Growing up in Alabama, he was always fascinated with ants. From that, he studied other insect commutes and eventualy humans, leading him to make groundbreaking contributions to human evolutionary theory. His books “The Theory of Island Biogeography” and “Sociobiology,” in 1975, revolutionized contemporary thought about animal behavior, including the animals who were humans.
The life and times of Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist is documented in the two hour special, “E.O. Wilson — Of Ants and Men” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings).
Who misses “ER”? Time to get the gurneys moving fast again and fix those people in the new “Code Black” (CBS, 10 p.m.) which includes in its cast Marcia Gay Harden and Luis Guzman.
The second half of “iHeartRadio Music Festival” (The CW, 8 p.m.) features the Weeknd, Blake Shelton, Nick Jonas, Fall Out Boy and Janet Jackson, from Las Vegas for two hours.
A new season starts for “Criminal Minds” (CBS, 9 p.m.), as if you need another show to track serial killers.
Cookie’s efforts to start a new label don’t go easy on “Empire” (Fox, 9 p.m.), which roared back last week to big numbers.
“Survivor” (CBS, 8 p.m.) is already off to a pretty good start this season.
Sue isn’t exactly adjusting to college on “The Middle” (ABC, 8 p.m.).
Chloe Dykstra is guest judge on “Steampunk’d” (Game Show Network, 9 p.m.).
For the finale of “Teen Mom 2” (MTV, 9 p.m.), the women are told they’re not exactly teenagers any more.
Diahann Carroll programs the flicks on Turner Classic Movies tonight and chooses her own “Claudine” (8 p.m.) before “Now, Voyager” (10 p.m.), “Gilda” (12:15 a.m.), “Glory” (2:15 a.m.) and “Bright Road” (4:30 a.m.).
Baseball includes both ends of a double header, St. Louis at Pittsburgh (MLB, 1:30 p.m.; ESPN, 7 p.m.) as well as Dodgers at San Francisco (ESPN, 10 p.m.).
Daytime Talk
Kelly & Michael: Julianna Margulies, Ariana Grade, Amy Robach. The View: Rick Santorum, Judy Greer. The Talk: Shemar Moore, Jenny Hutt. Ellen DeGeneres: Kim Kardashian, Nina Terrero. The Real: Margaret Cho. Meredith Vieira: Tim Gunn.
Late Talk
Stephen Colbert: John Oliver, Evan Spiegel, Bill Withers, Ed Sheeran. Jimmy Kimmel: Don Rickles, Ken Jeong, Kelsea Ballerini. Jimmy Fallon: Julianna Margulies, Andy Cohen, John Scofield. Seth Meyers: Robert DeNiro, Judy Greer, Highly Suspect. James Corden: Patricia Arquette, Matt Walsh, Jeremy Irvine, A$AP Rocky. Carson Daly: Jeremy Irvine, Wavves, Aja Naomi King. Tavis Smiley: James Taylor. Trevor Noah: Chris Christie. Conan O’Brien: Nunal Nayyar, Ed Burns, El Vy.