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For more than 30 years, John Kiesewetter has been the source for information about all things in local media — comings and goings, local people appearing on the big or small screen, special programs, and much more. Contact John at johnkiese@yahoo.com.

TV Kiese's Guide To Fall TV Premiere Dates

Jake Giles Netter/NBC
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Courtesy NBCUniversal
Jimmy Smits returns to his NBC roots, playing a lawyer on "Bluff City Law" starting Sept. 23.

Here's my annual Fall TV guide, as the season kicks off today with the new Kelly Clarkson, Tamron Hall and Judge Jerry daytime shows; HGTV's A Very Brady Renovation at 8 p.m.; and a Monday Night Football doubleheader.

My list includes:

--Thumbnail descriptions for the new primetime shows, starting with Country Music, A Film By Ken Burns, the eight-night PBS series on Sunday, Sept. 15.

Jimmy Smits' Bluff City Law, Patricia Heaton's Carol's Second Act and most of the broadcast networks' new fall shows (12 of 17) will premiere the following week, Sept. 22-28.

--Returning shows season premiere dates.

All new series premieres are listed in BOLD ITALICS.

Print it out and circle your favorites.

You're welcome.

Credit Courtesy NBCUniversal
Kelly Clarkson's daytime show replaces 'Pickler & Ben' at 3 p.m. weekdays on WCPO-TV.

MONDAY, SEPT. 9

3 p.m.: KELLY CLARKSON, Ch. 9. PREMIERE. American Idol's first winner (2002) and The Voice judge stars in a new daytime talk show replacing Scripps' Pickler & Ben.

3 p.m.: TAMRON HALL, Ch. 5. PREMIERE. Former NBC Today show co-host and Dateline NBC correspondent Tamron Hall replaces Steve Harvey's Steve, which was canceled after seven years.

5 p.m.: JUDGE JERRY, Ch. 64. PREMIERE. Jerry Springer, former talk show host – and Cincinnati lawyer, councilman, mayor and news anchor – debuts his new court show. (A second episode airs at 5:30 p.m.)

7:10 p.m. Monday Night Football, ESPN. Season starts with a doubleheader: Texans at Saints, followed by Broncos at Raiders (10:20 p.m.).

Credit Courtesy HGTV
'The Brady Bunch' cast members help HGTV restore the house seen in the 1969-74 TV series in 'A Very Brady Restoration.'

8 p.m.: A VERY BRADY RENOVATION, HGTV. PREMIERE. The Brady Bunch cast members help renovate the North Hollywood home which was used for exterior shots for ABC's 1969-74 sitcom.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 13

9 p.m.: American Masters: Raul Julia: The World's A Stage, PBS. Profile of award-winning actor Raul Julia.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 15

8 p.m.: COUNTRY MUSIC, A FILM BY KEN BURNS, PBS. PREMIERE.  In his 16-hour film airing over eight days (through Wednesday, Sept. 25), Ken Burns traces the history of country music from the days of "hillbilly music" and barn dances through Hollywood movies with Roy Rogers and Gene Autry; the popularity of bluegrass music, electric guitars and pedal steel guitars; the evolution of rockabilly into rock 'n' roll; and the constant tension between making mainstream hits or going back to its roots.

8 p.m.: The Masked Singer: Super Sneak Peek, Fox.  A preview of Fox's singing contest by host Nick Cannon before the series premiere Sept. 25.

MONDAY, SEPT. 16

Noon: 25 WORDS OR LESS, Ch. 19. PREMIERE. Former Who Wants To Be A Millionaire host Meredith Vieira returns to TV with a new game show on which contestants try to help a partner guess 10 words using only 25 words or less. It replaces Millionaire, now hosted by Chris Harrison, which was canceled.

2 p.m.: PROTECTION COURT, Ch. 19. PREMIERE. Judge Carroll Kelly from the domestic violence division of Dade County, Fla., presides over this new twist on the TV courtroom show.

2 p.m.: PERSONAL INJURY COURT, Ch. 12.2. PREMIERE Judge Gino Brogdon presides over a new made-for-TV hearing in which litigants claim personal harm from the defendants' carelessness. In addition to witness testimony, cases may include re-enactments and surveillance video.

8 p.m.: American Ninja Warrior, NBC. Eleventh season finale in Las Vegas.

Credit Courtesy PBS
Ken Burns' 16-hour 'Country Music' history airs Sunday-Wednesday Sept. 15-18 and Sept. 22-25.

8 p.m.: COUNTRY MUSIC, A FILM BY KEN BURNS, PBS.  Second episode of eight-part, 16-hour documentary about the history of country music.

