TV best bets with another presidential debate, Sarah Jessica Parker, 'Scorpion'

ajc.com

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Monday, October 3, 2016

Sarah Jessica Parker turns to scripted TV on HBO for the first time since "Sex and the City" ended in 2004.

This time, she's a woman who's been married awhile and finds her husband (played by Thomas Haden Church) so irritating she wants a divorce. In other words, this is not "Sex and the City." But if that sounds like fun, check it out at 10 p.m. Sunday.

Or watch the second presidential debate, which is on at 9 p.m. Sunday more or less everywhere else. (Or you can try out the vice presidential candidates on Tuesday.)

Otherwise, the CW brings back a bunch of its hit shows such as "Arrow" and "The Flash" while CBS gives us "Scorpion" for a third season Monday night.

This covers Monday, October 3 through Sunday, October 9, 2016.

MONDAY

"The Big Bang Theory" 8 p.m. CBS — Tensions rise when the boys struggle to finish their government project on time.

"Dancing With the Stars" 8 p.m. ABC — Rick Perry got the boot last week. Who's next?

"Gotham" 8 p.m. Fox — Hypnotist Jervis Tetch, aka the Mad Hatter, arrives in town and hires Gordon to help find his sister, Alice.

"Class Divide" 8 p.m. HBO — A look at the gentrification of New York City focuses on a single intersection in Chelsea, where children from both low-income public housing and an expensive private school interact.

"The Voice" 8 p.m. NBC — Last week, Atlanta resident and Etowah High School/Kennesaw State University graduate Aaron Gibson made it onto Team Miley.

"Scorpion" 9:01 p.m. CBS (third season debut)  — Anonymous hackers target major cities after taking control of U.S. military aircrafts and warships in the first half of this combined episode.

"Timeless" 10 p.m. NBC (new series) — The trio chase evildoer Garcia Flynn to the Hindenburg disaster of 1937.

"Yours, Mine or Ours" 10 p.m. Bravo (new series) — A recently engaged couple seek advice on which house to call home in the series premiere of this real-world show in which couples decide whether to seek a new residence or transform their existing spaces. This sounds suspiciously like HGTV's "Love ir or List It."

"Conviction" 10:01 p.m. ABC (new series) — Crime drama about a woman who heads an agency that attempts to reverse cases where innocent people were jailed for crimes.

TUESDAY

"The Mindy Project" 3:01 a.m. Hulu (fifth season debut) — How will Mindy's relationship with Danny shift?

"2016 BET HipHop Awards" 8 p.m. BET — DJ Khaled hosts. Snoop Dogg is honored.

"Brooklyn Nine-Nine" 8 p.m. Fox — The team take a road trip to Florida to help Jake and Holt take down Jimmy Figgis.

"Dancing With the Stars" 8 p.m. ABC — The third elimination arrives on a night where Cirque du Soleil performs.

"The Flash" 8 p.m. the CW (third season debut) — Barry lives his dream life and no longer having to be the one saving the city now that Kid Flash has taken over that duty. But that won't last long.

"NCIS" 8 p.m. CBS — A marine sergeant is killed when she falls from a building, but her doctor, Grace Confalone, risks breaking patient confidentiality and urges Gibbs to investigate the death as a murder.

"The Voice" 8 p.m. NBC — The blind auditions continue.

"New Girl" 8:31 p.m. Fox — Jess is invited to go with Schmidt and Cece and Winston and Aly on their couples' glamping camping excursion.

"The Vice Presidential debate" 9 p.m. ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN, GPB, CNBC  — Tim Keane and Mike Pence debate and will anybody care?

"Halt and Catch Fire" 10 p.m. AMC — Donna, Bos and Diane go on the road to build support for Mutiny.

"Atlanta " 10 p.m. FX — Van becomes jealous.

WEDNESDAY

"Blindspot" 8 p.m. NBC — A museum-gala assassin is sought by the team. Meanwhile, Nas and Weller work on their coleadership; and Jane begins to see some positive aspects of her old organization.

"Arrow" 8 p.m. the CW (fifth season debut) — A deadly new criminal, Tobias Church, threatens Star City.

"The Goldbergs" 8 p.m. ABC — Erica and Adam follow the lead of Jan from "The Brady Bunch" when dealing with relationship problems.

"Lethal Weapon" 8 p.m. Fox — Riggs and Murtaugh's investigation of a drug cartel reunites Murtaugh with his former T.O.

"Survivor" 8 p.m. CBS — Castaways get a chance to mingle with the "enemy"; balance and precision are tested at a tough immunity challenge.

"Total Bellas" 8 p.m. E! (new series) — Brie and Bryan move into John Cena's home to care for Nicole after her surgery.

"Catching Kelce" 9 p.m. E! (new series) — Football star Travis Kelce hopes to find true love among 50 eligible women, one representing each state in the U.S.

"Criminal Minds" 9 p.m. CBS — JJ is shaken by a child abduction case that causes painful memories to resurface.

"Empire " 9 p.m. Fox — Cookie calls in a favor with Kitty, hoping that recording a new song with the mega superstar will force Jamal to overcome his inability to perform

"Frequency " 9 p.m. the CW (new series) — A detective discovers she's able to communicate with her estranged father who died decades earlier via a ham radio.

