‘Better Things’ Final Season, ‘Good Doctor’ Returns, ‘My Brilliant Friend,’ ‘NCIS’ Medical Crisis

Better Things

Art imitates life in Pamela Adlon’s brilliant comedy about Sam, the harried mother of three confoundingly needy daughters, herself the daughter of an eccentric mother across the street (Celia Imrie), and an actress still trying to stay relevant in middle age in Hollywood. In the premiere (the first of two episodes), Sam’s trip to a genealogist echoes Adlon’s own recent appearance on PBS’ Finding Your Roots. This funny-sad series rings true with every beat, whether she’s bonding with her heartbroken gay best-friend confidant (Diedrich Bader), fretting over her credit rating with her brother (Kevin Pollak) or reassuring her girls that they’re not really poor. Truly, few shows are richer.

The Good Doctor

The medical drama returns earlier than expected because of the sudden cancellation of Promised Land (whose remaining episodes will now appear on Hulu on Tuesdays). The story picks up in the wake of Shaun’s (Freddie Highmore) meltdown as he assesses his relationship with Lea (Paige Spara), who may or may not still be his fiancée. In a storyline similar to the rebellion taking place on NBC medical drama New Amsterdam, Dr. Lim (Christina Chang) prepares to go to war with corner-cutting hospital CEO Salen (Rachel Bay Jones), but soon learns the pitfalls of whistleblowing against an opponent with deep pockets and vast legal resources.

My Brilliant Friend

The emotionally complicated yet enduring friendship of Elena (Marghetia Mazzucco) and Lila (Gaia Girace), who’ve known each other since childhood, continues into the 1970s in the third season of the Italian drama, based on the third book in Elena Ferrante’s acclaimed book series. Their paths diverge further as the willful single mother Lila labors in a factory after leaving her husband, while Elena enjoys success as a novelist.

NCIS

Brian Dietzen co-wrote this tense episode that puts his fan-favorite character of medical examiner Jimmy Palmer in mortal danger. When he and forensic scientist Kasie (Diona Reasonover) are exposed to a deadly biotoxin, the NCIS team calls on an immunologist (Meredith Eaton) to find an antidote while Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) tries to find ways to amuse and distract Jimmy’s daughter, who chose the worst day to accompany her dad to the office.

Inside Monday TV:

•  9-1-1: Lone Star (8/7c, Fox): The bombshell dropped last week that Owen’s (Rob Lowe) ex and T.K.’s (Ronen Rubinstein) mom, Gwyn (Lisa Edelstein), has suddenly died. On the flight to New York to settle affairs, father and son are once again subjected to crisis when the plane experiences mechanical failure. This interrupts T.K.’s reverie about the time when his mom helped get him into rehab.
• The Neighborhood (8/7c, CBS): More odd-couple shenanigans when Calvin (Cedric the Entertainer) is joined by neighbor Dave (Max Greenfield) on a stakeout after a break-in at Calvin’s workplace.
• One Thousand Years of Slavery (8/7c, Smithsonian Channel): The fourth and final chapter of the docuseries examines racial inequity and injustice then and now, with reflections from the three-times great-grandson of abolitionist Frederick Douglass and the daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Rock the Block (9/8c, HGTV): The third season of the home-makeover competition enlists network stars from Fixer to Fabulous, Bargain Block, Unsellable Houses and Married to Real Estate to tap into $250,000 renovation budgets to transform identical homes in South Carolina into showstoppers. They start in the kitchen.
• Ragdoll (10/9c, AMC): First shown on AMC+, this gruesomely compelling mystery thriller follows the search for a serial killer who stitches together body parts from different victims.
• Million Dollar Wheels (streaming on discovery+): Jamie Foxx executive produces a docuseries that goes inside the world of celebrity car dealer RD Whittington, who fixes up the ultra-rich and famous with fabulous rides.
• Murdoch Mysteries (streaming on Acorn TV): Also airing weekly on Saturdays on Ovation TV, the 15th season of the period Canadian mystery opens on a two-parter (concluding next week) in which Det. Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) scours Montreal trying to save his son Harry (Etienne Kellici) from the Black Hand gang.
• Chappelle’s Home Team (streaming on Netflix): Dave Chapelle is executive producer of a four-part series of stand-up specials spotlighting talents especially chosen by the comedian, who introduces each act. First up: Earthquake: Legendary, starring comedian Earthquake, who shakes things up with his riffs on wealth and prostate exams.