‘Superstar’ Whitney Houston, Chadwick Boseman in Marvel’s ‘What If …?”, Return to ‘Riverdale,’ Third Time in the ‘Kissing Booth’

Series Premiere

10/9c

What becomes a legend most? Being subjected to biographical profiles documenting the highs and lows of fame. First up in a new ABC News series is Whitney Houston, of the soaring voice and tragic personal demons. The episode touts never-seen private video as well as vintage interviews from the ABC News archive with Houston, bolstered with new commentary from fellow performers who knew her well, including Brandy, Chaka Khan, BeBe Winans, Darlene Love and dancer Savion Glover.

Series Premiere

Loki opened the window to a Marvel multi-verse of infinite possibilities, which this animated series uses as a jumping-off point to imagine new fates for classic characters. Westworld’s Jeffrey Wright voices The Watcher, “your guide through these vast new realities,” which takes on unintended poignancy with Chadwick Boseman’s final performance, voicing the role of Black Panther’s T’Challa in four separate scenarios. (The one available for preview finds him plucked from Wakanda in place of Peter Quill to become Star Lord.) In other vignettes, Peggy Carter wields the Captain America shield, subverting the sexism of the period, and The Avengers are attacked before they even get a chance to form. The Marvel universe may never be the same.

9/8c

No relation to the Archie comics of my youth, this dark drama returns from a four-month hiatus to resume its fifth season amid the fallout from the prison break that Hiram (Mark Consuelos) staged back in March. While Archie (KJ Apa) leads the effort to round up the escapees still on the loose, Tabitha (Erinn Westbrook) asks Betty (Lili Reinhart) for help in tracking down Jughead (Cole Sprouse), who’s gone missing while tripping on mushrooms. (In my day, the Riverdale gang rarely got more adventurous than a mushroom pizza.)

Movie Premiere

As befits a rom-com movie franchise built around a triangle, The Kissing Booth series reaches its third, and reportedly final, chapter with an eventful one-last-summer at the beach house. Elle (the adorable Joey King) is enjoying her last gasp of freedom before heading off to college, but therein lies the rub. Hanging over all the fun in the sun is her difficult choice: to go to Harvard to be with her dreamboat beau Noah (Jacob Elordi) or to stay in California to attend Berkeley as she always promised her childhood BFF Lee (Joel Courtney), who’s also Noah’s younger brother. Adding to the John Hughes vibe: Molly Ringwald, who plays the boys’ mom and advises Elle to put herself first before deciding.

Season Premiere

10/9c

Judge Judy is currently between shows, so Shark Tank’s gruff investor Kevin O’Leary has stepped into the void to give his own rulings on messy financial disputes. With trial attorney Katie Phang and former judge Ada Pozo joining him on the panel to give legal advice, O’Leary listens to all sides and examines the evidence before making a judgment, which the participants have agreed to accept. In the opener, cases include siblings arguing over who owes whom when they default on a timeshare and a married couple disagreeing over whether to sell their dream home to fund a new product.

Inside Tuesday TV:

• The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (8/7c, MTV): A new season of the spy-themed competition, filmed in scenic Croatia, teams U.S. Challenge veterans with international players to take on physical and mental tests. Followed by a revival of another MTV staple: Cribs (9:30/8:30c), which goes inside the homes of rapper Big Sean and Challenge host TJ Lavin.
• America’s Got Talent (8/7c, NBC): Former AGT winners Brandon Leake (season 15) and Darci Lynne (season 12) return during the first quarterfinal results show. Seven acts move on, but fans will have the chance to save a favorite performer by using the AGT app or voting on nbc.com.
• MasterChef: Legends (8/7c, Fox): Guest judge Roy Choi uses his expertise in the food-truck industry to inspire the home cooks to elevate a street-food dish to gourmet status.
• Dave (10/9c, FXX): Kevin Hart and Lil Nas X appear in the comedy’s season finale, which leads up to the long-awaited release of rapper Dave’s (Dave “Li’l Dicky” Burd) debut album, Penith.