Other highlights include the latest ‘X-Men’ series and Adam Scott and Craig Robinson in a paranormal comedy.
This week, comedy is king: from the triumphant return of Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm with its long-overdue ninth season to the new Craig Robinson and Adam Scott-sitcom, along with the end of Rick and Morty’s bizarre third season, and the new shenanigans of the and animated Belcher family — October starts off with all kinds of humor. However, there is also a fair amount of drama, whether it is mutant-related or based in real life events documented by an Oscar-nominated filmmaker. Then the week closes on a very strong note with a documentary focused on one of the movie brats, Steven Spielberg.
To help you keep track of the most important programs over the next seven days, here’s our guide to everything worth watching, whether it’s on broadcast, cable, or streaming for October 1st – 7th (all times Eastern):
Bob’s Burgers (FOX, Sunday 7:30pm)
We (fortunately) live in a golden age of adult cartoons and the mills of acid humor will keep running, even after Rick and Morty closes its third season and Bojack Horseman binges come to an end, thanks to a new season of Bob’s Burgers. We are up for a peculiar start: the first episode of the eighth season features fan-made animations, which will make for an interesting viewing experience; but we will also meet again with familiar faces along the way, like Felix Fischoeder (Bob’s tenant’s brother voiced by Zach Galifianakis) and Louise’s nemesis/stalker Millie Frock, as well as new characters played by guest stars such as Adam Driver and Fred Savage.
Ghosted (FOX, Sunday 8:30pm)
Ben Wyatt and Darryl Philbin go ghostbusting. The Office and Parks and Recreation alumni Craig Robinson and Adam Scott meet in this new sitcom that is part The X-Files parody, part buddy cop comedy. Created by Tom Gormican (That Awkward Moment), the show follows a skeptic mall cop (Robinson) and a former Harvard professor and true believer (Scott) as they are paired by a secret government agency, The Bureau Underground, to investigate paranormal activity in Los Angeles. While the writing credits might not seem that impressive, Portlandia’s Jonathan Krisel directs the pilot, and the chemistry between this unlikely couple has potential.
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO, Sunday 10pm)
Good things come for those who wait (even when they didn’t know they were waiting). After wrapping its eighth season back in 2011, Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm wasn’t officially canceled, but after a while we all assumed it was dead. However, finally breaking a five-year hiatus, the show makes its triumphant return to an HBO full of dramas to restore dark humor, and David brings along familiar faces like Chris Williams, Iris Bahr, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, and Cheryl Hines, as well as new guests such as Bryan Cranston, Nick Offerman, Jimmy Kimmel, and Elizabeth Banks (to name just a few). The promos are as brazen as David himself: “He left. He did nothing. He returned.” But it’s so good to have him back.
Rick and Morty (Cartoon Network, Sunday 11:30pm)
As we previously noted, we are living in a new golden age of animated shows for adults, and Rick and Morty is living proof: the absurdist sitcom airs on Adult Swim’s late-night slot on Sunday nights, and yet it has gathered high praise from both the public and the critics. After delivering a quality season this past summer, the show’s third run goes out not with a fizzle but with a bang, as grandfather and grandson are summoned by the president to deal with an extraterrestrial creature wreaking havoc in the White House’s Kennedy Sex Tunnels. Keeping it weird until the very end.
The Gifted (FOX, Monday 9pm)
After delivering an interesting and visually bold take on (one of the multiple) mutant universe(s) with Legion, Fox brings to the small screen another adaptation of the characters from the House of Ideas. While it remains independent from the cinematic universe and the timeline followed in Legion, The Gifted is set in a world where once there were X-Men. The show introduces Reed and Caitlin Strucker (Stephen Moyer and Amy Acker), a suburban couple whose ordinary lives change dramatically when they discover that their children (Natalie Alyn Lind and Percy Hynes White) possess mutant powers. The catch: Reed works for the government hunting down mutants. The previous success with Legion and the fact that Bryan Singer directs the pilot and serves as a producer bodes well for the show, while the presence of comic characters Blink, Eclipse, Polaris, and Thunderbird holds an exciting promise for Marvel fans.
