TV best bets with returns of ‘The Walking Dead,’ ‘Criminal Minds,’ ‘Will & Grace,’ ‘Shark Tank’

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Danai Gurira as Michonne, Chloe Garcia as Judith - The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 1 - Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Danai Gurira as Michonne, Chloe Garcia as Judith - The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 1 - Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Originally posted Sunday, September 30, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog

Cable's biggest show "The Walking Dead" returns for season 9 Sunday and AMC is now advertising freely that this will be Andrew Lincoln's season. How will Rick Grimes go away? That is being kept a closely guarded secret.

Some other shows coming back this week: CBS’s ‘Criminal Minds,” ABC’s “Fresh Off the Boat” and “Shark Tank,” Amazon’s “The Man In The High Castle” and NBC’s “Will & Grace.”

Plus, ABC is quizzically starting a “juniors” edition of “Dancing With the Stars” at the same time as the regular version. The spin-off will air on Sundays.

And HBO looks into the Queen of England Monday in a documentary.

This covers Monday, October 1 through Sunday, October 7, 2018.

MONDAY

"The Neighborhood" 8 p.m. CBS (new series) — Cedric the Entertainer plays a man who is offended when a white family moves in next door in his largely black neighborhood.

"Dancing With the Stars" 8 p.m. ABC — First out was comic Nikki Glaser. Early front runners include DeMarcus Ware, Milo Manheim, Tenashe and Mary Lou Retton.

"Queen of the World" 8 p.m. HBO — Offers unique insights into Her Majesty the Queen's role as a figure on the global stage, and the baton she is passing to the younger members of the Royal Family as they continue to build upon the Commonwealth, an association of free and independent nations.

"The Resident" 8 p.m. Fox — Bell grows frustrated when Conrad's dad, the new chairman of the board, requests Conrad's input in his discussions about the hospital's expenses.

"Happy Together" 8:30 p.m. CBS (new series) — Music superstar Cooper James arrives on the doorstep of Jake and Claire looking for refuge from the paparazzi following a high-profile break-up with his girlfriend. Damon Wayans Jr. plays Jake.

"Better Call Saul" 9 p.m. AMC —Jimmy and Kim unburden themselves, risking their relationship in the process.

"Bull" 10 p.m. CBS— Bull finds himself on the opposite side of voir dire when he serves jury duty while simultaneously mounting a defense for a woman on trial for killing her daughter's murderer.

"The Good Doctor" 10 p.m. ABC —Shaun pushes back against Dr. Melendez in order to treat a gravely ill hospital janitor and deal with the return of Lea.

"Manifest" 10 p.m. NBC — The passengers from Flight 828 find themselves under government scrutiny as they struggle to resume their lives.

"Lodge 49" 10:18 p.m. AMC — Dud and Ernie are eager to close their deal with Captain, but all may not be what it seems.

TUESDAY

"Dancing With the Stars" 8 p.m. ABC — Las Vegas theme night.

"The Gifted" 8 p.m. Fox  Thunderbird contacts a mutant lawyer who recruited him to the Underground years ago, hoping she can help him find the Inner Circle.

"NCIS" 8 p.m. CBS  After a Navy lieutenant is found murdered in his hot tub, the team interviews several families in the victim's peculiar neighborhood.

"FBI" 9 p.m. CBS — Eight people are fatally poisoned at a deli in New York City, and special agents Maggie Bell and OA Zidan trace the crime to an unlikely culprit and conduct a sting operation to prevent further attacks.

"Lethal Weapon" 9 p.m. Fox — New partners Murtaugh and Cole attempt to find a steady rhythm as they work to solve the murder of a finance executive.

"This is Us" 9 p.m. NBC — The Pearsons gather to support Kevin at his movie premiere.

"Mayans M.C." 10 p.m. FX — A new deal requires a dangerous favor in Santa Madre.

