TV Best Bets

Thursday, Jan. 26: Archie Comics Come to Life on The CW’s ‘Riverdale’

Riverdale Art The CW -- © 2016 The CW Network. All Rights Reserved

All Times Eastern.

Thursday, Jan. 26

Riverdale
The CW, 9pm
New Series!
The world of Archie Comics comes to life in The CW’s newest soapy drama. High-schoolers Archie (K.J. Apa), Betty (Lili Reinhart), Veronica (Camila Mendes), Jughead (Cole Sprouse) and their friends straddle the line between childhood and adulthood, and they, their parents (including Luke Perry, Mädchen Amick and Marisol Nichols) and the entire town of Riverdale reel with the tragic death of the high school’s golden boy. Amick, who plays Betty’s controlling mother Alice, explains, “It’s a little wink at the comic strip, but if you didn’t know Archie prior to this, you would just really enjoy it as a good show with great characters.”

College Basketball
ESPN & ESPN2, beginning at 7pm Live

Xavier is at Cincinnati and Indiana is at Michigan in tonight’s college basketball doubleheader on ESPN2. Over on ESPN, catch Virginia Tech at North Carolina.

Grey’s Anatomy:
“You Can Look (But You’d Better Not Touch)”
ABC, 8pm
Midseason Premiere!
When we left the folks of Grey Sloan Memorial, much was amiss. Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) left Owen (Kevin McKidd) — and a note to explain herself. Jo (Camilla Luddington) dropped a bombshell on Karev (Justin Chambers), which prompted him to stun Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and take a plea deal. But Dr. Webber (James Pickens Jr.) is at the center of the real, divisive drama. “I think the big, broad arc of the second half of the season is this hospital that has become divided in this view of Richard Webber and everything that he stands for,” McKidd told Variety after the midseason finale.
On tonight’s series return, Bailey (Chandra Wilson), Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) and Jo (Camilla Luddington) head to a maximum-security women’s prison to treat a violent pregnant teen and her unborn baby.

Supernatural
The CW, 8pm
New Time Slot!
The adventures of demon-hunting brothers Sam and Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) continue as the series returns from its winter hiatus in a new time slot.

NBA Basketball
TNT, beginning at 8pm Live

Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks travel to Oklahoma City to face Russell Westbrook and the Thunder, followed by Luol Deng and the L.A. Lakers in Salt Lake City to play the Utah Jazz.

Scandal: “Survival of the Fittest”
ABC, 9pm
Season Premiere!
The ShondaLand favorite returns for Season 6 after taking time off for star Kerry Washington’s pregnancy. And if the new face in the bunch looks familiar, it should. Zoe Perry — daughter of Cyrus himself, Jeff Perry — comes aboard in a hush-hush new role. On tonight’s season premiere, “Survival of the Fittest,” the presidential race between Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young) and Francisco Vargas (Ricardo Chavira) comes to an end and the shocking election results lead to an explosive outcome.

King Tut: Mysteries at the Museum
Travel Channel, 9pm
Deep in the heart of Egypt, Don Wildman explores the entire story of King Tut — from the initial discovery of his tomb by archaeologist Howard Carter to the legendary Curse of the Pharaoh.

How to Get Away With Murder: “We’re Bad People”
ABC, 10pm
Midseason Premiere!
With Annalise (Viola Davis) jailed on arson and murder charges, the D.A.’s office continues to build their case against her and the police investigate what happened to Wes on the night of the fire. Meanwhile, the Keating 4 try to adjust to the devastating realization that one of their own is dead.

Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle II
Comedy Central, 10pm

Sixteen of the world’s most venomous comedians compete in this bracket-style insult-comedy tournament, returning this month for its second go-round. Comedic combatants go one-on-one as an all-star panel of judges decide their tournament fate. Led by Jeff Ross and referee/comedian Brian Moses, the main event will be filmed in four nights in Los Angeles. The first three parts air on Comedy Central Jan. 26-28 and the finals air Jan. 29.

