TV Best Bets

Monday, Feb. 3: ‘McMILLION$’: How One Man Rigged McDonald’s Monopoly Game

HBO

All Times Eastern.

Monday, Feb. 3

McMillions
HBO, 10pm
New Series!

This six-part docuseries takes us back to 1989 when a criminal mastermind named “Uncle Jerry” defrauded the hugely popular McDonald’s Monopoly game of millions of dollars in prize money. By stealing valuable game pieces from McDonald’s, Jerry was able to hand-select winners, hoodwink the authorities and share the ill-gotten gains. The deception, which started among family and friends, soon expanded to include a cast of shifty ex-cons, gangsters and grifters. The series reveals how this vast network of greed and profiteering continues to affect the lives of the people involved.

Below Deck: “Big Girls, Do Cry”
Bravo, 8pm
Season Finale!

Putting the final charter at risk, Kate sets Kevin up for failure by allowing him to present the primary’s requested erotic cake knowing she already went to bed. Capt. Lee arranges a Full Moon Party on a private beach for the crew’s final night. While Courtney and Brian try to resolve their issues, Tanner makes his final attempt at wooing Kate. Kevin confronts Kate before the crew departs Valor for good.

Girl Scout Cookie Championship
Food Network, 8pm
New Series!

Alyson Hannigan hosts this new show, where each week five incredible bakers will be challenged to transform favorite Girl Scout Cookie flavors into dreamy dishes and cakes. The winner of the competition will receive a $10,000 outdoor adventure and a year’s supply of Girl Scout Cookies! Recurring judges include Katie Lee and Nacho Aguirre.

Below Deck Sailing Yacht
Bravo, 9pm
New Series!

Trading in the motor yacht famed on Below Deck, this series is set on a luxury sailing yacht with a new crew and equally demanding charter guests looking to follow the wind as they cruise along the crystal-clear blue waters of Corfu, Greece. Chef Adam Glick from Below Deck Mediterranean returns to the galley aboard the 180-foot-long sailing yacht Parsifal III.

No Passport Required: “Philadelphia”
PBS, 9pm

Join chef Marcus Samuelsson in Philadelphia, where he meets new friends and old, and learns about the city’s Italian food scene while sampling everything from pizza to cannoli, with plenty of red sauce, burrata and handmade pasta in between.

Chopped Sweets
Food Network, 10pm
New Series!

The ultimate culinary competition now has a sweet spinoff! Every battle begins with host Scott Conant challenging four bold pastry artists to take on one of the toughest tests of their lives. Faced with baffling basket ingredients and an unrelenting clock, the sensational, sugar-savvy chefs must demonstrate extreme concentration and incredible imagination as they race to see who will claim the $10,000 prize.

Desus & Mero
Showtime, 11pm
Season Premiere!

Showtime’s late-night talk show returns every Monday and Thursday covering pop culture, sports, music and politics through the comedic eyes of Bronx natives Desus Nice (Daniel Baker) and The Kid Mero (Joel Martinez).

Tuesday, Feb. 4

Tom Papa: You’re Doing Great!
Netflix

Comedian and SiriusXM radio host Tom Papa debuts his first Netflix comedy special, filmed in front of a live audience in Newark, N.J.

Finding Your Roots: “Science Pioneers”
PBS, 8pm

Host Henry Louis Gates Jr. traces the family trees of Francis Collins, Shirley Ann Jackson and Harold Varmus, three pioneering scientists who’ve made dramatic contributions to our understanding of the world while knowing little about their own ancestry.

Unsellable Houses
HGTV, 9pm
New Series!

Twin sisters Lyndsay Lamb and Leslie Davis — two of the top-selling real estate agents in the Pacific Northwest — help struggling homeowners sell their seemingly unsellable homes in record time. In each episode, Lyndsay and Leslie come to the rescue of a homeowner whose house has been languishing on the market and calculate the cost to fix it up, and then offer to invest their own money to renovate and stage the home in hopes of a quick sale. When the home sells, the sisters take their cut for their reno investment and then split the rest of the profits with the client.

