Peak fall TV comes early with the debut of a couple of solid series starts.
First Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain (above) star in “Scenes from a Marriage” (HBO, 9 p.m.), a bold update of Ingmar Bergman’s 1973 classic. It’s from the maker of “In Treatment,” so it can be kind of talky. But the acting is so strong, and the issues so deep, it’s hard not to be compelled by its courageous soul-searching.
Then comes Jeff Daniels and Maura Tierney in the new “American Rust” (Showtime, 10 p.m.), based on Phillipp Meyer’s novel, about a police chief in a crumbling western Pennsylvania town, who tries to protect the son of a woman he’s interested in. In many ways, it’s a plot similar to Showtime’s earlier “Your Honor” with Bryan Cranston — with a respected community leader covering up. But the drama too has a caliber of acting that equals the exacting sense of place.
Doja Cat hosts the MTV Video Music Awards (MTV, CW, BET, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Pop, TVLand, VH1, 8 p.m.) from the Barclays Center in New York City, with performances from Camila Cabello, Chloe, Justin Bieber, Kacey Musgraves, Lil Nas X, Machine Gun Kelly, Shawn Mendes, Olivia Rodrigo and Twenty One Pilots. Bieber leads all with nine nomination, followed by seven each for Megan Thee Stallion, BTS and Giveon. It’s simulcast on seven other Viacom networks.