TV Best Bets

Monday, Jan. 7: Colton Underwood Looks for Love on ‘The Bachelor’ Season 23

ABC/Craig Sjodin

All Times Eastern.

Monday, Jan. 7

The Bachelor
ABC, 8pm
Season Premiere!

The bachelor for the show’s 23rd(!) season is Colton Underwood, who burst onto the scene during Season 14 of The Bachelorette with Becca Kufrin. The former NFL player known for his good looks, love for dogs and vulnerability that charmed America is back and ready to capture hearts yet again as he returns for another shot at love.

College Football Playoff National Championship
ESPN, 8pm Live

Tonight’s season title game between the No. 2 Clemson Tigers and the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide takes place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

America’s Got Talent: The Champions
NBC, 8pm
New Series!

Fifty of the world’s greatest acts — including Susan Boyle, Darci Lynne Farmer, Shin Lim, Paul Zerdin, Light Balance and others — are coming together to compete again for a chance to be crowned world champion. Simon Cowell, Mel B, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel serve as judges, with Terry Crews taking on hosting duties.

Happy Together: “Vows”
CBS, 8:30pm

Tensions rise as Jake (Damon Wayans Jr.) and Claire (Amber Stevens West) attempt to take their wedding vows literally in the new episode “Vows.”

Kids Baking Championship
Food Network, 9pm
Season Premiere!

A dozen new talented young bakers, ranging in age from 9 to 13, will be tested in difficult dessert challenges this season. From sugar cookies to mini cheesecakes, and from macarons to brownies and blondies, Valerie Bertinelli and Duff Goldman mentor the bakers to see who will measure up in the competition. Only one will earn the grand prize of $25,000, a feature in Food Network magazine and the title of Kids Baking Champion!

Cartel Crew
VH1, 9pm
New Series!

Set in Miami, Fla., this show takes a deep look into the lives of eight descendants of the cartel life as they navigate adulthood and the effects the legacy has had on their upbringing. Now disconnected from their past, they want to make a name for themselves outside of the drug world but find that escaping the shadows of their ancestors will come with a price.

Winner Cake All
Food Network, 10pm
New Series!

Giada De Laurentiis hosts this new competition series in which four of the best cake-baking tandems from around the country are challenged to create epic cakes for their clients’ special occasions. A rotating panel of guest judges will help determine which team captures the client’s dream look and taste best, with the winner earning a $10,000 grand prize!

Manifest: “Crosswinds”
NBC, 10pm

Michaela’s (Melissa Roxburgh) experience with a mystifying, next-level calling launches her on a mission that brings her relationship with Jared (J.R. Ramirez) to a head. Ben (Josh Dallas), determined to protect his family, explores an alternate meaning to Michaela’s calling that leads him to a new alliance and a powerful new adversary. Cal’s (Jack Messina) struggle with Ben’s absence forces the Stones into a confrontation that could alter the family forever.

Independent Lens: “My Country No More”
PBS, 10pm

The rise and fall of the recent North Dakota oil boom is seen through the intimate lens of one family fighting to preserve their agricultural way of life, which puts them at odds with relatives and neighbors determined to sell.

Tuesday, Jan. 8

The Conners: “Rage Against the Machine”
ABC, 8pm

Dan (John Goodman) gets injured while covering D.J.’s (Michael Fishman) vending machine route, and the decision to sue the company could cost D.J. his job. Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) is appalled when Becky (Lecy Goranson) seeks life-coaching from her nemesis.

NCIS: “Toil and Trouble”
CBS, 8pm

In the new episode “Toil and Trouble,” United States Secretary of Defense Wynn Crawford (guest star Mitch Pileggi) shuts down NCIS’ murder investigation and demands that McGee (Sean Murray) and Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) be arrested for their actions in the case.

Garage Rehab
Discovery Channel, 8pm
Season Premiere!

In this season of the auto shop restoration series, Richard Rawlings and his team at Dallas’ Gas Monkey Garage take on the biggest build in series history — a 20,000-square-foot collision repair shop. They also embark on their most important rehab yet, working on a veteran-run garage that teaches auto-repair skills to men and women transitioning out of military service.

Good Trouble
Freeform, 8pm
New Series!
In this spinoff from feel-good family show The Fosters, daughters Callie (Maia Mitchell) and Mariana (Cierra Ramirez) move to Los Angeles to follow their dreams. They encounter roadblocks, including gender and politics, as they try to make it on their own.

Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club
MTV, 8pm
New Series!

