‘61st Street’ on the Move, Bob Newhart Tribute, Prison Escapes and Fatal Affairs, ‘Murder’ and ‘Race to Survive’ Finales

Season Premiere

9/8c

In the game of musical chairs that has beset so many series, this gritty legal drama was left unmoored when AMC dropped it after the second season had been produced. Thankfully, The CW (always on the lookout for acquisitions) stepped in to provide Season 2 with a summer run, reintroducing Emmy winner Courtney B. Vance as crusading Chicago lawyer Franklin Roberts. He’s battling a terminal illness while taking on corruption within the Windy City’s ethically comprised police department. His new client, Officer Logan (Mark O’Brien), turns to Roberts for help after his killing of an innocent man becomes embroiled in a cover-up.

Special

8/7c

Much of the late Bob Newhart’s comedy legacy played out on CBS, making it the perfect home for a prime-time tribute. The hourlong special, hosted by Entertainment Tonight’s Nischelle Turner, features behind-the-scenes footage from his classic TV shows and movies and remembrances from co-stars including Elf’s Will Ferrell and Jim Parsons of The Big Bang Theory, on whose show the whimsical character of Professor Proton won Newhart his first Primetime Emmy in 2013. Newhart’s CBS shows include The Bob Newhart Show (1972-78), Newhart (1982-90), Bob (1992-93) and George and Leo (1997-98).

Season Premiere

9/8c

The Shawshank Redemption star returns to host the docuseries’ second season, recreating legendary breakouts. The opener is set at Mississippi’s notorious prison farm Parchman Penitentiary where a loner inmate, who dreams of writing crime novels, ends up living out a book-worthy escape of his own. Future episodes depict escapes from Devil’s Island and WWII’s Sobibor Death Camp.

Series Premiere

9/8c

Three’s a crowd, and one often turns up dead in a true-crime series featuring analysis from psychologist and relationship expert Dr. Michelle Callahan. The series opener gives demerits to two schoolteachers whose torrid affair behind closed doors sours when one discovers the other is married.

Season Finale

The breezy mystery set in scenic New Zealand wraps its fourth season with a two-part episode in which private eye Alexa Crowe (Lucy Lawless) tangles with “black widows” at an exclusive golf country club. Seems one of the men who ran afoul of this ghoulish gaggle turned up dead and crispy in the hyperbaric chamber of the club’s so-called Wellness Center. Before long, it’s Alexa in the hot seat, forced to clear her own name.

Season Finale

11/10c

Closer in nature to the classic Eco-Challenge than The Amazing Race, this grueling 40-day, 150-mile trek through the Kiwi countryside comes to an end, with the three remaining teams facing one last daunting gauntlet. Whoever hustles first to the finish line walks away with a $500,000 grand prize.

INSIDE MONDAY TV:

• All American: Homecoming (8/7c, The CW): Now airing an hour earlier, the college sports drama continues with Simone (Geffri Maya) facing pushback after pushing the tennis team too hard.
• The Bachelorette (8/7c, ABC): The Down Under adventures for Jenn and her suitors include a stop at Australia’s all-male Thunder Down Under dance revue and a spin on a high-speed racetrack.
• American Ninja Warrior (8/7c, NBC): The semifinals get underway in Los Angeles, with obstacles including the Home Run and Spin Hopper, with the two fastest Ninjas racing for the coveted Safety Pass on the way to the finals.