Black-ish (ABC, Tuesday 9pm)
With athletes receiving criticism for protesting police brutality and racial tensions still running high, the return of the Johnson family and their whimsical approach to social, political, and cultural issues is welcomed. In the past season, the family was preparing to receive a new baby while also dealing with the results of a troubling election and the mixed emotions of having one of the kids leave for college. Season 4 promises new beginnings (starting with a new time slot), and the new family shenanigans will be scored by Questlove.
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (Netflix, Friday)
Investigative reporter-turned-director David France follows a line in his new documentary The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson that he started threading with his Academy Award-nominated debut How to Survive a Plague: to chronicle the life and struggles of the LGBTQIA community by putting together the bits and pieces of their visual history. This second documentary follows transgender activist Victoria Cruz in her search for the truth behind legendary “street queen” Marsha P. Johnson’s unexplained death, as it also celebrates her political and social legacy.
Spielberg (HBO, Saturday 11pm)
Directed and produced by American Masters’ Susan Lacy, this documentary on Steven Spielberg explores a career in film that comprises nearly 50 years, featuring interviews with people such as J.J. Abrams, Christian Bale, Drew Barrymore, Cate Blanchett, Francis Ford Coppola, Daniel Craig, Daniel Day-Lewis, Brian de Palma, Laura Dern, Leonardo DiCaprio, Richard Dreyfuss, Ralph Fiennes, Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, Ben Kingsley, George Lucas, Liam Neeson, Martin Scorsese, and Robert Zemeckis (to name just a few), as well as with the movie brat himself, all within two hours and 40 minutes. A must see for the true filmmaking buff.
SUNDAY
Bob’s Burgers S8E1 “Brunchsquatch” (FOX, 7:30pm) – season premiere
Outlander S3E4 “Of Lost Things” (Starz, 8pm)
The Simpsons S29E1 “The Serfsons” (FOX, 8pm) – season premiere
Ghosted S1E1 (FOX, 8:30pm) – series premiere
Star Trek: Discovery S1E3 “Context Is for Kings” (CBSAA, 8:30pm)
Wisdom of the Crowd S1E1 (CBS, 8:30pm) – series premiere
Family Guy S16E1 “Emmy-Winning Episode” (FOX, 9pm) – season premiere
Fear the Walking Dead S3E13 “This Land Is Your Land” (AMC, 9pm)
Poldark S3E1 (PBS, 9pm) – season premiere
Ray Donovan S5E8 “Horses” (Showtime, 9pm)
The Deuce S1E4 “I See Money” (HBO, 9pm)
The Last Man on Earth S4E1 “M.U.B.A.R.” (FOX, 9:30pm) – season premiere
Curb Your Enthusiasm S9E1 “Foisted!” (HBO, 10pm) – season premiere
Get Shorty S1E9 “Turnaround” (Epix, 10pm)
Ten Days in the Valley S1E1 “Day 1: Fade In” (ABC, 10pm) – series premiere
Vice Principals S2E3 “The King” (HBO, 10:40pm)
StarTalk With Neil deGrasse Tyson S4E1 (Nat Geo, 11pm) – season premiere
Rick & Morty S3E10 “The Rickchurian Mortydate” (Cartoon Network, 11:30pm) – season finale
MONDAY
Lucifer S3E1 “They’re Back, Aren’t They?” (FOX, 8pm) – season premiere
9JKL S1E1 (CBS, 8:30pm) – series premiere
The Gifted S1E1 “eXposed” (FOX, 9pm) – series premiere
Me, Myself & I S1E2 “The First Step” (CBS, 9:30pm)
Scorpion S4E2 “More Extinction” (CBS, 10pm)
