‘9-1-1’ Expands to Nashville, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Goes Boom, Marine ‘Boots’ Camp, All About Victoria Beckham and Saquon Barkley

9-1-1

The long-running first-responder drama opens its ninth season with a tribute to the 118’s fallen leader, Bobby Nash (Peter Krause), as the crew prepares to dedicate the firehouse in his memory. But duty never stops calling, and they snap back into action for an emergency involving a billionaire tech giant in critical peril.

The Golden Bachelor

The second season of The Golden Bachelor is available Wednesdays on ABC and streaming next day on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+. It’s the senior spin on the beloved dating reality show, with 66-year-old former NFL linebacker and lawyer Mel Owens searching for his later-in-life lover. This season is hosted by Jesse Palmer, a former Bachelor and NFL player himself. Fingers crossed he can help Owens find love.

9-1-1: Nashville

It’s a sign of the times, and the state of broadcast TV, that ABC’s only new scripted series this fall is that most reliable of standbys: a spinoff. Chris O’Donnell, who starred in one of TV’s most successful spinoffs (NCIS: LA), leads the ensemble as Captain Don Hart of Fire Station 113. In the premiere, he and his crew respond to a franchise favorite — a weather emergency — when a tornado rips through Music City, threatening a country-music festival. Jessica Capshaw (Grey’s Anatomy) co-stars as Don’s wife Blythe, whose well-heeled family brings a Dynasty vibe to Don’s working-class world when a scandalous family secret is revealed.

Grey’s Anatomy

Another year, another cliffhanger to resolve. Which is how Grey’s Anatomy kicks off its 22nd season, TV’s longest-running prime-time medical drama. The opener is in full crisis mode, and it’s all hands on deck as Grey Sloan’s staff scrambles in the wake of an explosion on the surgical floor. Link (Chris Carmack) appeared to be the doctor most immediately in danger, but we’ll know soon enough who gets to operate another day.

Boots

“This is not like summer camp,” laments Cameron Cope (Parenthood‘s Miles Heizer), a closeted gay man who follows his best friend Ray (Liam Oh) into the Marines in 1990, when homosexuality was strictly forbidden (even predating “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”). Cameron also soon realizes that the “buddy system” isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be in a system designed to break down recruits and shape them into soldiers. This eight-part dramedy, based on Greg Cope White’s memoir The Pink Marine, has moments of whimsy — especially when Cameron’s anxiety-ridden inner self speaks out — but is also unexpectedly compelling in its coming-of-age story as Cameron makes unexpected alliances in his quest to discover what it is to be a man. “I’m such a Rose,” this Golden Girls fan sighs — which is probably something he should keep to himself for the time being.

Victoria Beckham

The road from musical stardom as Posh Spice to celebrated footballer’s wife to being accepted as a fashion designer hasn’t always been easy, says Victoria Beckham in a three-part documentary profile. “I have never forgotten where I come from,” she says, revealing her insecurities and desires as she prepares for “the biggest fashion show I have ever done.”

Saquon

With Martin Scorsese as executive producer, an intimate documentary spotlights Saquon Barkley, the Super Bowl champion running back for the Philadelphia Eagles. The film covers his career highs and lows (injuries) while also following him off the field as a devoted husband and dad. “It’s not who you are when you get knocked down,” says the resilient superstar athlete. “It’s who you are when you stand back up. That’s why I play the game.”

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• Law & Order (8/7c, NBC): ADA Price (Hugh Dancy) is desperate to prove a motive when an investment fund manager is murdered during a client’s high-stakes takeover. Followed by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (9/8c), where Benson (Mariska Hargitay) investigates a bombing that Bruno (Kevin Kane) believes was intended to destroy DNA evidence in a rape case; and Law & Order: Organized Crime (10/9c), with Stabler (Christopher Meloni) enlisting a longtime confidential informant for intel after an attack on Carisi’s (Peter Scanavino) trial.
• English Teacher (9/8c and 9:30/8:30c, FX): Evan (Brian Jordan Alvarez) can’t unplug on a weekend getaway with his argumentative boyfriend Malcolm (Jordan Firstman) while his fellow teachers are busy administering standardized tests. Things get much weirder when the teachers see who’s been chosen to evaluate them during the state accreditation process.
• Elkhorn (9/8c, INSP): A sinister stranger from Chicago arrives at Teddy Roosevelt’s (Mason Beals) Elkhorn Ranch looking for an associate who went missing a year ago.
• The Graham Norton Show (11/10c, BBC America): An obscure newcomer named Taylor Swift shares a couch with fellow guests Cillian Murphy, Tron: Ares stars Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith, The Paper star Domhnall Gleeson, and singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi.

ON THE STREAM:

• NCIS: Tony & Ziva (streaming on Paramount+): Everyone converges in Paris at a military arms expo where Tony (Michael Weatherly), Ziva (Cote de Pablo), Claudette (Amita Suman) and Boris (Maximilian Osinski) hope to secure drone footage implicating crooked Interpol agent Jonah (Julian Ovenden), who’s got his vengeful eyes on Reigning Fire CEO Aaron Graves (Sean Pertwee).
• O’ahu Shores (streaming on Peacock): An ocean away from Jersey Shore, an easy-on-the-eyes reality series follows a group of frolicking friends on the scenic Hawaiian island.
• Peacemaker (streaming on HBO Max): The Season 2 finale of the raucous DC Universe action series finds Chris Smith, aka Peacemaker (John Cena), in custody while A.R.G.U.S. explores portals to alternate universes. Where will it all lead?