Colony: “Sublimation”
USA Network, 10pm
Will, Devon, and Charlie attempt a daring journey home. Fearing the worst, Katie says goodbye to her daughter. Bram makes friends at camp. Maddie finds a new project in the Greatest Day.

Friday, Jan. 27

Z: The Beginning of Everything
Amazon
New Series!
Christina Ricci stars as Zelda Fitzgerald in this fictionalized bio series about the Jazz Age icon’s life. The show begins when Zelda meets unpublished writer F. Scott Fitzgerald (played by Gavin Stenhouse in the pilot, and by David Hoflin in the remaining nine episodes) in Montgomery, Ala., in 1918, and moves through their passionate, turbulent love affair and marriage.

NBA Basketball: Miami at Chicago
ESPN, 8pm Live

Dwyane Wade won three NBA championships with the Miami Heat, but now D-Wade’s on the other side of the floor as the Heat head into Chicago’s United Center to face the Bulls.

Grimm: “El Cuegle”
NBC, 8pm
Nick (David Giuntoli), Hank (Russell Hornsby) and Wu (Reggie Lee) investigate a terrifying new Wesen who terrorizes a young family and has a surprising motive.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: “Is Josh Free in Two Weeks?”
The CW, 9pm
Guest Star Alert!
Seth Green guest-stars as a local deliveryman — gosh, we hope he sings! — who helps Rebecca (Rachel Bloom) when she gets overwhelmed by a stressful situation. Rebecca also discovers she has a lot in common with Nathaniel (guest star Scott Michael Foster) when his father (guest star David Grant Wright) comes to town.

Emerald City: “Everybody Lies”
NBC, 9pm
Desperately seeking revenge for the death of her sister, West (Ana Ularu) tracks down Dorothy (Adria Arjona) and uses enchanted interrogation techniques to get the information she needs. The Wizard (Vincent D’Onofrio) seeks the aid of the Kingdom of Ev to build a weapons arsenal to help him defeat the Beast Forever.

Brad Paisley — Landmarks Live in Concert: A Great Performances Special
PBS, 9pm
Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers hosts this episode featuring country music superstar Brad Paisley, who returns to his roots in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains for a special outdoor concert at West Virginia University.

Saturday, Jan. 28

Tennis: Australian Open Finals
ESPN, 3am Live

ESPN has live early-morning coverage of the Australian Open singles finals from Melbourne, with the ladies’ final on Saturday and the men’s final on Sunday. If sleep is your thing, ESPN2 airs encores of the final matches later in the morning.

College Basketball
CBS, ESPN, ESPN2 & FS1, beginning at 12pm Live

A full day of college basketball action is in store with Texas A&M at West Virginia (ESPN), North Carolina at Miami (CBS), Florida at Oklahoma (ESPN), DePaul at Creighton (FS1), Iowa State at Vanderbilt (ESPN2), Baylor at Ole Miss (ESPN2), Kansas at Kentucky (ESPN) and Gonzaga at Pepperdine (ESPN2).

Smucker’s Skating Spectacular
NBC, 2:30pm

NBC airs the Smucker’s Skating Spectacular exhibition that closed out the U.S. Figure Skating Championships last weekend at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

Love by the 10th Date
Lifetime, 8pm
Original Film!
Gabby (Meagan Good), Nell (Kellee Stewart), Billie (Keri Hilson) and Margot (Kelly Rowland) balance their adventures in dating with their jobs at an upscale digital magazine in Los Angeles, under the watchful eye of their editor Maureen (Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance). Inspired by the site’s relationship advice column, Gabby and Nell embark on their own quest for the elusive 10th date — the holy grail of commitment.

NBA Basketball: L.A. Clippers at Golden State
ABC, 8:30pm Live

Chris Paul and the L.A. Clippers visit Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in a Saturday primetime NBA matchup on ABC.