Tonight's TV Hot List: Sunday, Oct. 3, 2010

CSI: Miami
10/9c CBS
The Season 9 premiere picks up right where the Season 8 cliffhanger ended, with most of the CSI staff unconscious on the lab floor after falling victims to a serial killer's attempt to poison them. Of course, everyone in the lab eventually gets up — except for one. It's no secret that since Adam Rodriguez is returning full-time to the series, after a brief departure to appear on Ugly Betty, that spelled doom for a recent addition to the cast. Suffice it to say that person does not rise. — Tim Holland
The Glades
10/9c A&E
A likable lead, a solid supporting cast, murder mysteries and a budding romance have made the crime drama A&E's most watched program, so it's no surprise that it has been picked up for a second season. The first season of the series starring Matt Passmore as detective Jim Longworth concludes with Jim finally getting on the golf course, but not the way he planned. A caddie is murdered, and it's discovered that he was also recently released from prison, where he served time for the attempted rape of a female golf pro. — Bill Ecklund
Desperate Housewives
9/8c ABC
Week 2 and the Season 7 desperation lineup's in focus: Lynette's "friend" Renee (Vanessa Williams) will create havoc at chez Scavo (tonight Lynette thinks she's making a play for Tom); Bree's new handyman (Brian Austin Green) will be a source of friction and temptation (she fires him tonight); and Susan's new job at Va-Va-Broom is not something she'll want to tell Mike about. Meanwhile, the Solis' game of "I've Got a Secret" is complicated further when Gaby learns that Bree hit Juanita with her car. And creepy Paul Young's new wife (Men in Trees alum Emily Bergl) has her Wisteria Lane coming-out party. — Paul Droesch
Rubicon
9/8c AMC
The conspiracy continues and operational integrity has been compromised. Truxton issues Will a special assignment, and will it be a serious mission or a wild-goose chase; following a stint in rehab, Tanya is given the opportunity to rejoin the team and assist in tracking down Kateb. Meanwhile, Katherine is taken aback by a mysterious threat and wonders if it is safe to leave her house, or whether something wicked her way comes. — Ray Stackhouse
Boardwalk Empire
9/8c HBO
Buoyed by critical acclaim and boffo ratings — the Sept. 19 debut had the largest audience for a premiere since Deadwood in 2004 — it's no surprise HBO renewed this series after just one episode. And while we're still figuring out who's who and what's what, it's pretty clear to Jimmy that paying Nucky back meant little, especially after he blew it all at the roulette table. But after the news gets out that one victim of Jimmy's botched robbery survived, money will be the least of his worries. — Joe Friedrich
Family Guy
9/8c Fox
This might be Fox, but it isn't the Fox News Channel, so Rush Limbaugh might expect turbulence when he guests (or his voice does) on Family Guy. He gets it, but turns out to be a good sport. In the episode, Limbaugh turns up in Quahog to sign books and wins the allegiance of Brian. Other political characters include John McCain, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank and George W. Bush, but they're voiced by what, to paraphrase Mad magazine, might affectionately be called the show's usual gang of voice-acting idiots. Rainn Wilson also appears as himself, and Shelley Long and Gary Cole have voice cameos as Carol and Mike Brady of The Brady Bunch. — Paul Droesch
Masterpiece Mystery!
9/8c PBS
Kenneth Branagh delivers a masterly performance as the world-weary Swedish cop Kurt Wallander in "Faceless Killers," which marks the return of the Henning Mankell character to Masterpiece Mystery! (the first of three such episodes). This time out, Wallander's investigation into the slaying of an elderly couple is marred when the woman's last word is leaked to the press as "foreign" — though he's far from certain that's what she actually said — and vigilantes begin targeting migrant workers. — Jeff Gemmill