1) Grammy awards, 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) today, CBS, repeating at 8:30. Skillfully produced by Ben Winston (who also does the Tonys and James Corden’s show), the Grammys survived the pandemic. Now Trevor Noah hosts for the third straight year. Beyonce leads with nine nominations … tying her with her husband Jay-Z, as all-time leaders with 88 apiece. Performers include Mary J. Blige (shown here), Bad Bunny, Luke Combs, Lizzo, Sam Smith, Brandi Carlile and more.
2) “The Watchful Eye” debut, 9 and 10 p.m. today, Freeform. Elena is a young nanny, starting work in an old building filled with secrets and despair. She was hired by a guy whose wealthy wife killed herself; the wife’s mother and sister view him warily. Then again, no one can be trusted, including Elena and her boyfriend. These first hours offer hints of the supernatural, in a well-acted tale that’s sort of a gothic flip on “Only Murders in the Building.”
3) “Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World” opener, 9-10 p.m. Tuesday, PBS. Once considered a fad, hip hop soon turns 50. On Aug. 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc, a Jamaican-born teen, used turntables and mega-speakers for a party. This four-part documentary (skipping next week because of the State of the Union), offers strong details. It starts with ‘70s desperation, then shows the joy of hip hop … and the jolt from rap’s “The Message.”
4) “Quantum Leap,” 10 p.m. today, NBC. A busy science-fiction stretch begins with this clever hour. Ben usually pops into someone’s body in a past crisis, saving the day with the help of a holographic image of his fiancee. But now, during a nuclear-power project, he’s popping in and out of many people, one who may be a saboteur. The result alters some of the show’s time-travel rules, but it’s worth it to create a smart story that keeps us guessing.
5) “La Brea” return, 9 and 10 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. Here’s a much more bizarre form of sci-fi. Tumbling into a nowadays sinkhole, people ended up in 10,000 BC. They beamed back to 1988, then leapt back into the hole. The first hour feels like Charlie Brown having the football snatched away; the second is a murder mystery that is left hanging. In between, we get personal drama on a show that (except for the central mother and daughter) is poorly cast.
6) “The Ark” debut, 10 p.m. Wednesday, Syfy. From “Project Genesis” to “The 100,” writers find ways to put young characters in charge of a sci-fi adventure. Now there’s a spaceship malfunction: People in the front (including the leaders) are killed; ones in the back are awakened a year too early. That leaves room for some serious characters and some – a nerdy agronomist, a chatty tech whiz – who are likable, but would fit into an Archies comic book.
7) “Schoolhouse Rock! 50th Anniversary Singalong,” 8-9 p.m. Wednesday, ABC. It’s the fifth edition of “Singalong,” which became a pandemic hit. Now witty songs about grammar, government, math and more are sung by stars. Derek Hough does “Figure 8”; his sister Julianne does “Interplanet Janet.” Others include Black-Eyed Peas, Ne-Yo, Muppets, Broadway stars and even Shaquille O’Neal, backed by the Boys and Girls Club for “Conjunction Junction.”
8) “Welcome to Flatch,” 9:01 p.m. Thursday, Fox. It’s the season-finale (and maybe series-finale) for this erratic but fun comedy. Kelly and Barb are determined to prove the town should be the permanent home of the Butter Bust Museum. Also, Mandy is in charge of blessing the town’s animals. That’s surrounded by “Hell’s Kitchen” (8 p.m.), trimming to three chefs for next week’s finale, and “Call Me Kat” (9:30), with a Smoky Mountains road trip.
9) “Malcolm X” (1992), 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Turner Classic Movies. TCM is stuffing Saturdays with top Black History Month films. That starts with Denzel Washington in Spike Lee’s richly crafted epic; it’s followed by the comedy “Cooley High” (1975) at 8 p.m. and the moving drama “Sounder” (1972) at107. There’s more coming, led by “A Soldier’s Story” on Feb. 11 and “In the Heat of the Night” and “To Sleep With Anger” on Feb. 18.
10) “Murf the Surf: Jewels, Jesus and Mayhem in the USA,” 10 p.m. and midnight Sunday, MGM+. Formerly called Epix, this cable/streaming channel makes its push. It has a James Bond marathon at 10 a.m., the praised “Godfather of Harlem” at 9 and 11 p.m. and the start of this four-part documentary, from Ron Howard. Jack Murphy was a surfing champion who led the biggest American jewel heist, was convicted of murder and became an evangelist.
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