‘Talent’ Goes Live, Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Songs & Stories,’ Jerry Jones and the Cowboys, Aliens on Earth

America’s Got Talent

The talent show goes live with the first of four weeks of quarterfinals, as 11 acts return with hopes of earning enough votes from America to make it to the quarterfinals — or, if really lucky, impressing the judges enough to merit the Live Show Golden Buzzer to send one of the acts each week directly to the finals. Among this week’s scheduled lineup: singers Charity Lockhart and Jourdan Blue, recipient of Mel’s and Howie’s Golden Buzzers, respectively; projection act LightWire, who earned Simon’s Golden Buzzer; and direct from the world of reality TV, Tom Sandoval & the Most Extras.

Songs & Stories With Kelly Clarkson

The original American Idol winner, who successfully reinvented herself as a Daytime Emmy-winning talk show host, adapts her “Songs & Stories” segment into a four-week primetime event, with musical artists joining with Clarkson to discuss their careers and collaborate with the host in acoustic performances. First up: Jonas Brothers, looking back at their lives and inspirations while dueting with Clarkson on some of their biggest hits.

America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys

An eight-part sports docuseries explores the impact and legacy of the Dallas Cowboys, focusing on its billionaire owner Jerry Jones and the team’s historic 1990s’ lineup. Their heyday, overseen by then-coach Jimmy Johnson, peaked with two Super Bowl wins, and Jones’ controversial firing of Johnson, a frenemy bond that dominates director/brothers Chapman and Maclain Way’s series. Both are interviewed, along with gridiron stars Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith, and Deion Sanders, Johnson’s coaching successor Barry Switzer, and famous fans including President George W. Bush and Nike founder Phil Knight.

Alien: Earth

The nail-biting horror escalates in the thrilling sci-fi action series, when human/robot “hybrid” Wendy (the sensational Sydney Chandler) rushes to the rescue of her brother Joe Hermit (Alex Lawther), falling into the Xenomorph alien’s trap. Back in the lab, trillionaire genius Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) gloats that “a trillion dollars of R&D just landed in our laps,” while his “synth” adviser Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant) warns, “We’re trying to contain an alien invasion.” Good luck with that.

Sister Boniface Mysteries

The cozy British mystery set in the 1960s Cotswold village of Great Slaughter is back for a fourth season, starring Lorna Watson as the spunky nun with a forensic science degree and a side hustle in winemaking. Among the puzzles the Jessica Fletcher of her convent will tackle this season: a killer scarecrow.

INSIDE TUESDAY TV:

• The Snake (9/8, Fox): How could this survival-of-the-nastiest reality competition get more unpleasant? In the latest round, the players get to zap their rivals with a shock collar.
• The Kingdom (9/8 and 10/9c, ESPN): The docuseries following the Kansas City Chiefs through the 2024 NFL season relives the team’s highly anticipated regular-season matchup between against AFC rivals the Buffalo Bills, the concerns over QB Patrick Mahomes‘ ankle injury, and a Christmas Day showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• Devo (streaming on Netflix): A documentary from director Chris Smith explores the musical history of the subversive new-wave band, which hit it big with the 1980 hit “Whip It,” and their radical philosophy of “de-evolution.”
• Stalking Samatha: 13 Years of Terror (streaming on Hulu): A three-part true-crime docuseries tells the disturbing story of Samantha Stites, who met Christopher Thomas as a college freshman in 2011 and was relentlessly stalked by him for a decade until he kidnapped her in 2022 and held her prisoner in a soundproof bunker near her Michigan home.