I think we can all agree—we’re never going to catch up with our TV watch list at this rate! The February 2018 TV premieres calendar is packed with dozens of excellent new and returning shows.
Two high profile premieres are based on non-fiction books about big news events: Hulu’s “The Looming Tower” tells the story of the rivalry between the CIA and FBI may have opened the way for the 9/11 tragedy. Author Lawrence Wright earned the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for his 2006 book.
Former LAPD detective Greg Kading serves as an executive producer for USA Networks’s “Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.” The 10-episode limited series is based on his 2011 book titled “Murder Rap.”
Sundance Now will stream a new series, “This Close,” a six-episode series about love and friendship. Deaf actors Shoshannah Stern and Josh Feldman created, wrote and star as two best friends, one who is newly engaged and the other who is attempting to move on from his ex-fiancé.
Two shows with interesting back stories debut this month. The Canadian series “X Company,” about a group of World War II spies trained at Camp X in Canada, finally comes to the U.S. on Ovation. Cinemax has revived its modern counterintelligence drama “Strike Back” with a brand new cast but the same edge-of-your-seat action. Warren Brown stars in both series.
Oh, and did I mention sports? Both the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics happen in February—both on NBC.
I could go on and on but let’s get to it. I’ve bolded other new and returning series that I think are worth watching in the calendar below.
February 2018 TV premieres calendar
All times Central; check your local TV listings, especially for PBS shows
Thursday, Feb. 1
8 p.m.
- “A.P. Bio,” NBC (series preview; disgraced Harvard professor gets job teaching high school biology—and he’s not happy; read my interview with creator Mike O’Brien at Chicago Sun-Times)
9 p.m.
- “Impractical Jokers,” truTV (season 7)
- “Thursday Night Darts: Premiere League 2018,” BBC America (series premiere; pro darts!)
9:30 p.m.
- “Talk Show the Game Show,” truTV (new episodes; 2nd episode at 10 p.m.)
Friday, Feb. 2
Streaming
- “Altered Carbon,” Netflix (season 1,300 years in future consciousness can be digitized, making death no longer permanent)
- “Absentia,” Amazon Prime (season 1; six years after disappearing, FBI agent found in remote cabin with no memory)
- “On Body and Soul,” Netflix (movie; Hungary’s Oscar entry about 2 shy co-workers in Budapest who form special bond through mysterious mystic connection)
- “Fly Guys,” Facebook Watch (series premiere; following acrobats and stunt performers in Europe)
- “Coach Snoop,” Netflix (season 1; Snoop Dogg coaches kids football)
- “Kavin Jay: Everybody Calm Down!” Netflix (standup special)
- “Luna Petunia: Return to Amazia,” Netflix (season 1)
8 p.m.
- “Strike Back,” Cinemax (season 5; revived series about covert military unit that takes on international criminals and government conspiracies; more “Strike Back”)
- “2 Dope Queens,” HBO (4 specials; hit comedy podcast with Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson and directed by Tig Notaro)
- “The Trade,” Showtime (doc series premiere; opioid crisis as seen through eyes of growers, addicts, cartel bosses, law enforcement)
- “Nas: Illmatic 20th Anniversary From the Kennedy Center,” PBS (“Great Performances” premiere)
Saturday, Feb. 3
8 p.m.
- “My Secret Valentine,” Hallmark (movie; woman unwittingly befriends man sent to buy out her father’s winery)
9 p.m.
- “The Artful Detective,” Ovation (season 11 premiere)
Sunday, Feb. 4
11 a.m.
- “Kitten Bowl V,” Hallmark (special)
2 p.m.
- “Puppy Bowl XIV,” Animal Planet (special)
5:30 p.m.
- “Super Bowl LII,” NBC (Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots)
6 p.m.
- “Marjorie Prime,” Ovation (movie; broadcast premiere of film about ailing 86-year-old woman’s interaction with holographic projection of her late husband)
Monday, Feb. 5
Streaming
- “The Heart Guy,” Acorn TV (U.S. premiere Series 2; read my interview with star Rodger Corser; full Acorn February schedule)
8 p.m.
