1) “Frontliine,” 9 p.m., PBS. Breaking its usual pattern, “Frontline” is showing a film it didn’t make. That’s partly a bad thing; “A Thousand Cuts” has a scattered approach, without the direct power we expect from “Frontline.” Still, this has an important story: Maria Ressa (shown here) is a Filipino native who became a New Jersey teen, a CNN bureau chief and founder of the Rappler reporting website in the Philippines. As Rappler questioned President Rodrigo Duterte, he attacked “fake news” and “presstitutes.”
2) “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” season-opener, 9 p.m., CW. The entire CW line-up was pushed back to Jan. 17 or later – except for Fridays. First is the improv-comedy show “Whose Line Is it Anyway?” – a new episode at 8 p.m. and a rerun at 8:30. Then “Fool Us” has talented pros doing magic tricks; if the Penn and Teller duo can’t figure out how it was done, the magician gets a spot in their stage show.
3) “MacGyver,” 8 p.m., CBS. This makes recruiting difficult: A potential recruit has been kidnapped. Also, when Mac visits Desi’s parents, he finds that her brother desperately needs help.
4) “Blue Bloods,” 10 p.m., CBS. Ali Stroker is making an impact on stage and on TV. A car accident when she was 2 left her paralyzed from the waist down; lately, she won a Tony in the “Oklahoma” revival … starred in a Christmas movie … and here plays a cop who wants to return to field work, after being wounded on duty. Also, Danny pursues a rideshare rapist; Erin feels the weight of a decision.
5) “Lupin,” any time, Netflix. Arsene Lupin, a fictional thief, was created in 1905 and has had his own movies. In this seven-part series, he’s the inspiration fora man who wants revenge against people who cheated him. Also new are films that drew festival approval for strong female roles – “Herself” on Amazon Prime and “Pieces of a Woman” on Netflix. The latter debuted Thursday, as did “Coyote” (CBS All Access), with Michael Chiklis as a retired border guard, helping his former foes.