"Law & Order: SVU" 9 p.m. NBC —  A man uses a fake identity to lure a woman into a relationship, and lives are damaged in the process.

"Modern Family" 9 p.m. ABC— Luke and Manny go head-to-head in a race to be class president.

"Black-ish" 9:31 p.m. ABC — Dre becomes Junior's campaign manager after his son decides to run for class president.

"Chicago PD" 10 p.m. NBC — Platt is sent to the hospital after a vicious attack outside her father's house.

"Code Black" 10 p.m. CBS — Willis helps a young soccer player who is seriously injured in a bus crash make a life-altering decision.

"Designated Survivor" 10 p.m. ABC — The FBI's investigation into the Capitol bombing continues,

"Little Miss Atlanta" 10 p.m. TLC (new series) — Two women create a pageant for younger black girls.

"Younger" 10 p.m. TV Land  — Liza's identity is threatened by Thad's laptop and Kelsey.

THURSDAY

"Grey's Anatomy " 8 p.m. ABC — A quarreling family arrive at the hospital in the wake of a car accident at a funeral.

"Rosewood " 8 p.m. Fox — Rosewood and Villa go to New York to probe the death of her husband, while Slade and Hornstock target a prostitution ring in Miami.

"Superstore " 8 p.m. NBC — Jonah refuses to sell guns in the store, triggering an open-carry protest at the store.

"The Good Place " 8 p.m. NBC — Eleanor eagerly wants to learn ethics from Chidi.

"Pitch " 8:59 p.m. Fox — The Padres play against the Cardinals, whose pitcher broke Tommy's finger during a fight.

"Chicago Med" 9 p.m. NBC — A mystery illness is investigated when an Indonesian man arrives at the hospital in bad condition.

"Cutting it in the ATL" 9 p.m. WE-TV (second season finale)  — The ladies compete to be Atlanta's Head Beauty Boss in Charge. Later, Maja makes a devious plan to win the title.

"Notorious" 9 p.m. ABC — Julia takes a big risk airing a tape of a revered rock star and humanitarian.

"The Blacklist" 10 p.m. NBC — Red and the task force track an infamous bounty hunter who may have knowledge about criminal mogul Alexander Kirk's next move.

"How to Get Away With Murder" 10 p.m. ABC — A high-profile murder case is presented to the class by Annalise that even the Keating 5 finds morally questionable.

"Those Who Can't" 10:30 p.m. TruTV (second season debut) — Rod returns to school sober to the dismay of the rest of the teachers.

FRIDAY

"The Ranch" 3:01 a.m. Netflix (second half of season one) — Ashton Kutcher's old-school comedy returns.

"Hell's Kitchen" 8 p.m. Fox — Tensions run high in the house as the teams face their next challenge.

"Last Man Standing" 8 p.m. ABC — Mandy takes up vaping, much to her parents' chagrin, but it also stirs up fond memories for Vanessa.

"MacGyver" 8 p.m. CBS — The team head to Malaysia in search of a man funding a terrorist group, but their plan changes into keeping him alive after he is shot.

"Dr. Ken" 8:30 p.m. ABC — Pat is asked to emcee the annual Welltopia banquet, much to Ken's surprise

"Shark Tank" 9 p.m. ABC — Cookie legend Wally Amos appears before the Sharks to tout his new creation.

"The Exorcist" 9:01 p.m. Fox — Kat copes with Julia's death, but struggles to accept the realization of it.

"Hawaii Five-O" 9 p.m. CBS — FBI profiler Alicia Brown is forced to join McGarrett in the hunt for the chess-piece killer when she finds a body in her bed.

"Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars" 9 p.m. WE-TV (eighth season debut) — Atlanta's KeKe Wyatt ("R&B Divas Atlanta") and her husband Michael Ford join the house.

"Doomsday" 10 p.m. History — What is a black hole threatened mankind?

"My Life Is a Telenovella" 10 p.m. WE-TV (new series) — Everyone vies for a part in a new telenovela, including Mexican pop singer Raquenel, a woman with a mysterious past.

WEEKEND

"Mommy's Secret" 8 p.m. Saturday Lifetime — A teenage girl attempts to persuade her mother to turn herself in after discovering she's behind a recent string of bank robberies.

"Saturday Night Live" 11:29 p.m. Saturday  — Lin-Manuel Miranda hosts.

"The Simpsons" 8 p.m. Sunday Fox — Bart rooting for Springfield's football rival, the Boston Americans, sets off Homer.

"Second presidential debate" 9 p.m. Sunday ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, GPB, PBA, C-SPAN, CNBC  — More fireworks expected between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

"Westworld" 9 p.m. Sunday HBO  — Maeve's emotions are tweaked by Elsie to prevent a recall.

"Divorce" 10 p.m. Sunday HBO (new series) — A comedy about a middle-aged couple with two kids in suburban New York City struggling to come to terms with their failing marriage. Sarah Jessica Parker stars.

"Master of Sex" 10 p.m. Sunday Showtime — Johnson and Masters' legal troubles come to a head as the trial begins with Keller leading the charge.

"The Strain" 10 p.m. Sunday FX — Setrakian creates a new plan to trap the Master as Eph and Dutch search for the Master's "voice."

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