This reality series chronicles actress Lindsay Lohan as she expands her business empire in Mykonos, Greece, with the launch of her new club Lohan Beach House. Viewers will get to see a new side of Lohan as she calls the shots with her handpicked team of young and ambitious VIP hosts. But when the lines between romance, friendship and work get blurred, the staff will quickly learn they’ll have to prove themselves to their toughest boss yet.

Ellen’s Game of Games
NBC, 8pm
Season Premiere!

After tonight’s two-hour Season 2 premiere, Ellen DeGeneres’ game show will regularly air in its hourlong Tuesday night slot. DeGeneres is back as host for the new season, which promises new, never-before-seen games and special surprises.

Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates Jr.
PBS, 8pm
Season Premiere!

Host Henry Louis Gates Jr. helps actor Andy Samberg and author George R.R. Martin answer some family mysteries when DNA detective work uncovers new branches of their family trees, upends family history and reveals new relatives.

The Kids Are Alright: “The Love List”
ABC, 8:30pm

The Cleary boys beg Peggy (Mary McCormack) to tell them she loves them, and Mike (Michael Cudlitz) invites a coworker over to help eke a confession out of the child who broke the dining room light fixture.

black-ish: “Wilds of Valley Glen”
ABC, 9pm

When Dre (Anthony Anderson) takes Jack (Miles Brown) and Diane (Marsai Martin) on a camping trip for school, he hatches a plan for them to escape to a fancy hotel. Bow (Tracee Ellis Ross) gets a work award, but feels undermined when a colleague is surprised to learn where she went to school.

Splitting Up Together: “Contact High”
ABC, 9:30pm

Frazzled by an intimate dream about Martin (Oliver Hudson), Lena (Jenna Fischer) accidentally injures her tooth and reluctantly goes to the dentist. Martin then escorts her to Mae’s (Olivia Keville) parent-teacher conference after she inadvertently gets high.

The Rookie: “Standoff”
ABC, 10pm

When Officer Bradford’s (Eric Winter) wife is found shot but alive, he vows to track down the man responsible. Officer Nolan (Nathan Fillion) must protect his home — and the truth ­— after a home invasion.

NCIS: New Orleans: “Vindicta”
CBS, 10pm

Pride (Scott Bakula) and the NCIS team hope to take down a secret and lethal group of former intelligence agents and avenge the death of someone close to them in the new episode “Vindicta.”

Project Blue Book
History, 10pm
New Series!

Based on the actual top-secret investigations into UFOs and related phenomena conducted by the United States Air Force from 1952-69, the series follows Dr. J. Allen Hynek (Aidan Gillen), a brilliant college professor recruited by the government to spearhead Project Blue Book. The operation researched thousands of cases, many of which were never solved. Each episode draws from the actual files, blending UFO theories with authentic historical events from one of the most mysterious eras in United States history.

New Amsterdam
NBC, 10pm

The unique new medical drama returns from winter hiatus to finish out its first season.

USS Indianapolis: The Final Chapter
PBS, 10pm

Follow a scientific detective story detailing the discovery of the USS Indianapolis wreck site, 18,000 feet below the Philippine Sea. The ship’s sinking during World War II was the largest loss of life in U.S. Naval history.

How the Universe Works
Science Channel, 10pm
Season Premiere!

The seventh season premiere of this astronomy series focuses on neutron stars. Also ahead this season: A journey inside the heart of a supernova to witness the final seconds of a dying giant star, a look for other habitable planets in the depths of the galaxy, a trip back in time to better understand the Big Bang’s role in the birth of our universe, and more.

Legend Hunter
Travel Channel, 10pm
New Series!

In this seven-episode series, wildlife biologist and explorer Pat Spain leaves the lab for the field to uncover answers to fascinating unsolved riddles, historic conundrums and mythic events, using his scientific expertise and state-of-the-art technology to investigate. In the series premiere, Spain reopens the infamous Lizzie Borden murder case to find out who really took an axe to her father and stepmother.

Wednesday, Jan. 9

The Goldbergs: “The Wedding Singer”
ABC, 8pm

Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey) is in her element as she prepares for Barry (Troy Gentile) and Lainey’s (A.J. Michalka) wedding, but Barry is beginning to have second thoughts. Adam’s (Sean Giambrone) shortcomings as a wedding videographer have Geoff (Sam Lerner) worried.

Nature: “Attenborough and the Sea Dragon”
PBS, 8pm

Join Sir David Attenborough as he pieces together the remarkable discovery of the ichthyosaur, a fearsome fish lizard that lived during the age of dinosaurs.

Schooled
ABC, 8:30pm
New Series!

