Daily Best Bets

1) Winter Olympics, 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., NBC. For viewers who prefer events with American contenders, here are two big finals, both live. There’s the women’s snowboarding halfpipe, with Chloe Kim (shown here), who won in 2018 at 17. And there’s men’s figure-skating: Nathan Chen is a three-time world champion, but finished fifth in the 2018 games. The winner that time, Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu, is trying to be the first guy in 94 years to win the event three straight times. Read more…

1) TONIGHT’S MUST-SEE: “American Masters,” 9-11 p.m., PBS. Just 51 weeks after PBS had a splendid Marian Anderson profile, here’s an even better one. Last year’s film focused on the peak: Banned from the segregated Constitution Hall, Anderson had a triumphant concert (shown here) at the Lincoln Memorial. This film includes that, but has a deeper profile of a winding life – a phenom at 8, a high-school grad (finally) at 24, a star who performed for royalty, but sat in the back of the bus. Read more…

1) “American History: Riveted: The History of Jeans,” 9 p.m., PBS. At first, jeans were just supposed to be sturdy and practical; cowboys and farmhands could wear them forever. Then they were worn by everyone from civil-rights protestors to hip hop stars to model (including Brooke Shields in the ad shown here). They became fashionable … and expensive; they were ripped and faded (on purpose). It’s a fun and fascinating story. Read more…

1) Olympics, 7-11:30 p.m., NBC. The figure-skating team portion concludes with finals in three popular categories – women, pairs (shown here in 2018) and dance. Also in prime time, NBC has live coverage of the women’s alpine giant slalom (which then concludes from midnight to 2 a.m.) and women’s freestyle skiing. Men’s freestyle skiing is live at 1:30 a.m. on USA. There’s more all day, including the USA network’s live coverage of U.S.-Switzerland women’s hockey, at 8:10 a.m. , rerunning at 5 p.m. Read more…

1) “Malcolm X” (1992), 12:58 p.m., Sundance; and 3 p.m., TNT. Black History Month finds two marathons, both led by Spike Lee’s masterpiece, with Denzel Washington as the civil-right leader (shown here). Both channels also share “Ghosts of Mississippi” (1996); it’s 6 a.m. on TNT and 5:30 p.m. on Sundance, which then has “The Color Purple” (1996) and “Rosewood” (1997) at 8:30 and midnight. TNT has “Selma” (2014) at 12:15 p.m., “Black Panther” (2018) at 7:15 and “Just Mercy” (2019) at 10. Read more…

1) Olympics opening ceremony, 6:30 a.m. ET, NBC, USA, Peacock, Olympic Channel. Then 8 p.m. and 12:38 a.m., NBC. As the first city to host both the summer and winter Olympics, Beijing tries to match its previous success – on a smaller scale. In the summer of 2008, its spectacular ceremony (shown here) had 15,000 performers and a reported $100-million budget. Now it’s in the same building, with the same director; about 3,000 performers are expected. Read more…

1) Olympic competition begins, 8 p.m. to midnight and 12:35-2 a.m., NBC. Figure-skating is starting early, because of double duty: Skaters compete for the team championship first, then will start over in the push for individual medals. Tonight’s skating has rhythm dance, plus the short programs for men (Nathan Chen, shown here, as an American skater with three world championships) in prime time and pairs after midnight. That will be shown live, but prime time will also have taped coverage of alpine skiing, with the men’s and women’s moguls. Read more…

1) “Celebrity Big Brother” debut, 8 p.m., CBS. Well, semi-celebrities, anyway. The line-up includes Khloe Kardashian’s ex-husband (Lamar Odom), Travis Barker’s ex-wife (Shanna Moakler), Justin Timberlake’s ex-bandmate (Chris Kirkpatrick), John Mellencamp’s daughter (Teddi, shown heere) and Gary Coleman’s TV brother (Todd Bridges). Joined by former champs (fighter Miesha Tate, skater Mirai Nagasu) and others, their show will continue most days, through Feb. 23. Read more…

1) “The Resident” return, 8 p.m., Fox. After a seven-week break, here’s a big hour, complete with three potent stories. Two had started previously – Dr. Bell’s secret ailment and Dr. Austin’s mother’s cancer. Now a third has a personal link for Conrad. There’s more — Devon’s clinical trial, a new doctor (shown here with Conrad) with an elusive past – in a packed hour. Despite a few excesses, it’s well-crafted and moving. Read more…

1) “Help,” any time, www.acorn.tv. Here is one of the finest performances you’ll ever see … if you decide to see it. “Help” is a rugged ride, battering the characters and the viewers. But it also has work that’s amazing in its subtlety and depth. Jodie Comer, 28, plays Sarah, trying to steady a teetering life by working in a nursing home; Stephen Graham, 48, plays Tony, with early-onset Alzheimer’s. (They’re shown here.) It’s late in 2019 and worlds are about to implode in deeply moving ways. Read more…