8 p.m.: Dancing With The Stars, ABC. Season 28 premiere.

8:15 p.m.: Monday Night Football, ESPN: Cleveland Browns at New York Jets.

1:37 a.m.: A LITTLE LATE WITH LILLY SINGH, NBC. PREMIERE.  Actress-producer-writer Lilly Singh takes over Carson Daly's late-night NBC time slot. 

TUESDAY, SEPT. 17

8 p.m.: COUNTRY MUSIC, A FILM BY KEN BURNS, PBS.  Third episode of eight-part, 16-hour documentary about the history of country music.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 18

8 p.m.: COUNTRY MUSIC, A FILM BY KEN BURNS, PBS.  Fourth episode of eight-part, 16-hour documentary about the history of country music.

10 p.m.: A Little Late with Lilly Singh: The Prime-Time Special, NBC.  The network gives some prime-time promotion to Singh, who took over Carson Daly's late-night time slot Monday, Sept. 16.

10 p.m.: American Horror Story: 1984, FX. Ninth season premiere.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 22

8 p.m.: 71st Prime-Time Emmy Awards, Fox.  How many Emmys will HBO's Game of Thrones win in its last season?

8 p.m.: COUNTRY MUSIC, A FILM BY KEN BURNS, PBS.  The second week for Burns' epic film stars with the fifth episode of the eight-part, 16-hour documentary about country music.

MONDAY, SEPT. 23

8 p.m.: COUNTRY MUSIC, A FILM BY KEN BURNS, PBS.  Sixth episode of eight-part, 16-hour documentary about the history of country music.

8 p.m.: The Neighborhood, CBS. Second season premiere.

8 p.m.: The Voice, NBC. Season 17 premiere.

8 p.m.: 9-1-1, Fox. Third season premiere.

8:30 p.m. BOB (HEARTS) ABISHOLA, CBS. PREMIERE. Billy Gardell (Mike & Molly) returns to CBS as a salesman who falls in love with his Nigerian nurse (Folake Olowofoyeku from Transparent) after his heart attack.

Credit Bill Inoshita / CBS
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CBS
Simone Missick and Marg Helgenberger star in CBS' new courtroom drama 'All Rise.'

9 p.m.: ALL RISE, CBS. PREMIERE. Simone Missick (from Netflix's Luke Cage) plays a first-time Los Angeles judge, with help from Marg Helgenberger (CSI).

9 p.m.: PRODIGAL SON, Fox. PREMIERE. Tom Payne (The Walking Dead) plays the son of a serial killer who tracks down murderers. With Bellamy Young (Scandal) and Lou Diamond Phillips (Longmire, Miami Vice).

10 p.m.:  BLUFF CITY LAW, NBC. PREMIERE. Jimmy Smits (NYDP Blue, L.A. Law), plays a Memphis lawyer working with his daughter (Caitlin McGee).

10 p.m.: Bull, CBS. Fourth season premiere.

10 p.m.: The Good Doctor, ABC. Second season premiere.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 24

8 p.m.: COUNTRY MUSIC, A FILM BY KEN BURNS, PBS.  Seventh episode of eight-part, 16-hour documentary about the history of country music.

8 p.m.: NCIS, CBS. Season 17 premiere.

8 p.m. The Conners, ABC. Third season premiere.

8 p.m.: The Resident, Fox. Third season premiere.

8:30 p.m. Bless This Mess, ABC. Second season premiere.

Credit Courtesy ABC
Arica Himmil plays young Rainbow Johnson growing up in a mixed-race family in the 1980s in 'mix-ish,' a prequel to 'black-ish.'

9 p.m.: MIXED-ISH, ABC. PREMIERE. In this black-ish prequel, Arica Himmel plays Tracee Ellis Ross' Rainbow Johnson growing up in a mixed-race family in the 1980s.

9 p.m.: FBI, CBS. Second season premiere.

9 p.m.: Empire, Fox. Six and final season premiere.

9 p.m.: This Is Us, NBC. Fourth season premiere.

9:30 p.m.: black-ish, ABC. Sixth season premiere.

10 p.m.: EMERGENCE, ABC. PREMIERE. Allison Tolman (Good Girls, Fargo, I'm Sorry) plays a police chief in a thriller about finding a young, mysterious child that "draws her into a conspiracy larger than she ever imagined."

10 p.m.: NCIS: New Orleans, CBS. Sixth season premiere.