State of the Union Address
Various Networks, 9pm Live

President Donald Trump is scheduled to deliver the annual State of the Union address to Congress tonight. A number of channels will offer varying degrees of live coverage of the speech, and, in some cases, pre- and post-speech programming for preview and analysis. Broadcast networks ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and PBS, and cable news outlets CNN, FOX News Channel, FOX Business Network and MSNBC, are expected to be among the major networks broadcasting the speech. Check the listings section for more details on when coverage on these and other networks begins.

Miracle Workers: Dark Ages: “Help Wanted”
TBS, 10:30pm

This is the second episode of Season 2 of the anthology series starring Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi, where a group of medieval villagers are trying to stay positive in the age of extreme income inequality, poor healthcare and widespread ignorance. Tonight, Al lands an impressive new job, while Prince Chauncley loses one of his favorite ducks.

Wednesday, Feb. 5

College Basketball
ESPN2 & FS1, beginning at 6:30pm Live

FS1 airs two Big East college hoops matchups with Villanova at Butler and Seton Hall at Georgetown. ESPN2 has Wake Forest at Louisville in an ACC matchup.

The Masked Singer
FOX, 8pm

Season 3 of The Masked Singer airs on its regular date and time beginning tonight.

NOVA: “Polar Extremes”
PBS, 8pm

Following a trail of fossils found in all the wrong places — beech trees in Antarctica, redwoods and hippo-like mammals in the Arctic — uncover the bizarre history of the poles, from miles-thick ice sheets to warm polar forests teeming with life.

LEGO Masters
FOX, 9pm
New Series!

Will Arnett (voice of The LEGO Movie’s Batman) hosts and executive produces FOX’s new competition series LEGO Masters, which has teams of skilled LEGO creators going head-to-head in elaborate brick-building challenges. The winning team scores a cash prize, the ultimate LEGO trophy and the coveted title of LEGO Masters.

Summer House
Bravo, 9pm
Season Premiere!

Season 4 premieres with returning cast members Kyle Cooke, Amanda Batula, Lindsay Hubbard, Carl Radke, Paige DeSorbo and Hannah Berner. New roommates include Luke Gulbranson and Jules Daoud, and Danielle Olivera and Jordan Verroi return as friends.

Vikings: “The Best Laid Plans”
History, 10pm
Midseason Finale!

Ivar and Igor may be plotting against Oleg, but they’re still part of the force that departs for Kiev to invade Scandinavia. King Harald and King Bjorn begin furious preparations for the invasion, but can enough be done to resist the Rus force?

68 Whiskey: “Trouble in River City”
Paramount Network, 10pm

This new episode in Ron Howard’s military war dramedy finds Roback (Sam Keeley) scrambling to keep a promise, Sasquatch (Derek Theler) having to remind the guys that they have unfinished business, and Holloway (Beth Riesgraf) planning to help Qasem’s village.

Expedition With Steve Backshall: “Mexico — Flooded Caves”
PBS, 10pm

Dive into a network of unexplored caves under the Yucatán Peninsula with Steve Backshall. After trekking through kilometers of scorpion-infested Mexican jungle to reach the caves, he faces the terror of being lost in an underwater silt cloud.

Thursday, Feb. 6

Figure Skating: ISU Four Continents Championships
NBCSN, 3pm

The world’s best figure skaters outside Europe compete at the ISU Four Continents Championships held in Seoul, South Korea. Coverage starts with the ladies’ short program today on NBCSN and continues on NBCSN and NBC through Sunday.

Katy Keene
The CW, 8pm
New Series!

The CW’s Archie Comics universe expands beyond Riverdale in this new series starring Lucy Hale as the title character, an aspiring fashion designer. The series follows the lives and loves of Katy, singer/songwriter Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray), performer Jorge Lopez/Ginger (Jonny Beauchamp) and “it” girl Pepper Smith (Julia Chan) as they chase their 20-something dreams in New York City.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
NBC, 8pm
Season Premiere!

The acclaimed comedy starring Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher, Terry Crews, Melissa Fumero and more of a terrific ensemble cast is back for Season 7 with a special one-hour premiere tonight. The hit series has also already been renewed for Season 8.

The Sinner
USA Network, 9pm
Season Premiere!

Bill Pullman returns as Detective Harry Ambrose for Season 3 of this thrilling anthology series. This time, a tragic car accident involving a revered teacher (Matt Bomer) on the outskirts of Dorchester, in upstate New York, uncovers a hidden crime that pulls Ambrose into the most dangerous and disturbing case of his career.