"NCIS: New Orleans" 10 p.m. CBS — The team searches for a former IRA bomb-maker who was smuggled into the city.

"The Purge" 10 p.m. USA — Catalina warns Jenna; Henry torments Penelope; Jane goes on a ride along with the Matron Saints.

"New Amsterdam" 10:01 p.m. NBC — Max navigates his diagnosis while Dr. Sharpe encourages him to make a plan.

WEDNESDAY

"Chicago Fire" 8 p.m. NBC — Firehouse 51 is faced with a daunting challenge when an out-of-control blaze consumes a 15-story apartment complex.

"Empire" 8 p.m. Fox — Cookie and Lucious learn the difficulties of launching an artist without Empire Entertainment's resources.

"The Goldbergs" 8 p.m. ABC — Adam's girlfriend, Jackie, is back after spending her summer at NYU; she has changed so much, it's almost like she's a whole different person...

"Chicago Med" 9 p.m. NBC — The doctors and nurses of Chicago Med find themselves on high alert when an overflow of patients are rushed into the doors following a terrifying apartment complex blaze.

"Modern Family" 9 p.m. ABC — Haley needs a little help deciding whether or not to tell Arvin about her kiss with Dylan and goes to Mitch and Cam for their advice.

"Star" 9 p.m. Fox — When Mateo pulls a shocking stunt to reveal Star's pregnancy, the social media trolls go wild.

"SEAL Team" 9:01 p.m. CBS (second season debut) — Jason and Bravo Team head to the Gulf of Guinea to rescue American hostages after an oil platform is overtaken by armed militants.

"Chicago PD" 10 p.m. NBC — After discovering the true cause of the high rise fire, Intelligence races to find the man responsible.

"Criminal Minds" 10 p.m. CBS (14th season debut) — Reid and Garcia are abducted by Benjamin Merva, and it's up to the rest of the team to find them.

THURSDAY

"The Big Bang Theory" 8 p.m CBS  The Wolowitzes' life ets complicated when Stuart starts bringing his new girlfriend home..

"Superstore" 8 p.m NBC (fourth season debut)  Amy and Jonah return from suspension, and steel themselves for a barrage of jokes and snide comments about their sex video.

"Grey's Anatomy" 8 p.m ABC Meredith works on a patient who happens to specialize in matchmaking, and a seemingly drunk patient pushes Richard's buttons and gives him a medical mystery to solve.

"Young Sheldon" 8:31 p.m CBS  When Mary's faith is shaken by a tragedy in the community, Sheldon becomes an unlikely ally.

"The Good Place" 8:30 p.m NBC  Michael's grand scheme hits an unexpected snag and forces him to take drastic measures.

"Will & Grace" 9 p.m NBC (10th season debut) — Grace's run-in with a curmudgeonly man she follows on Twitter hints at a possible new love interest.

"Mom" 9:01 p.m CBS — When Christy decides she doesn't need Gambler's Anonymous anymore, Bonnie vehemently disagrees.

"Station 19" 9:01 p.m ABC (second season debut)  Lives hang in the balance as members of Station 19 fight a raging inferno inside a skyscraper.

"Murphy Brown" 9:30 p.m CBS  Murphy and the team devise an elaborate ruse to sneak her into a White House press briefing,.

"How to Get Away With Murder" 10 p.m ABC  Annalise preps to defend her first class-action plaintiff and adjusts to the politics of the new job.

"Law & Order: SVU" 10 p.m NBC  Benson and Stone strive to reunite a young girl rescued from a sex trafficker with her mother.

"S.W.A.T." 10 p.m CBS  The SWAT team works together with their former member Jim Street to find a woman and her son who are running from an international drug cartel.

FRIDAY

"Into the Dark" 3:01 a.m. Hulu (new series)  A horror anthology series where each episode represents the month it comes out.

"The Man in the High Castle" 3:01 a.m. Amazon (third season debut)  Juliana grapples with her destiny after seeking safety in the Neutral Zone and realizing that their fates are intertwined, she works with Trade Minister Tagomi to interpret the mystery of the last remaining films.