10 p.m.: New Amsterdam, NBC. Second season premiere.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT 25

8 p.m.: The Masked Singer, Fox. Second season premiere.

8 p.m.: Survivor, CBS. Thirty-ninth season premiere.

8 p.m.: COUNTRY MUSIC, A FILM BY KEN BURNS, PBS. Eighth and final episode of 16-hour documentary about the history of country music.

8 p.m.: Chicago Med, NBC.  Fifth season premiere.

8 p.m.: The Goldbergs, ABC. Seventh season premiere.

8:30 p.m.: Schooled, ABC. Second season premiere.

Credit Robert Ashcroft/ABC / Courtesy ABC
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Courtesy ABC
ABC's 'Modern Family' will end in spring 2020 after 11 seasons.

9 p.m.: Modern Family, ABC. Eleventh and final season premiere.

9 p.m.: Chicago Fire, NBC.  Eighth season premiere.

9:30 p.m.: Single Parents, ABC. Second season premiere.

9:30 p.m.: Big Brother, CBS. Live season finale.

10 p.m.: STUMPTOWN, ABC. PREMIERE. Cobie Smulders (Avengers: Endgame; How I Met Your Mother) stars as an Army veteran with a gambling debt and a brother to take care of in Portland, Ore.

10 p.m.: Chicago P.D., NBC. Seventh season premiere.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 26

Credit Sonja Flemming/CBS / Courtesy CBS Broadcasting Inc.
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Courtesy CBS Broadcasting Inc.
Patricia Heaton as an intern in 'Carol's Second Act.'

7:30 p.m.: Thursday Night Football, Fox. Philadelphia Eagles at Green Pay Packers.

8 p.m.: Young Sheldon, CBS. Third season premiere.

8 p.m.: Grey's Anatomy, ABC. Sixteenth season premiere.

8 p.m.: Superstore, NBC. Fifth season premiere.

8:30 p.m.: PERFECT HARMONY, NBC. PREMIERE. Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) stars as a Princeton music professor overseeing a small-town church choir filled with "singers that are out of tune in more ways than one."

8:30 p.m.: THE UNICORN, CBS. PREMIERE. Walter Goggins (Justified; Sons of Anarchy; Django Unchained) stars as a widower with two daughters who starts dating again.

9 p.m.: Mom, CBS. Seventh season premiere.

9 p.m.: A Million Little Things, ABC. Second season premiere.

9 p.m.: The Good Place, NBC. Fourth season premiere.

9:30 p.m.: CAROL'S SECOND ACT, CBS. PREMIERE. Emmy-winner Patricia Heaton (The Middle, Everybody Loves Raymond) returns to CBS as a 50-year-old medical intern.

Credit Colleen Hayes / NBC
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NBC
Cincinnati native Diana Maria Riva (second from left) stars in NBC's 'Sunnyside' sitcom with (from left) Joel Kim Booster, Poppy Liu, Samba Schutte, Kal Penn, Riva and Moses Storm.

9:30 p.m.: SUNNYSIDE, NBC. PREMIERE. Cincinnati native Diana Maria Riva (Man With A Plan, The West Wing) will be a series regular in this sitcom about a New York councilman (Kal Penn) who moves in with his sister (Kiran Deol) after being arrested for public intoxication.

10 p.m.: EVIL, CBS. PREMIERE. Mike Colter (Luke Cage) explores demonic possessions.

10 p.m.: How To Get Away With Murder, ABC. Sixth and final season.

10 p.m.: Law & Order: SVU, NBC. Twenty-second season premiere.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 27

8 p.m.: Hawaii Five-0, CBS. Tenth season premiere.

8 p.m.: American Housewife,  ABC. Fourth season premiere.

8:30 p.m.: Fresh Off The Boat, ABC. Sixth season premiere.

9 p.m.: Magnum P.I., CBS. Second season premiere.

9 p.m.: 20/20, ABC. Two-hour premiere for 37th season.

9 p.m.: Dateline NBC, NBC. Season premiere.

10 p.m.: Blue Bloods, CBS. Tenth season premiere.

Credit Courtesy CBS
Woody Harrelson hosts 'Saturday Night Live' Sept. 28.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 28

10 p.m. 48 Hours, CBS. Thirty-third season premiere.

11:30 p.m.: Saturday Night Live, NBC. Lebanon High School alum Woody Harrelson (Zombieland: Double Tap; True Detective; Cheers; Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) hosts the 45th season premiere.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 29

7 p.m.: America's Funniest Home Videos, ABC. Thirtieth season premiere.

7:30 p.m.: 60 Minutes, CBS. Fifty-second season premiere.