Indebted
NBC, 9:30pm
New Series!

Some familiar faces make a welcome return to the sitcom world in NBC’s new generation-gap laugher. Fran Drescher (The Nanny) and Steven Weber (Wings) star as broke baby-boomer parents who have to move in with their son’s family. Also stars Adam Pally (The Mindy Project) and Abby Elliott (Saturday Night Live).

Tommy
CBS, 10pm
New Series!

Edie Falco stars as Abigail “Tommy” Thomas, a former high-ranking NYPD officer who becomes the first female chief of police for Los Angeles. She uses her unflinching honesty and hardball tactics to keep social, political and national security issues from hindering effective law enforcement in the Southland — but that’s not going to be easy.

Briarpatch
USA Network, 10pm
New Series!

Rosario Dawson, who is also a producer, stars in this anthology series based on Ross Thomas’ Edgar Award-winning 1984 crime novel, with USA Network saying the drama will update Thomas’ sense of fun, danger and place for a new generation. The place is a small, quirky Texas community that is the hometown of investigator Allegra Dill (Dawson), who is drawn back there after her police officer sister is murdered in a car bombing. Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot) is an executive producer.

Friday, Feb. 7

Horse Girl
Netflix
Original Film!

Alison Brie stars in this darkly humorous psychological thriller as a socially awkward arts-and-crafts store employee who is more content in the company of horses and supernatural crime shows than people. But when a series of strangely lucid dreams upends the simplicity of her waking life, she becomes increasingly unable to distinguish the logic of her dreams from reality.

Locke & Key
Netflix
New Series!

Based on the comic books by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez, this series follows three siblings who, after the murder of their father, move to their ancestral home and find the house has magical keys that give them a vast array of powers and abilities. Unfortunately, a demon also wants the keys, and will do anything to get them. Carlton Cuse (Lost) is a showrunner and cowrote a few of the episodes.

My Holo Love
Netflix
New Series!

In this series from South Korea, a woman with a disorder causing her to not recognize familiar faces lives a reclusive life until she starts using an artificial intelligence program called Holo, whose appearance is the same as the software developer’s. The developer falls in love with the woman, but his cold personality contrasts with that of Holo’s.

The Waltons: “The Separation”
MeTV, 12pm

A misunderstanding and plain stubborn pride cause a rift between the Walton grandparents.

Bill Burr Presents: The Ringers
Comedy Central, 11pm

Steph Tolev explains what it’s like being a Canadian woman in Los Angeles, Ron Taylor discusses a common sports movie trope, and Mark Ellis reveals what makes him cry.

High Maintenance
HBO, 11pm
Season Premiere!

Ben Sinclair returns as The Guy for the nine-episode fourth season of the critically acclaimed show that uses a marijuana dealer to tell a variety of distinctly authentic, empathetic and insightful stories about his New York City community.

Saturday, Feb. 8

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

Saturday’s college hoops highlights include Michigan State at Michigan (FOX), Kentucky at Tennessee (CBS), Seton Hall at Villanova (FOX), Virginia at Louisville (ESPN), Duke at North Carolina (ESPN) and Oklahoma State at Baylor (ESPN2).

XFL Football
ABC & FOX, beginning at 2pm Live

After 19 years, the XFL pro football league is back and kicks off its season with the Seattle Dragons at the DC Defenders (ABC) and the L.A. Wildcats at Houston Roughnecks (FOX). ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, FOX, FS1 and FS2 will combine to televise every game of the eight-team league’s 10-week regular season and playoffs.

2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards
IFC, 5pm

The ceremony honoring the best in independent cinema marks its 35th anniversary with tonight’s ceremony. The Lighthouse and Uncut Gems lead nominees across various categories with five nods each.

The Neighbor in the Window
Lifetime, 8pm
Original Film!

When upbeat, outgoing Karen (Jamie-Lynn Sigler), her husband and their young son relocate to Washington, Karen looks forward to starting a new life. She meets Lisa (Jenn Lyon), her beautiful, charming neighbor, and they quickly bond. But Lisa soon starts lying to Karen and about Karen to others. Lisa cleverly sets herself up as Karen’s victim, until every aspect of Karen’s new life starts to unravel.

