1) “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage” and “Elsbeth” return, 8 and 10 p.m., CBS. Two fun shows are back, after two-month breaks. First, Mandy’s dad (shown here, right) is clearly in need of a hobby. Then Elsbeth tangles with a rich bio-hacker (Hamish Linklater) who obsesses on extending his life. Read more…
1) “Scrubs” return, 8 and 8:32 p.m., ABC, rerunning at 9:58 and 10:31. After a nine-year run, this show ended in 2010 …. Except now, 16 years later, it’s back. J.D. (Zach Braff) returns to the hospital and finds that his old colleagues are still there. Donald Faison and Judy Reyes (shown here with Braff) plus Sarah Chalke, Neil Flynn and John C. McGinley are all back. Read more…
1) State of the Union address, 9 p.m. ET, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS and news channels. Just four days after the Supreme Court declared his tariffs illegal, Donald Trump gives his speech; Abigail Spanberger, the Virginia governor, will give the Democratic response from the colonial Williamsburg historical area.
2) “Best Medicine,” 8 p.m., Fox. Networks still get a primetime hour before the speeches (or after them, on the West Coast). This is an amiably goofy one that has townsfolk agog when a body is found. There are key personal moments for Dr. Best and for his office assistant, Elaine (shown here). Read more…
1) “Independent Lens: The Interrogator,” 10 p.m., PBS. Emerging from a hard-scrabble Houston neighborhood, Barbara Jordan (shown here) was an instant leader. Her Texas Southern University debate team beat Yale and tied Harvard. She got a law degree and was a pioneering state senator and congresswoman, delivering a potent impeachment talk. Here’s a compelling profile. Read more…
(These are slightly out of order; the Feb. 22 one appears below this)
1) Winter Olympics. It’s the last full day, with a flurry of medal finals. The USA Network is mostly live from 4 a.m. ET to the hockey bronze-medal game, at 2:40 p.m. NBC is mostly live from 10 to 6, then repackages the day from 8-11 p.m. And CNBC has curling, from 1-7 p.m.
2) Skating gala, 2:55 to 3:15 p.m. ET and 3:50 to 4:30. Amid all of that competition, here’s the opposite. It’s a figure-skating exhibition, with no rules, no judges and lots of dazzle. The medalists — including the U.S.’ Chock-and-Bates dance duo (shown here) and solo sensation Alysa Liu — can simply have fun. Read more…
1) “Dark Winds,” 9 p.m., AMC, rerunning at 10:03. First is a fresh angle on the shoot-out in last week’s opener. Then things get deeper for Joe (shown her), who’s haunted by his wife’s departure, and his deputies — Bernadette (secretly promised his job when he retires) and Chee (her boyfriend). In a potent hour, they (and a killer) search for a teen runaway and her cousin. Read more…
1) “American Masters” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. Sun Ra (shown here) proclaimed he was an angel from Saturn. His concerts matched that mystical feel, merging jazz, dance, poetry and pageantry. In truth, he was Sonny Blount; he had his own big band as a Memphis teen, was disowned by family and friends after resisting World War II, then created a fascinating persona. Read more…
1) Figure skating, 1-5 p.m. ET, NBC. For many viewers, this is the peak, with the women’ long program. It has created pop-culture stars, from the U.S. (Tara Lipinski, who is now NBC’s commentator, Dorothy Hamill, etc.) and beyond (from Sonja Henie to Katarina Witt). Now the current stars — including the U.S.’ Amber Glenn (shown here) and Alysa Liu — get their chance. Read more…
1) “The Beauty,” 9 p.m., FX and Hulu. Two potent monologues propel this hour. One is an intense sales pitch by Ashton Kutcher (shown here), the other a personal reflection by Anthony Ramos. Both– plus FBI agents and fight scenes — are part of this look at a fierce obsession with beauty. Read more…
1) “Best Medicine,” 8 p.m., Fox. For the second straight week, the town has a big, bizarre festival. Last week’s blueberry fest was awash in blue; now a “Blood Factory” event is all-red. That’s trouble for the doctor, who’s allergic to blood … and (shown here) trouble for the participants. “Best” has become the opposite of the show it’s based on. “Doc Martin” was droll, dry and clever; this is just amiably goofy. Read more…