"Fresh Off the Boat" 8 p.m. ABC (fifth season debut) — Honey and Marvin celebrate the birth of their baby. In other events, Jessica's book is finally released.

"Last Man Standing" 8 p.m. Fox — Having avoided any sort of emotion after his dad died, Mike finally has the heart-to-heart with Bud that he never had while he was alive.

"MacGyver" 8 p.m. CBS — Jack receives an emergency distress signal from one of his old Delta buddies who is falsely accused of terrorism in a foreign country, so MacGyver and Jack quickly recruit the rest of Jack's old Delta team and stage an unsanctioned rescue op.

"Cool Kids" 8:30 p.m. Fox — On her 65th birthday, Margaret doesn't feel like celebrating. However, Hank, Sid and Charlie insist on taking her out for a "good old-fashioned young person's night" at the local club.

"Speechless" 8 p.m. ABC (third season debut) — The DiMeos cross the pond so Maya can ask her estranged father, the challenging Martin, for a loan to save their house.

"Child Support" 9 p.m. ABC (second season debut) — Dominic of Yonkers, New York, and Ashlie of Ontario, California, each try to answer 10 questions correctly in order to win the ultimate prize of $200,000.

"Hawaii Five-O" 9 p.m. CBS — A vacationing dad on a flight to Honolulu is kidnapped and forced to parachute mid-flight.

"Hell's Kitchen" 9 p.m. Fox  Chef Ramsay announces that he is taking his risotto off of the Hell's Kitchen menu.

"Z Nation" 9 p.m. Syfy (fifth season debut)  Warren recovers from the drone crash with mysterious Cooper; and Doc and the others finally arrive in Newmerica, where they meet George, who is helping form the new country.

"Blue Bloods" 10 p.m. CBS — Gormley looks to Danny and Baez for help tracking down a former NYPD detective he believes may be a threat to Frank's safety.

"Van Helsing" 10 p.m. Syfy (third season debut)  Vanessa is once again resurrected and must confront her family's legacy.

WEEKEND

"A Mother's Worst Fear" 8 p.m. Saturday Lifetime  Alice is starting a new chapter in life by moving on from her highly stressful job as a hostage negotiator and putting more focus on her family.

"Saturday Night Live" 11:29 p.m. Saturday NBC — Awkwafina hosts.

"Dancing With the Stars: Juniors" 8 p.m. Sunday ABC (new season) — Honey Boo Boo is one of the contestants.

"God Friended Me" 8 p.m. Sunday CBS — Miles gets the opportunity of a lifetime when a satellite radio company wants to air his podcast, and the God Account suggests that he befriend a single mother.

"The Deuce" 9 p.m. Sunday HBO — Temporarily flush with cash, Frankie is tapped by Candy to be a coproducer on "Red Hot"; Lori eyes a plum role in the film.

"The Last Ship" 9 p.m. Sunday TNT — After months of fighting, the crew of Nathan James must embark on a dangerous mission to secure important intel that could decide the fate of the war.

"The Walking Dead" 9 p.m. Sunday AMC (ninth season debut) — Rick and his group make a risky run into Washington, D.C., to search for artifacts they will need to build the civilization he and Carl envisioned.

"Shameless" 9 p.m. Sunday Showtime — Frank's new liver medication comes with tragic side effects.

"NCIS: Los Angeles" 9 p.m. Sunday CBS — The prototype for a tactical assault suit is stolen from a Navy base and used in a Beverly Hills jewelry heist.

"Rel" 9:30 p.m. Sunday Fox  —Rel's kids come to visit for the first time since the split, and he wants to make sure they have an amazing trip.

"Shark Tank" 10 p.m. Sunday ABC (10th season debut)— An entrepreneur from Atlanta introduces a smart device designed specifically to protect packages from package thieves.