Our night-by-night survey of new broadcast TV shows hits hump day with a couple of “new” shows that are actually variations on favorite old shows. On the other hand, there’s a singing competition that looks like something out of the future.
NEW SHOWS
“The Wonder Years” (ABC, 8:30 p.m., starts tonight). The most successful remake of this season turns the beloved old coming-of-age series and transplants it to a black family in Montgomery, Ala., in 1968. Dulé Hill is the head of household; Fred Savage, star of the original, is back as a director. Don Cheadle provides the voice of the narrator.
“Alter Ego” (Fox, 9 p.m., tonight) is a new singing competition where contestants devise avatar holograms as their performers, who apparently do their thing before audiences and a panel of judges that includes Alanis Morrisette, Will I. Am, Grimes and Nick Lachey. The idea of avatars as performers is discussed in an article I wrote here.
“CSI: Vegas” (CBS, 10 p.m., Oct. 6). When it first came out, 21 years ago, the original “CSI” was set in Las Vegas, so the location is probably superfluous in the title of this version, in which original stars William Peterson, Jorja Fox and Wallace Langham return to a cast that also includes Paula Newsome, Matt Lauria, Mel Rodriguez and Sandeep Dhillon.
RETURNING SHOWS
“The Goldbergs” (ABC, 8 p.m., returning tonight), “Survivor” (CBS, 8 p.m., tonight), “The Masked Singer” (Fox, 8 p.m.), “Chicago Med” (NBC, 8 p.m., tonight), “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” (CW, Oct. 13), “The Connors” (ABC, 9 p.m., tonight), “Tough as Nails” (CBS, 9 p.m., Oct. 6), “Chicago Fire” (NBC, 9 p.m., tonight), “Batwoman” (CW, 9 p.m., Oct 12), “Home Economics” (ABC, 9:30 p.m., tonight), “A Million Little Things” (ABC, 10 p.m., tonight), “Chicago Fire” (NBC, 10 p.m., tonight).
OF NOTE ON STREAMING SERVICES
“Dopesick” (Hulu, Oct. 13). A well-paced, well-cast limited series parses out the infuriating story of how the Sackler family inflicted the opioid crisis on the country. The stellar cast includes Michael Keaton, Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Stuhlberg and Kaitlyn Dever and Rosario Dawson. Danny Strong has a knack of making topical scripts gripping. He based it on the book by Beth Macy; no less than Barry Levinson is directing.