- “Vanity Fair,” ID (season 4)
9 p.m.
- “Winnie,” PBS (“Independent Lens” premiere; Winnie Mandela and her struggle to bring down apartheid)
Tuesday, Feb. 6
Streaming
- “Fred Armisen: Standup for Drummers,” Netflix (standup special)
8 p.m.
- “The Gilded Age,” PBS (“American Experience” premiere; portrait of era of glittering wealth & extreme poverty)
9 p.m.
- “Bethenny & Fredrik,” Bravo (series premiere; home renovations)
Wednesday, Feb. 7
Streaming
- “Queer Eye,” Netflix (season 1; rebooting the makeover show with a new fab five: Bobby Berk, interior design; Karamo Brown, culture; Antoni Porowski, food & wine; Jonathan Van Ness, grooming; and Tan France, fashion)
7 p.m.
- “Big Brother: Celebrity Edition,” CBS (season premiere; very loose interpretation of celebrity)
Thursday, Feb. 8
Streaming
- “In the Cloud,” Crackle (movie; 2 tech geniuses inadvertently create an AI so powerful it may change meaning of life and death)
- “The System with Joe Berlinger,” Sundance Now (doc series; examines cases that challenge effectiveness of mandatory sentencing, explore controversy surrounding role of parole boards, efforts of convicted people to vindicate themselves)
- “2018 Olympic Winter Games,” NBC and online (check NBC Olympics site for schedules)
7 p.m.
- “Barkfest,” Nat Geo Wild (special)
8 p.m.
- “Happy Ending with Nando Vila,” Fusion (series premiere; political sketch comedy)
Friday, Feb. 9
Streaming
- “Grand Prix Driver,” Amazon Prime (season 1; world of Formula 1 automobile racing)
- “My First Guest Needs No Introduction,” Netflix (Part 2; David Letterman chats with George Clooney)
- “The Ritual,” Netflix (movie; 4 friends take hiking trip into Swedish wilderness, from which they may never return)
- “When We First Met,” Netflix (movie; Noah relives night he met Avery over and over, trying to persuade her to fall for him)
- “Fate/Apocrypha,” Netflix (Part 2 of anime)
- “Seeing Allred,” Netflix (doc; public and private sides of feminist firebrand attorney Gloria Allred)
- “The Trader,” Netflix (doc; traveling trader provides window into rural life in Republic of Georgia)
5 a.m.
- “2018 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony,” NBCOlympics.com and NBC Sports app (live coverage; taped primetime coverage on NBC begins at 7 p.m.)
9 p.m.
- “Eddie Griffin: Undeniable,” Showtime (standup special)
Saturday, Feb. 10
7 p.m.
- “Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars,” Showtime (doc; contextualizes Clapton’s role in contemporary music, cultural history)
8 p.m.
- “Very, Very, Valentine,” Hallmark (movie; star-crossed love story)
Sunday, Feb. 11
6 p.m.
- “Killing Versace: The Hunt for a Serial Killer,” Oxygen (special; NBC News’s Kate Snow delves into Andrew Cunanan’s killing spree that led to Gianni Versace’s murder)
- “Behind the Movement,” TV One (biopic; Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her bus seat to white passenger launches Montgomery Bus Boycott)
6:30 p.m.
- “Manifesto,” Ovation (movie; Cate Blanchett plays 13 different roles performing various manifestos)
7 p.m.
- “Our Cartoon President,” Showtime (series premiere plus bonus episode; parody of Trump White House; watch the full first episode above)
8 p.m.
- “Here and Now,” HBO (series premiere; dark comedy in which progressive multi-ethnic family and contemporary Muslim family face forces polarizing modern U.S.)
- “Cooking with Love,” Hallmark (movie; love on the set of a reality cooking show)
- “The Price of Fame,” Reelz (series premiere; Johnny Depp’s trials and tribulations kick off new series)
- “Guitar Legends For Heroes,” AXS (concert special)
8:30 p.m.
