‘Top Chef’ in the Carolinas, More Layers in ‘Paradise,’ Reggie Dinkins and the Coach, Baby Boo-Boos in the ‘Neighborhood’

Top Chef

The cooking competition heads south for its 23rd season, staging its first Quickfire Challenge and introducing 15 new contestants at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, with NASCAR champs Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson helping decide the winner. Under a broiling sun and 90-degree temps, teams of three race to make and plate a dish before a car finishes its 23rd lap. From there, it’s on to the first Elimination Challenge, where each chef puts their own stamp on a local food staple: the sweet potato in its many varieties. The stakes are high because in the first two episodes, the unlucky chef asked to pack their knives and go won’t even get to play in the “Last Chance Kitchen.”

Paradise

Meet Gary (Mindhunter‘s Cameron Britton), the latest addition to this riveting drama’s sprawling cast. At the end of last week’s devastating tearjerker episode, Xavier (Sterling K. Brown), with motherless baby in tow, met this amiable Atlanta mailman who says he’s best friends with Xavier’s wife, Teri (Enuka Okuma), the object of Xavier’s long search above ground, with the bad news that she has been taken. By whom? Cue another fascinating and emotionally compelling flashback to the beginning of the end of the world as we knew it, showing how Gary met Teri and how they survived the fallout. Life outside the bunker sure is interesting.

The Fall & Rise of Reggie Dinkins

Corbin Bernsen guests on the mock-doc comedy as Reggie’s (Tracy Morgan) former NFL coach Duck Donovan, whose career collapsed in the wake of Reggie’s gambling scandal. Duck isn’t the forgiving sort, but when the coach’s emotional support cat, Namath, goes missing, Reggie sees a path to the NFL Hall of Fame if he can make a historic rescue. Elsewhere, Reggie’s ex and manager Monica (Erika Alexander) tries to get her groove back in the dating game to prove that, like Reggie, there’s no such thing as a lost cause.

DMV

With baby Daphne’s parents away for the weekend, Tina (Tichina Arnold) insists on babysitting her grandchild. Which means babyproofing the Butler home, leading to farcical complications that result in Calvin (Cedric the Entertainer) and Dave (Max Greenfield) being locked in the bathroom. Followed by DMV (8:30/7:30c), with guest-star Anna Camp (True Blood) as a new driving examiner who adds to Colette’s (Harriet Dyer) insecurities.

American Idol

Having survived Hollywood Week, the singing hopefuls head to Hawaii for what has become an annual “Ohana Round,” performing at the Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina. In this tropical setting, they hope to impress the judges and industry tastemakers while singing in front of their families and peers. Only 20 will advance to the next round.

INSIDE MONDAY TV:

• Wild Cards (8/7c, The CW): Ellis (Giacomo Gianniotti) and Max (Vanessa Morgan) check out a small town marking the anniversary of a murder spree, teaming up with the sole survivor to investigate when a copycat killer begins causing new mayhem.
• St. Denis Medical (8:30/7:30c, NBC): It’s Matt’s (Mekki Leeper) birthday, the first one he’s ever actually celebrated with friends, and while his choice of a laser-tag arcade doesn’t sit well with everyone, especially the man-hungry Joyce (Wendi McLendon-Covey), Chaplain Steve (Stephen Schneider) seizes the opportunity to show off with Serena (Kahyun Kim).
• FBI (9/8c, CBS): Jubal (Jeremy Sisto) takes lead when the son of a pro basketball team’s owner is kidnapped. Followed by CIA (10/9c), where the team snaps into action to get Deputy Chief Nikki (Necar Zadegan) back to New York after her cover is blown on an assignment to Hong Kong.
• The Ultimate Baking Championship (9/8c, Food Network): Host Jesse Palmer welcomes 16 accomplished pastry chefs to bake their hearts out for judges Duff Goldman and Sherry Yard. By the end of the opening rounds, the field will be narrowed to 10.
• The Voice (9/8c, NBC): Blind auditions continue, with chairs spinning whenever Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson, and John Legend like what they hear.
• The Rookie (10/9c, ABC): While Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and his police partners encounter danger during a routine check, Bailey (Jenna Dewan) embarks on a cover investigation at the Pentagon at Grey’s (Richard T. Jones) bidding.
• Sesame Street (streaming on Netflix): Miley Cyrus drops by Elmo’s toy swap as part of a new batch of episodes.