This ’90s-set spinoff of The Goldbergs follows the grownup adventures of Lainey Lewis (AJ Michalka) and her fellow teaching cohorts at William Penn Academy. “We’ve run around the halls for the last six years, and now Lainey’s kind of running the halls,” says Michalka. “She’s actually helping guide these young students through life while still trying to figure it out herself.” Also making the leap to the new series are Tim Meadows’ Mr. Glascott, who is now the school’s principal, and Bryan Callen as Coach Mellor, with Brett Dier playing a very eager new teacher named Charlie Brown.

Modern Family: “A Moving Day”
ABC, 9pm

Claire (Julie Bowen) and Phil (Ty Burrell) move Haley (Sarah Hyland) and Dylan (Reid Ewing) into their new apartment before the baby arrives, but have doubts the couple can make it on their own. When Pameron (Dana Powell) gets out of prison early, she has a bone to pick with Mitchell.

Single Parents: “That Elusive Zazz”
ABC, 9:30pm

Angie (Leighton Meester) discovers that Graham (Tyler Wladis) has the word “farts” written on his forehead in permanent marker and goes on a mission to obtain an apology from whoever is responsible. Will (Taran Killam) decides to audition for his dream job as an on-camera weatherman.

Match Game
ABC, 10pm
Season Premiere!

Tonight’s celebrity panelists include Kenan Thompson, Ellie Kemper, Tyler Hoechlin, Sherri Shepherd, Horatio Sanz and Jillian Bell.

You’re the Worst
FXX, 10pm
Season Premiere!

Jimmy (Chris Geere) and Gretchen (Aya Cash) are engaged (again) and get one last chance to make their relationship work as the comedy begins its fifth and final season. In the premiere episode “The Intransigence of Love,” Jimmy and Gretchen tell the story of their relationship to a prospective wedding planner.

The Dictator’s Playbook
PBS, 10pm
New Series!

This new six-episode series explores how six dictators, from Mussolini to Saddam Hussein, shaped the world. How did they seize and lose power? What forces rose up against them? Each episode offers a revealing portrait of brutality and power.

I’m Sorry
truTV, 10pm
Season Premiere!

Comedy genius Andrea Savage (Veep) begins her second season as the seemingly confident and together comedy writer, wife and mom, who comically exposes her inner immaturity and neuroses through unexpected life situations.

Jon Glaser Loves Gear
truTV, 10:30pm
Season Premiere!
Will Jon’s ridiculously intense passion for gear derail his television show, his friendships and his relationships with both his real and fake families? Or will Jon be able to summon the strength to find the emotional gear he needs to get through it all? We will find out in Season 2.

Thursday, Jan. 10

The First 48 Presents: Homicide Squad Atlanta
A&E, 9pm
New Series!

Follow homicide detectives from the Atlanta Police Department as they unravel the mysteries behind some of the city’s most gruesome and highly visible crimes. The series will include the in-depth investigation of the “Fallen Angel” case, in which a young woman was shot to death and found naked in a neighborhood park.

Mom: “Hacky Sack and a Beautiful Experience”
CBS, 9pm

Christy’s (Anna Faris) smoking causes problems when the ladies take a road trip in the new episode “Hacky Sack and a Beautiful Experience.”

Truth and Lies: Monica
ABC, 9pm

How did late-night phone calls between two friends explode into one of the biggest political scandals in American history? Truth and Lies: Monica, a new two-hour documentary from ABC News, takes an up-close look at hours of surreptitiously recorded conversations between White House intern Monica Lewinsky and her confidante, Linda Tripp; how the saga that ensued took an emotional toll on the desperate, young intern; and the lengths her colleague would go to uncover an American president’s deception. The special marking the 20th anniversary of President Clinton’s impeachment features new interviews with Kenneth Starr, independent counsel during the Clinton presidency, and Lucianne Goldberg, a literary agent who advised Tripp to make the tapes. The documentary also includes excerpts from Barbara Walters’ extraordinary interview with Monica Lewinsky – watched by a record-breaking 48 million people when it aired in 1999 – and rarely seen or heard evidence assembled by the special counsel, including photos, surveillance material and audio recordings.

The Rap Game
Lifetime, 9pm
Season Premiere!

In Season 5, six young rappers will battle it out for the ultimate prize of a recording contract with Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def Recordings.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
NBC, 9pm
Season Premiere!
The popular former FOX comedy begins its sixth season on its new network. Last year, after fan outcry following the show’s cancellation by FOX, NBC quickly swooped in to renew it. Aside from the network, nothing major has changed. The series continues to follow the exploits of Detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) and his colleagues as they police the NYPD’s 99th Precinct.