8 p.m.: The Simpsons, Fox. Thirty-first season premiere.

8:30 p.m.: BLESS THE HARTS, Fox. PREMIERE. Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph, Mary Steenburgen and Jillian Bell provide the voices for this animated series about a poor Southern family.

8:30 p.m.: God Friended Me, CBS. Second season premiere.

9 p.m.: Masterpiece: Poldark, PBS. Aidan Turner returns for a final season as Ross Poldark in Cornwell.

9 p.m.: Shark Tank, ABC. Eleventh season premiere.

9 p.m.: Bob's Burgers, Fox. Tenth season premiere.

9:30 p.m.: Family Guy, Fox. Seventeenth season premiere.

9:30 p.m.: NCIS: Los Angeles, CBS. Eleventh season premiere.

10 p.m.: The Rookie, ABC. Second season premiere.

Credit Courtesy MeTV
Fred Flintstone, Barney Rubble and 'The Flintstones' gang arrive on MeTV Monday, Sept. 30.

MONDAY, SEPT. 30.

6 p.m. The Flintstones, MeTV. Yabba-Dabba Do! Reruns of the 1960-66 cartoons start a weeknight run on MeTV (Channel 5.2 in Cincinnati; Channel 7.2 in Dayton).

8:15 p.m.:  Monday Night Football, ESPN, Ch. 5. Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers.

TUESDAY, OCT. 1

9 P.M.: Frontline, PBS.  Season premiere about the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 2

8 p.m.: IHeartRadio Music Festival, CW. Night one of two.

Credit Courtesy Fox Broadcasting
Timothy Hutton and Brittany Snow in a scene from Fox's 'Almost Family.'

9 p.m.: ALMOST FAMILY, FOX. PREMIERE. Timothy Hutton (American Crime, Ordinary People) stars as a fertility doctor who tells his daughter (Brittany Snow, Pitch Perfect, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) that he used his own sperm to conceive about 100 children.

9 p.m.: SEAL Team, CBS. Third season premiere.

10 p.m.: S.W.A.T., CBS. Third season premiere.

THURSDAY, OCT. 3

8 p.m.: IHeartRadio Music Festival, CW. Second and last night.

FRIDAY, OCT. 4

8 p.m.: The Blacklist, NBC.  Seventh season premiere.

8 p.m.: WWE'S SMACKDOWN LIVE, FOX. The weekly pro wrestling series, which started in 1999,  moves from USA Network to Fox Broadcasting.

SUNDAY, OCT. 6

8 p.m.: BATWOMAN, CW. PREMIERE. Ruby Rose (Supergirl, Arrow, Orange Is The New Black) stars as Gotham's openly gay vigilante in a series set three years after Batman/Bruce Wayne mysteriously disappeared. Rose plays Kate Kane, daughter of a widowed security company president, who teams up with the son of Wayne Enterprises' tech expert.

8 p.m.: KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS, ABC. PREMIERE. Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip, The Carmichael Show) hosts a revival of this show hosted by Bill Cosby from 1998-2000.

9 p.m.: Supergirl, CW. Fourth season premiere.

10 p.m.: Madam Secretary, CBS. Sixth season premiere.

MONDAY, OCT. 7

8 p.m.: All American, CW. Second season premiere.

10 p.m.: RETRO REPORT ON PBS, PBS. PREMIERE.  Weekly magazine hosted by Celeste Headlle and artist Masud Olufani.

TUESDAY, OCT. 8

8 p.m. The Flash, CW. Sixth season premiere.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 9

8 p.m.: Riverdale, CW. Fourth season premiere.

Credit Courtesy CW
'Nancy Drew' mysteries return to TV on the CW Oct. 9.

9 p.m.: NANCY DREW, CW. PREMIERE. The Maine teen detective first featured in books published in the 1930s, and on ABC from 1977-79, comes to the CW starring unknown Kennedy McMann.

THURSDAY, OCT. 10

8 p.m.: Supernatural, CW. Fifteenth and final season premiere.

9 p.m. Legacies, CW. Second season premiere.

FRIDAY, OCT. 11

8 p.m.: Charmed, CW. Second season premiere.

9 p.m.: Dynasty, CW. Third season premiere.

TUESDAY, OCT. 15

9 p.m.: Arrow, CW. Eighth and final season.

MONDAY, OCT. 21

9 p.m.: Black Lightning, CW. Third season premiere.

John Kiesewetter, who has covered television and media for more than 35 years, has been working for Cincinnati Public Radio and WVXU-FM since 2015.