The Brave S1E2 “Moscow Rules” (NBC, 10pm)
The Good Doctor S1E2 “Mount Rushmore” (ABC, 10pm)
Total Request Live (MTV, 2:30pm) – series revival premiere
TUESDAY
The Mindy Project S6E4 “Leo’s Girlfriend” (Hulu)
Rodney Carrington: Here Comes The Truth (Netflix) – stand up special
Finding Your Roots S4E1 (PBS, 8pm) – season premiere
Lethal Weapon S2E2 “Dancing in September” (FOX, 8pm)
NCIS S15E2 “Twofer” (CBS, 8pm)
The Middle S9E1 “Vive La Hecks” (ABC, 8pm) – final season premiere
Fresh Off the Boat S4E1 “B as in Best Friends” (ABC, 8:30pm) – season premiere
black-ish S4E1 “Juneteenth” (ABC, 9pm) – season premiere
This Is Us S2E2 “A Manny-Splendored Thing” (NBC, 9pm)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine S5E2 “The Big House Pt. 2” (FOX, 9:30pm)
The Mayor S1E1 (ABC, 9:30pm) – series premiere
American Horror Story S7E5 “Holes” (FX, 10pm)
Kevin (Probably) Saves the World S1E1 (ABC, 10pm) – series premiere
Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders S1E2 (NBC, 10pm)
Cyberwar S2E1 “The Great Meme War” (Viceland, 11pm) – season premiere
WEDNESDAY
Empire S4E2 “Full Circle” (FOX, 8pm)
The Blacklist S5E2 “Greyson Blaise” (NBC, 8pm)
The Goldbergs S5E2 “Hogan Is My Grandfather” (ABC, 8pm)
Speechless S2E2 “F-i-First S-e-Second F-First Day” (ABC, 8:30pm)
Law & Order: SVU S19E2 “Mood” (NBC, 9pm)
Modern Family S9E2 “The Long Goodbye” (ABC, 9pm)
SEAL Team S1E2 “Other Lives” (CBS, 9pm)
Star S2E2 “Insecure” (FOX, 9pm)
Channel Zero S2E3 “Beware the Cannibals” (Syfy, 10pm)
Chicago PD S5E2 “The Thing About Heroes” (NBC, 10pm)
Criminal Minds S13E2 “To a Better Place” (CBS, 10pm)
Designated Survivor S2E2 “Sting of the Tail” (ABC, 10pm)
Liar S1E2 “I Know You’re Lying” (Sundance Channel, 10pm)
You’re the Worst S4E6 “There’s Always a Back Door” (FXX, 10pm)
Baroness von Sketch Show S2E4 “Taco and a Hair Flip” (IFC, 11pm)
Rosehaven S1E3 & S1E4 (Sundance Channel, 11pm)
THURSDAY
Rillington Place (Sundance Now) – full mini-series premiere
Bonus Family S1 (Netflix) – series American debut
Gotham S4E3 “They Who Hide Behind Masks” (FOX, 8pm)
Grey’s Anatomy S14E3 “Go Big or Go Home” (ABC, 8pm)
Superstore S3E2 “Brett Is Dead” (NBC, 8pm)
The Good Place S2E4 “Team Cockroach” (NBC, 8:30pm)
Project Runway S16E8 (Lifetime, 9pm)
Scandal S7E1 “Watch Me” (ABC, 9pm) – season premiere
The Orville S1E5 “Pria” (FOX, 9pm)
Van Helsing S2E1 “Began Again” (Syfy, 9pm) – season premiere
Will & Grace S9E2 “Who’s Your Daddy” (NBC, 9pm)
Great News S2E2 “Squad Feud” (NBC, 9:30pm)
Better Things S2E4 “Sick” (FX, 10pm)
Chicago Fire S6E2 “Ignite on Contact” (NBC, 10pm)
Ghost Wars S1E1 “Death’s Door” (Syfy, 10pm) – series premiere
How to Get Away With Murder S4E2 “I’m Not Her” (ABC, 10pm)
FRIDAY
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (Netflix) – documentary premiere
Suburra S1 (Netflix) – series premiere
Once Upon a Time S7E1 “Hyperion Heights” (ABC, 8pm)
Active Shooter: America Under Fire S1E2 (Showtime, 9pm)
Hawaii Five-0 S8E2 “Your Knife, My Back. My Gun, Your Head.” (CBS, 9pm)
Marvel’s Inhumans S1E3 “Divide and Conquer” (ABC, 9pm)
The Exorcist S2E2 “Safe as Houses” (FOX, 9pm)
Z Nation S4E2 “Escape from Zona” (Syfy, 9pm)
Room 104 S1E11 “The Fight” (HBO, 11:30pm)
SATURDAY
Halt and Catch Fire S4E8 “Good Will” (AMC, 9pm)
Spielberg (HBO, 11pm) – documentary premiere