Seven Worlds, One Planet: “Asia”
BBC America, 9pm

Our most varied, extreme and largest continent — Asia, which stretches from the Arctic Circle to the equator — is explored tonight. Walrus gather in huge numbers in the frozen north and brown bears roam remote Russian volcanoes. This is a world of the rarely seen, from yeti-like monkeys in the mountain forests of China to the most bizarre predator in the baking deserts of Iran. Asia is the largest of all continents, but it seems there’s not enough space for wildlife. The deep jungles provide sanctuary for the last few Sumatran rhino.

In Memoriam
Investigation Discovery, 9pm

This documentary feature details the reality of life in an America where there is an active shooter incident every 12 days. In the film, wounded survivors, grieving relatives and first responders from three recent massacres — the attacks at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas, the Sutherland Springs Baptist Church in Texas and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. — relive the moment their lives changed forever.

Sunday, Feb. 9

NASCAR: Daytona 500 Qualifying
FOX & FS1, beginning at 12pm Live

Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway start the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season with Daytona 500 qualifying (FOX) and the Busch Clash at Daytona (FS1).

The 92nd Annual Academy Awards
ABC, 8pm Live

Hollywood’s biggest stars come out for Hollywood’s biggest night. Once again, there will be no host for the festivities, but that won’t put a damper on the excitement as viewers see who picks up the coveted trophies.

Power: “Exactly How We Planned”
Starz, 8pm
Series Finale!

Tonight marks the end of the hit crime drama that was brought to us by rapper 50 Cent, who had a recurring role in the six seasons and was one of the executive producers. “Don’t trip,” he told fans on his Instagram account early in the season, “I have four spinoff shows coming.”

Sanditon
PBS, 9pm

At loggerheads over the disappearance of Miss Lambe, Charlotte and Sidney comb the London underworld to find her. Meanwhile, Tom tries to save Sanditon and his marriage, and Edward and Clara hatch a cunning plot to seize Lady Denham’s legacy.

Homeland
Showtime, 9pm
Season Premiere!

The 12-episode final season begins tonight and picks up with Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) recovering from months of brutal confinement in a Russian gulag. Her body is healing, but her memory remains fractured — which is a problem for Saul (Mandy Patinkin), now national security adviser to the newly ascendant President Warner (Beau Bridges). Against medical advice, Saul asks Carrie to walk with him into the lion’s den — one last time.

Wrong Man
Starz, 9:50pm
Season Premiere!

This series examines the cases of three different inmates who are serving life sentences on murder convictions but who claim their innocence. In the second season, the series will continue to uncover new theories and reveal startling new evidence that could prove that three more inmates, two of whom are women, are, in fact, not guilty. After the premiere episode, the show will air in its usual 9pm time slot.

Vienna Blood
PBS, 10pm

Their latest investigation draws Max and Oskar into the sphere of nationalistic groups who despise Vienna’s immigrants. Max’s fiancée is provoked into taking daring risks before the murderer’s shocking rationale is finally revealed.

Kidding
Showtime, 10pm
Season Premiere!
Jim Carrey returns as iconic children’s television host Jeff Pickles. The second season picks up moments after Season 1’s cliffhanger and, with his beloved Mr. Pickles’ Puppet Time off the air for the first time in 30 years, Jeff must find a way to communicate with his many fans who still need him.

Monday, Feb. 10

College Basketball: Florida State at Duke
ESPN, 7pm Live

The Florida State Seminoles head to Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., to face the Duke Blue Devils in a clash of ACC elites.

Taken 3
FX, 8pm

Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) returns and is out for revenge in this 2015 action movie sequel. After being framed for a brutal murder, he must try to take back his life as he is hunted by every government agency imaginable.

No Passport Required: “Las Vegas”
PBS, 9pm

Explore Las Vegas and its deep-rooted Chinese community, from the Strip’s neon-lit casinos to modest shopping malls. Chef Marcus Samuelsson learns about diverse food traditions and meets a new wave of chefs transforming their parents’ cuisine.

Operación Pacífico
Telemundo, 10pm
New Series!

Majida Issa and Mark Tacher star in Telemundo’s latest “Super Series,” a police drama based on true events and filmed in Mexico and Colombia. Issa plays Capt. Amalia Ortega, a woman living a double life whose mission is to take down the most wanted Mexican drug lord.