Fam
CBS, 9:30pm
New Series!

Nina Dobrev stars as a woman whose plan to impress the seemingly perfect family of her fiancé (Tone Bell) gets thrown out the window when her out-of-control, teenage half-sister comes to live with her. Odessa Adlon, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Sheryl Lee Ralph also star.

The Good Place
NBC, 9:30pm

The acclaimed sitcom’s third season is back with a few new episodes at its new time, before airing its season finale on Jan. 24.

Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars – Hip Hop Edition
WE tv, 10pm
Season Premiere!

Couples from hip hop’s elite will take a break from their lavish lifestyles of champagne, fancy cars and adoring fans to put the spotlight back on their relationships. In the glamorous world where business is mixed with pleasure and exotic temptations are knocking on every door, a lifestyle in the fast lane can be both a blessing and a curse.

Friday, Jan. 11

Informer
Amazon
New Series!

This six-part Brit drama centers on Raza (Nabhaan Rizwan), a young, second-generation Pakistani who lives in East London and is coerced to infiltrate a suspected terror cell by Gabe (Paddy Considine), a counter-terrorism officer. Bel Powley also stars as Holly, Gabe’s ambitious partner.

Friends From College
Netflix
Season Premiere!

In Season 2, it’s been a year since Ethan (Keegan-Michael Key) and Sam’s (Annie Parisse) affair was exposed to the four other friends — including Lisa (Cobie Smulders), Ethan’s wife — and the friend group is still fractured. No one has heard from Lisa, Ethan has been living a repentant year of writing a young-adult novel and Sam has been trying to repair her marriage with her husband, Jon (Greg Germann). But with Max’s (Fred Savage) wedding coming up, the friends won’t be able to avoid each other much longer.

Sex Education
Netflix
New Series!

Otis is an inexperienced, socially awkward high school student who lives with his mother, a sex therapist. Surrounded by manuals, videos and tediously open conversations about sex, he is a reluctant expert on the subject. When his home life is revealed at school, Otis realizes he can use his specialist knowledge to gain status. He teams with a whip-smart girl named Maeve, and together they set up an underground sex therapy clinic to deal with their fellow students’ weird and wonderful problems. Through this, Otis realizes he may need some therapy of his own.

Blindspot
NBC, 8pm

Season 4 returns from its winter hiatus with new episodes.

Great Performances: “The Cleveland Orchestra Centennial Celebration”
PBS, 9pm

The Cleveland Orchestra celebrates its centennial with a gala concert conducted by Franz Welser-Möst, featuring pianist Lang Lang and works by Mozart, Strauss and Ravel, with vignettes of past music directors.

Three-Night Marvel Movie Marathon
Syfy, beginning at 9pm

Every night in primetime this weekend, starting tonight with Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Syfy airs megahit movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Among the films airing during the marathon will be Saturday’s Syfy limited-commercial premiere of Thor: The Dark World (2013). Iron Man (2008) finishes off the marathon Sunday night.

Saturday, Jan. 12

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

Top college basketball action today includes Ole Miss at Mississippi State (CBS), Duke at Florida State (ESPN) and Gonzaga at San Francisco (ESPN2).

NFL Football: AFC and NFC Divisional Playoffs
NBC & FOX, beginning at 4:30pm Live

The road to Super Bowl LIII narrows with this weekend’s Divisional Playoff games. The Indianapolis Colts are at the Kansas City Chiefs (NBC, 4:30pm ET) and the Dallas Cowboys are at the L.A. Rams (FOX, 8:15pm ET) on Saturday. Sunday’s games are the L.A. Chargers at the New England Patriots (1pm ET, CBS) and the Philadelphia Eagles at the New Orleans Saints (4:40pm ET, FOX).

Super 8
AMC, 8pm

J.J. Abrams’ 2011 supernatural thriller makes its AMC network premiere. The film is set in summer 1979 and follows a group of tweens who witness a train crash and investigate subsequent unexplained events in their small town.

Iyanla: Fix My Life
OWN, 9pm
Season Premiere!

Iyanla Vanzant, the acclaimed spiritual life coach, empowerment speaker and bestselling author, returns for a sixth season of helping people confront their issues and address their real and perceived challenges so they can improve their lives.

Love & Marriage: Huntsville
OWN, 10pm
New Series!

This eight-episode unscripted series follows the lives of three successful and powerful black couples in the thriving city of Huntsville, Ala., who come together to help revitalize the region through their joint real estate venture — The Comeback Group.