It’s fall finale week for a lot of TV shows, and that means you need to tune into them live. After all, you want to see how your favorites end before they go into a break. That just means you’ll be looking for shows that you can skip until the next day.
On top of that, NBC has a premiere. While this show is on a streaming service, it’s going to be a great way to spend some of Monday night, so we’re including it on the list for now. Of course, when a big episode of another show hits, it’ll be one to watch on Peacock at another time.
What to watch: The Paper
We’ll start with the Peacock series that is getting a linear outing. The Paper is a spinoff of The Office, and has already aired on Peacock. But this is a series a lot of comedy fans will want to see more of. The good news is that Mondays tend to be a quieter night because of Monday Night Football, so it’s a good time to check it out if you’re on the fence about the streamer.
The series follows the Toledo Truth Teller, a historic but declining newspaper in the Midwest. The same documentary crew that followed Dunder Mifflin back in The Office 20 years ago, is now following this newspaper in an attempt to resurrect it. Will it be possible?
The Paper airs on Monday at 8:30/7:30c on NBC.
What to watch: FBI
While OA is likely to be missing due to the storyline from the previous episode, this is still going to be an episode of FBI to watch. We’ll get to see Maggie and Eva team up, giving us a chance to see how the two women at the New York Field Office work together. Eva has only just joined the team, and working with Maggie can sometimes be a make-or-break moment.
The two will need to get to the bottom of a killing in broad daylight in a New York City park. It turns out that this is just one of a string of killings to come, as there’s a hit list out there and an assassin on the loose. Not only do they need to find the assassin, but they’ll also need to figure out who is on the list and who will be the next victim.
FBI airs on Monday at 9/8c on CBS.
What to skip: Brilliant Minds
The first show on the list to skip is a rerun. Brilliant Minds is taking a night off from new episodes this week, so there’s no need to check out the rerun live. After all, you can watch it on Peacock.
It’s a rerun of the second episode of the season, which saw a reality show contestant enter the hospital. However, she was sure that it was still part of the show, meaning she wasn’t willing to trust any of the “doctors” on the set.
What to watch: NCIS & NCIS: Origins
We’re putting two shows together for this bit, and that’s because they’re going to go together. We get a two-hour NCIS & Origins crossover event, and you’ll need to watch both episodes to really understand what’s going on. The two hours are switched around, with Origins airing first to kick off the story.
The arc starts with Gibbs and NIS heading to a small town in California, where they keep running into roadblocks when it comes to the death of a Navy officer. While it leads to an arrest, the case is going to have an effect decades later. That’s where we pick up with NCIS when an inmate with just three weeks left on his sentence escapes. It all connects back to one of Gibbs’s first cases.
What to watch: One Chicago fall finales
Three shows to watch are all together. Wednesday nights are all about the Chicago shows, and they all air their fall finales tonight. Whether you’re more into one over the other two, you’ll still want to see how all three go off on a break, as there is often a cliffhanger to get us ready for the January returns.
Chicago Med will see Asher and Archer working together to help a man who is battling cancer, who happens to have a child on the way he really wants to meet. In Chicago Fire, we’ll get a little more of Novak’s storyline as she needs to help her sister. Then in Chicago PD, Voight’s instincts are right about a suspicious man, but this has some sort of connection to a case from the past.
One Chicago begins at 8/7c on Wednesday on NBC.
What to skip: Survivor
Now, we’re not saying don’t watch Survivor at all. The problem is that it clashes with the fall finales of the One Chicago shows, so you have to pick something else, right? The great thing about this reality series is that it airs on Paramount+ the day after.
You’ll also want to check out The Amazing Race on Paramount+ the day after. CBS is all about two top reality shows, but they can wait. Just stay off social media to avoid the spoilers!
What to watch: 911 & 911: Nashville
Like the One Chicago shows, the Thursday ABC dramas are airing their fall finales. As the 911 shows are in the same universe, we’re putting them together, and you need to check them both out.
911 season 9, episode 6 will give us a Hen-focused episode, as the 118 end up at some sort of spa to treat a patient. However, things don’t go well, and Hen ends up with a tremor in her hand and later collapses in the episode. As for 911: Nashville, it looks like we’ll meet Blythe’s father, and he’s not happy about Blue working with the 113.
911 & Nashville air on Thursday starting at 8/7c on ABC.
What to watch: Grey’s Anatomy
Likewise, Grey’s Anatomy will air its fall finale, so you don’t want to skip over this. The show will bring a major bus crash that is sure to put one of the doctor’s lives on the line. Teddy gets under the bus before it’s been stabilized, and of course, it starts to collapse.
However, it’s Jo who is in graver danger. Her waters broke at the end of the previous episode, and now she is having shortness of breath. Winston will need to step in to help with the situation, and Link may want to be worried.
Grey’s Anatomy airs on Thursday at 10/9c on ABC.
What to skip: Matlock
I know! This show is good, although it is dragging out the Olympia/Matty storyline a little too much. Can they take Senior down already? And can we stop second guessing what Olympia is going to do?
While there is a new episode, you’ll want to hold off until the following day to watch it on Paramount+. That’s purely because it’s going to clash with the TGIT fall finales. Otherwise, we’d pick Matlock over 911: Nashville.
What to watch: Stumble
NBC is trying to bring back comedies, and there are a lot of mockumentary style options. However, Stumble is one of those that promises a lot of heart mixed in with the comedy. Courteney and Boon are a couple to root for, as we get to see just how supportive they are of each other in the first episode, and there’s hope of more of that to come.
The show has only just gotten started, but the pilot was a fun way to go. Now we get to see what happens with the cheerleading squad as it just got a chance to head to Daytona until an accident took out the best flipper.
Stumble airs on Friday at 8:30/7:30c on NBC.
What to skip: Sheriff Country
This show is a good one, but it clashes with Stumble. Out of the two, the comedy is the one that needs the most support right now, so that’s why I had to pick it. However, you don’t want to miss Sheriff Country for too long, so I highly recommend recording it to watch it later in the evening.
You can also watch the episode on Paramount+ the following day. Follow it up with Fire Country to make your Saturday mornings extra dramatic. At least the murder case has been solved in Sheriff Country, so it’s time to focus on other crimes and other characters.