At a time when so many shows are beginning, it’s instructive to watch a show that is in perfect control of its finale. Tonight’s end of “Broadchurch” (BBC America, 10 p.m.) not only delivers the shocking answer to the murder mystery, but deals with all of its repercussions. Really well done.
Two more new shows for Esquire, which is shaping up to be a pretty decent destination. “The Getaway” (Esquire, 9 p.m.) features stars taking trips, starting with Joel McHale of “The Soup” (E!, 10 p.m.), going to Belfast. Then “Boundless” (Esquire, 10 p.m.) has two extreme athletes, Simon Donato and Paul Trebilcock, competing against each other as they travel the world over five months.
“South Park” (Comedy Central, 10 p.m.) begins its 17th season, armed with so many recent issues to take on.
The finale of “Top Chef Masters” (Bravo, 10 p.m.) is between Bryan Voltaggio, Douglas Keane and Jennifer Jasinski. The prize is $100,000 for their favorite charity. And bragging rights, of course.
There’s a $250,000 prize at stake in the first season finale of “Capture” (The CW, 9 p.m.), but no bragging rights, since nobody has been watching (It only hit 1 million viewers once, about as low as you can go on broadcast TV). The final teams are the college buddies, the neighbors and the British twins.
Nobody has technically be eliminated from “Survivor” (CBS, 8 p.m.) quite yet, but there are three people on Redemption Island. One may actually go home tonight.
Now that two story lines have completed on “The Bridge” (FX, 10 p.m.), it’s time to bring in mumbly Steven Linder and see how Charlotte handles her latest tunnel challenge. The series has been picked up this week for a second season.
The family takes Axl to college on the season premiere of “The Middle” (ABC, 8 p.m.).
The one hour fifth season premiere of “Modern Family” (ABC, 9 p.m.) comes on the heels of their latest Emmy win, its fourth consecutive best comedy win.
One of the most cliched season finale cliffhangers is the car crash. It happened last spring on “Nashville” (ABC, 10 p.m.). You have to tune into the second season premiere tonight to see how everyone fared.
In the battle between “The Voice” and “The X Factor” (Fox, 8 p.m.), it seems the former has many more ringers so far this season.
Let’s not forget those birds, flying now over the Andes and Amazon as the “Earthflight” series continues on “Nature” (PBS, 8 p.m.).
The carnage has been going on for so many years now: Nine seasons on “Criminal Minds” (CBS, 9 p.m.), going after a methodical killer in Arizona in their season premiere; 15 seasons for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (NBC, 9 p.m.), which starts the season with a two hour episode in search of Mariska Hargitay’s abductor; and 17 seasons for “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (CBS, 10 p.m.), going after a ritualistic killer.
It’s East vs. West in the rap battle on “Key & Peele” (Comedy Central, 10:30 p.m.).
They found a way to get the lights back on in last season’s finale of “Revolution” (NBC, 8 p.m.). Now they figure out a use for it (hint: charge a lot of phones).
If it wasn’t the name of a public television special, “Skeletons of the Sahara” (PBS, 10 p.m., check local listings) would have made a good band name or title of a Sting album.
Before you read Stephen King’s sequel, here’s Stanley Kubrick’s version of the original “The Shining” (BBC America, 7 p.m.) that the author hated.
The director King Vidor gets the royal treatment on Turner Classic Movies tonight with screenings of his silent “The Big Parade” (8 p.m.) followed by “Street Scene” (10:45 p.m.), “Stella Dallas” (12:15 a.m.), “Duel in the Sun” (2:15 a.m.) and “Ruby Gentry” (4:45 a.m.).
Baseball tonight includes Rays at Yankees (ESPN, 7 p.m.) and Dodgers at Giants (ESPN, 10 p.m.).
Daytime Talk
Kelly & Michael: Michael J. Fox, Sofia Vergara, Blake Shelton. The View: James Caan, Michael Sheen, Lizzy Caplan. The Talk: Eva Mendes, Dean Sheremet. Ellen DeGeneres: Lauren Graham, Elton John. Wendy Williams: Cookie Monster, Shallon Lester.
Late Talk
David Letterman: Robin Williams, Renee Fleming, Icona Pop. Jay Leno: Dana Carvey, Cee-Lo Green, Goodie Mob. Jimmy Kimmel: Jon Hamm, Dave Salmoni, Sons of the Sea. Jimmy Fallon: Michael J. Fox, Blake Shelton, Kings of Leon. Craig Ferguson: Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer. Curtis Daly: Curtis Stone, White Lung (rerun). Tavis Smiley: Linda Ronstadt. Jon Stewart: Atoms for Peace. Stephen Colbert: Joseph Gordon-Levitt. W. Kamau Bell: Van Jones. Conan O’Brien: Charlie Day, Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, Melissa Rauch, Deer Tick. Chelsea Handler: