What to Watch Wednesday, October 7: ‘Abbott Elementary,’ ‘Chicago Fire’ & ‘Chicago P.D.’ Return

Wednesday is officially done easing us into fall. Abbott Elementary returns for Season 6 tonight, while NBC brings back its entire One Chicago lineup with new seasons of Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. CBS keeps the reality competition going with Survivor and The Amazing Race, and streaming has several fresh options waiting before primetime even begins.

Basically, the days of complaining there’s nothing on television are over. The problem now is figuring out what gets the live watch and what gets tossed onto the increasingly dangerous DVR pile.

TV Cave Top Pick: Abbott Elementary

Abbott Elementary gets tonight’s Top Pick as Season 6 premieres at 8:30 PM ET on ABC. Janine, Gregory, Ava, Barbara and the rest of the Abbott crew are back for another school year, and six seasons in, the ensemble remains the reason this comedy works so well.

The teachers have changed, relationships have evolved and Ava has somehow become considerably more complicated than the walking HR violation we originally met. Still, Abbott itself remains wonderfully chaotic, underfunded and full of

people trying to make the best of whatever the district throws at them.

Wednesday, October 7 TV Schedule

Time (ET)	Show	Network/Streaming	Tonight
Streaming	Carrie	Prime	Series Premiere
Streaming	Jamie Foxx: Take Care of Yourself	Hulu	Comedy Special Premiere
Streaming	Merry Berry Love	Hulu / Disney+	Series Premiere
Streaming	Surviving Alaska: Women of the Wild	Hulu / Disney+	Series Premiere — All Episodes
Streaming	Vampirina: Teenage Vampire	Disney+	Season 2 — Full Season Arrives
Streaming	Phineas and Ferb	Disney+	Halloween Special
8:00 PM	Chicago Med	NBC / Peacock	Season 12 Premiere
8:00 PM	Scrubs	ABC / Hulu	New Episode
8:00 PM	Survivor	CBS / Paramount+	New Episode
8:30 PM	Abbott Elementary	ABC / Hulu	⭐ TOP PICK — Season 6 Premiere
9:00 PM	Chicago Fire	NBC / Peacock	Season 15 Premiere
9:00 PM	Who Wants to Be a Millionaire	ABC	New Episode
9:30 PM	The Amazing Race	CBS / Paramount+	New Episode
10:00 PM	Chicago P.D.	NBC / Peacock	Season 14 Premiere
10:00 PM	Shark Tank	ABC	New Episode

One Chicago Is Back

NBC owns a big chunk of Wednesday with three straight season premieres. Chicago Med kicks things off at 8 PM, Chicago Fire follows at 9 PM, and Chicago P.D. closes the night at 10 PM.

All three shows enter their new seasons with changes ahead, particularly Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D., but One Chicago has survived enough cast turnover over the years to make personnel changes practically part of the franchise experience. NBC’s Wednesday lineup remains one of television’s most reliable three-hour blocks, and tonight officially puts the whole operation back in business.

‘Survivor’ and ‘The Amazing Race’ Keep CBS Moving

CBS sticks with its reality powerhouse combination tonight. Survivor begins at 8 PM with another 90-minute episode before The Amazing Race takes over at 9:30 PM.

That gives viewers a very different alternative to ABC’s comedy and NBC’s emergencies. Whether people are getting voted off an island or racing around the world, though, apparently nobody on Wednesday television is allowed to simply relax.

Streaming Has Plenty Too

Hulu premieres Jamie Foxx: Take Care of Yourself today, while Disney+ drops the full second season of Vampirina: Teenage Vampire. Disney also gets into spooky season with a new Phineas and Ferb Halloween special, while Merry Berry Love makes its series debut on Hulu and Disney+.

That makes October 7 one of the busiest Wednesdays of fall so far. Abbott Elementary gets our Top Pick, but between four major season premieres, CBS’s reality staples and several streaming drops, there’s more than enough competing for attention tonight.