains one of the few examples that broadcast TV can still make a terrific show, without the freedoms offered on cable.
Fox, 9:00 p.m. ET
SEASON PREMIERE: Last season, Empire burst onto the TV scene and kept climbing, with each week’s show attracting more viewers than the week before. The question is, will the premiere of Season 2 maintain the streak, and establish a new viewing high, as viewers tune in to see Lucious in jail and Cookie in charge? (The answer is yes, I’m guessing.)
ABC, 9:31 p.m. ET
SEASON PREMIERE: Season 2 of this series begins with an episode that’s New with a capital N. It’s an episode about what’s now widely referred to as the N-word. And I’m not referring to Naugahyde.
ABC, 10:00 p.m. ET
SEASON PREMIERE: Season 4 begins with an odd but intriguing musical pairing: Juliette (Hayden Panetierre) singing a duet with Steven Tyler. Nashville idol, meet American Idol…
CBS, 11:35 p.m. ET
Last night, Stephen Colbert played host to Donald Trump – then trumped that appearance with the rest of his show, which featured an informative (and unexpectedly entertaining) interview with Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, and the night’s musical act, young hip-hop artist Raury, energized an already high-octane performance by turning around midway through, revealing that his Mexican soccer jersey had the name “TRUMP” on the back – crossed out – as he sang a song from the devil’s point of view. Tonight, expect more politics, headlines and other memorable moments, as Colbert’s guests include Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren.