Rumble at the retirement home
For those who don’t mind settling for comfort food, Fox serves a 1970s TV dinner. “The Cool Kids” (8:30 p.m., TV-14) features veteran performers and a sitcom style that would not have been out of place during the Jimmy Carter era.
Hank (David Alan Grier, “In Living Color,” “The Carmichael Show”), Charlie (Martin Mull, “Fernwood 2 Night,” “Roseanne” and “Arrested Development”) and Sid (Chattanooga native Leslie Jordan, “Will & Grace”) consider themselves the top dogs at a retirement home. After their unseen friend passes on, they fight like high schoolers to defend his empty seat at their table and yearn to give him a memorable send-off befitting his rebellious nature.
Enter Margaret (Vicki Lawrence, “The Carol Burnett Show”), who defies their clique’s presumptions and proves every bit as edgy as their late friend.
The show’s central theme and source of humor is that 60- and 70-somethings can be just as petty, funny and feisty as folks half their age, a pretty rich premise for a sitcom.
While every member of this comedy quartet is a pro, their characters are a work in progress. Mull is underused as the resident weirdo, always ready to rattle on about some exotic escapade from his colorful past. Lawrence seems most comfortable as the brash intruder, and Grier dominates the conversation in his blustering fashion. Jordan never departs from his well-worn type — the short, Southern, obviously gay man in straight company. In keeping with this series’ 1970s vibe, he may prompt viewers of a certain age to recall just how often Truman Capote would pop up on “The Tonight Show” and other talk shows to remind Johnny that while he represented what Oscar Wilde called “the love that dare not speak its name,” he was not about to shut up.
‘STANDING’ AGAIN
“Last Man Standing” (8 p.m., TV-PG) returns for a seventh season on Fox after being canceled by ABC in 2017. As you can expect, the first four minutes of the show make great hay out of this, with Mike (Tim Allen) decrying the “idiots” who run TV networks.
Mike, a conservative everyman surrounded by women and flaky guys, now has a president to his liking to defend, not unlike “Roseanne,” before that show’s star blew up her successful reboot.
Mike’s topical squabbles, particularly with Ryan (Jordan Masterson), the resident “liberal,” leave much to be desired. Ryan is depicted as an ineffectual “snowflake,” a young man paralyzed by every outrage he witnesses on cable TV and ready to flee to Canada.
Their glib, unequal conversations make one pine for the old “All in the Family,” when Archie (Carroll O’Connor) and his son-in-law, Michael (Rob Reiner), often engaged in heated shouting matches and the “Meathead” frequently held his own.
At a time when many viewers gravitate to strong positions, “Last Man Standing” plays it safe.
SEASON PREMIERES
› Mac returns on “MacGyver” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
› McGarrett suffers on “Hawaii Five-0” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
› Familiar faces contend with rookies on “Hell’s Kitchen” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
› Danny targets a cartel bigshot on “Blue Bloods” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
› “Dateline” (10 p.m., NBC) enters its 27th season.
› “Tracey Ullman’s Show” (midnight, HBO, TV-MA) returns for a third season.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
› Anthony Hopkins stars in a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s “King Lear,” streaming on Amazon Prime.
› “Under the Sea: A Descendants Short Story” (7:40 p.m., Disney, TV-G) offers a 10-minute live-action special inspired by “The Little Mermaid.”
› A wayward flight’s passengers face cosmic questions on the pilot episode of “Manifest” (8 p.m., NBC, repeat, TV-PG).
› “Truth & Lies: Jonestown, Paradise Lost” (8 p.m., ABC) recalls the 1978 mass suicide.
› On two episodes of “Masters of Illusion” (CW, TV-14), Ed Alonzo (10 p.m.), Xavier Mortimer (10:30 p.m., repeat).
› Illusionists audition on “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” (11 p.m., CW, repeat, TV-14).
› “20/20” (10 p.m., ABC). Contact Kevin McDonough at kevin. tvguy@gmail.com.