1) “The Turpins: A New House of Horror,” 10 p.m., ABC. At 17, Jordan Turpin (shown here in a later photo) escaped and told police about her 12 siblings, as young as 2, being abused. Their parents were sentenced to life in prison. Eight years later, the younger kids tell Diane Sawyer more about that … and about ensuing failures of the foster-care system. Read more…
1) “Brilliant Minds,” 10 p.m., NBC. In the first few minutes, a potential tragedy seeps into the hospital. Viewers know it’s there; the staff (shown here) doesn’t — until chaos breaks out. It’s a terrific episode that fades a bit in the final minutes. Read more…
1) Grammy awards, 8-11:30 p.m. Trevor Noah hosts and Kendrick Lamar leads with nine nominations. Performers include Leon Thomas (shown here) and Sabrina Carpenter, each with six nominations. He’ll be part of a number that includes all the new-artist nominees; others are Addison Rae, Alex Warren, Lola Young, Olivia Dean, Sombr, Katseye and the Marias. Read more…
1) “Deliverance” (1972), 8 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies, or “I Am Burt Reynolds” (2021), 8 p.m., CW. One channel has Reynolds’ best film (shown here), the compelling story of a river trip gone bad. Another has an excellent biography: Reynolds went to college to play football and meet women. After an injury, he detoured and became No. 1 at the box office. Read more…
1) “Stumble,” 8:30 p.m., NBC. After two straight hilarious episodes, here’s one that’s merely quite funny. Amid a town blackout, the cheer team can’t practice. Its coach fidgets, schemes and ignores her husband’s free-time suggestions. We miss seeing most of the cheer kids, but there’s a dazzling moment (shown here) near the end. Read more…
1) “Next Level Chef” opener (shown here), 8 p.m., Fox. Eight professional chefs battle for five spots. (And yes, we mean “battle”; in the early minutes, two women have an intense tug-of-war over a tuna carcass.) The next two weeks will have similar competition for home chefs and for internet chefs. Read more…
1) “Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TV” finale, 9:02 p.m., ABC. This wraps a three-week look at a dark time for daytime TV. Once the benign world of Oprah and Phil, it was overrun by rate, accusations, paternity tests and (shown here) onstage fights. Read more…
1) “American Masters,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. The first half-hour is compelling and deeply moving. Using his words (plus photos and stylish art), it tells of the Holocaust experience of Elie Wiesel (shown here) and the dark years after he was freed at 16. The final minutes are also moving. Some middle portions (a modern classroom, a Reagan controversy) run too long. Read more…
1) “American Idol” opener, 8-10 p.m., ABC. Half her life ago, Carrie Underwood, 21, was the fourth “Idol” winner. Now, 21 years later (show here), she’s sold 95 million records … won eight Grammys … and starts work as an “Idol” judge. This season, the show will be once a week, not twice. Read more…
1) Football. The Broncos (shown here) host the Patriots at 3 p.m. ET on CBS; then it’s Rams-Seahawks at 6:30 on Fox, with both winners going to the Super Bowl. The Rams were 12-5 in the regular season; others were 14-3. But the Broncos’ quarterback is injured; veteran back-up Jarrett Stidham will face the team that drafted him in the fourth round, seven years ago. Read more…
