What to Watch Wednesday, September 30: ‘Scrubs,’ ‘The Amazing Race’ & ‘Shark Tank’

Wednesday is doing that fall-TV thing where suddenly three networks remember they have shows to premiere on the same night. Scrubs returns for Season 2 with two episodes beginning at 8 PM ET on ABC, The Amazing Race launches Season 39 at 9:30 PM, and Shark Tank opens Season 18 with a two-hour premiere event.

And because apparently three premieres weren't enough, Survivor settles into its regular 90-minute format after last week's supersized Season 51 opener, FOX has new episodes of The Floor and 99 to Beat, and Apple TV continues both Slow Horses and Brothers. Baseball fans also have another full day of MLB Wild Card action. Wednesday looked at everyone's DVR storage and chose violence.

TV Cave Top Pick: Scrubs

We're heading back to Sacred Heart. Scrubs Season 2 premieres tonight at 8 PM ET on ABC with two back-to-back episodes, with Zach Braff, Donald Faison and Sarah Chalke returning as J.D., Turk and Elliot. The hour-long launch continues the revival's story as the veteran doctors help guide Sacred Heart's younger generation, with episodes also streaming on Hulu.

The revival already did the hard part last season: proving that returning to Scrubs years later could be more than a nostalgia exercise. Now Season 2 gets to build on that foundation instead of spending all its time reminding us who these people used to be. J.D., Turk and Elliot are the experienced doctors now, which is still slightly terrifying considering how much time we spent watching them barely survive their own internship years. Sacred Heart may have changed, but thankfully the chaos

has not.

Wednesday, September 30 TV Schedule

Time (ET)	Show	Network/Streaming	Tonight
Streaming	Slow Horses	Apple TV	New Season 6 episode
Streaming	Brothers	Apple TV	New Season 1 episode
Streaming	Jujutsu Kaisen 0	Hulu	Streaming arrival; subbed & dubbed
2:00 PM	Phillies at Braves	NBC / Peacock	MLB Wild Card Series Game 2
5:00 PM	White Sox at Astros	Peacock / NBCSN	MLB Wild Card Series Game 2
8:00 PM	Scrubs	ABC	Season 2 premiere, Episode 1
8:00 PM	Survivor	CBS / Paramount+	S51E2; regular 90-minute slot begins
8:00 PM	The Floor	FOX	New Season 6 episode
8:00 PM	The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City	Bravo	New Season 7 episode
8:30 PM	Scrubs	ABC	Season 2 premiere, Episode 2
9:00 PM	Shark Tank	ABC	Season 18 premiere; two-episode event begins
9:00 PM	99 to Beat	FOX	New Season 2 episode
9:30 PM	The Amazing Race	CBS / Paramount+	Season 39 premiere
10:00 PM	Shark Tank	ABC	Second Season 18 premiere episode
10:00 PM	South Park	Comedy Central	New Season 29 episode
10:00 PM	The Ark	Syfy	Season 3 finale
10:00 PM	Ghost Adventures	Discovery	Season 31 premiere
10:00 PM	Cubs at Padres	Peacock / NBCSN	MLB Wild Card Series Game 2

The Amazing Race Starts Season 39

The Amazing Race Season 39 premieres at 9:30 PM ET on CBS and Paramount+, immediately following Survivor. Phil Keoghan is back as host as another group of teams begins the race for $1 million, with tonight's starting line located in Vancouver and an early twist waiting for the racers.

There's an unusual scheduling wrinkle this week, too. CBS is giving The Amazing Race a second episode Thursday, October 1 at 9:30 PM ET, immediately following the Big Brother Season 28 finale, before the Race settles into its normal Wednesday schedule. So anyone planning to casually start the season tonight should probably know CBS expects you back tomorrow.

Shark Tank Returns With Some Big New Sharks

Shark Tank Season 18 begins at 9 PM ET on ABC with two episodes, and the Tank has undergone a noticeable renovation. Kendra Scott and Rashaun Williams have been promoted to permanent Sharks, joining Barbara Corcoran, Robert Herjavec, Lori Greiner, Daymond John, Daniel Lubetzky and Kevin O'Leary in the season's expanded rotation.

Tonight isn't easing into the guest lineup, either. MrBeast and Beast Industries CEO Jeffrey Housenbold join the panel during the first hour, while Erin and Sara Foster appear in the second. Apparently simply walking into the Tank with a clever kitchen gadget is no longer intimidating enough.

Survivor Settles Into Its Regular Schedule

After last week's two-hour premiere, Survivor 51 returns at 8 PM ET on CBS with its first regular 90-minute episode. That also establishes CBS's Wednesday pairing for the fall: Survivor from 8 to 9:30 followed immediately by The Amazing Race.

The premiere introduced 21 new players and the beginning of the show's “Open Era,” where twists and advantages from across Survivor history can potentially resurface. One episode in, everyone has had enough time to make alliances, decide who they trust and confidently announce plans that will probably be destroyed by Jeff Probst within the next 90 minutes. You know, Survivor.

Between Scrubs, The Amazing Race, Shark Tank, Survivor, FOX's game-show block and postseason baseball, Wednesday is one of the strongest broadcast nights of premiere week. ABC gets the slight edge thanks to Scrubs and Shark Tank premieres back-to-back, but CBS isn't exactly making the decision easy. This is officially a two-screen night.