- “The Top Ten Revealed,” AXS (series premiere; music-themed countdown show)
9 p.m.
- “Homeland,” Showtime (season 7)
Monday, Feb. 12
7 p.m.
- “Atomic Homefront,” HBO (doc; lasting toxic effects nuclear waste can have on communities)
7 p.m.
- “2018 American Rescue Dog Show,” Hallmark (special; shelter dogs of various breeds vie for top dog)
- “Legends of Tomorrow,” CW (winter premiere)
9 p.m.
- “Do Not Resist,” PBS (“POV” premiere; rapid militarization of U.S. police)
Tuesday, Feb. 13
7 p.m.
- “The Bachelor Winter Games,” ABC (series premiere; 25 international bachelors and bachelorettes meet in Manchester, Vermont)
8 p.m.
- “Chip and Joanna’s Family Garden Project,” HGTV (special; duo create cottage-style garden and garden shed o their farm)
- “The Bombing of Wall Street,” PBS (“American Experience” premiere; what led to 1920 terror attack on Wall Street that killed 38, launched J. Edgar Hoover’s career)
- “Frontline: The Gang Crackdown,” PBS (doc; look at brutal killings in Long Island linked to gang MS-13 and how crackdown has led to immigrant teens being accused of gang affiliation and unlawfully detained)
Wednesday, Feb. 14
Streaming
- “This Close,” Sundance Now (series premiere; relationship between deaf best friends Kate, who is newly engaged, and Michael, who is attempting to move on from his ex-fiancé)
- “Against the Law,” BritBox (movie; exclusive U.S. premiere; story of gay journalist Peter Wildeblood; see the full BritBox February schedule here)
- “Love Per Square Foot,” Netflix (movie; Sanjay and Karina enter into marriage of convenience so they can buy a home)
- “Greenhouse Academy,” Netflix (season 2)
7 p.m.
- “He Lied About Everything,” ID (2-part doc; true tale of the love affair between award-winning investigative news producer Benita Alexander, and the brilliant, world-renowned surgeon Paolo Macchiarini)
Thursday, Feb. 15
Streaming
- “Re:Mind,” Netflix (season 1; high school classmates in Japan wake up and find they are prisoners)
Friday, Feb. 16
Streaming
- “Everything Sucks!” Netflix (season 1; high school nerds make a movie in Boring, Oregon, in 1996)
- “Mozart in the Jungle,” Amazon Prime (season 4)
- “Cardinal,” Hulu (season 2)
- “Human Flow,” Amazon Prime (doc; scale of refugee crisis and personal human impact)
- “First Team: Juventus,” Netflix (season 1; docu-series following stories of Italian powerhouse soccer team)
- “Irreplaceable You,” Netflix (movie; woman withe cancer sets out to find fiancé a new love)
- “Dreamworks Dragons: Race to the Edge,” Netflix (season 6)
7 p.m.
- “Zombies,” Disney (movie; life 50 years after zombie apocalypse is, well, musical)
Saturday, Feb. 17
Streaming
- “Little Boy Blue,” BritBox (miniseries, exclusive U.S. premiere; centers on devastating impact of innocent child’s murder amid wave of gang violence)
8 p.m.
- “Wedding March 3: Here Comes the Bride,” Hallmark (movie; former college sweethearts plans for quiet getaway change when family shows up)
Sunday, Feb. 18
Streaming
- “The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale,” Netflix (season 1; weekly look at news, pop culture, etc…)
7 p.m.
- “EE British Academy Film Awards,” BBC America (special; Joanna Lumley hosts)
8 p.m.
- “When Calls the Heart,” Hallmark (season 5)
- “Unsung,” TV One (season 12)
9 p.m.
- “Meet the Peetes,” Hallmark (series premiere; lives of Holly Robinson Peete, Rodney Peete and their multigenerational family)
- “Uncensored,” TV One (doc series; lives of influential music, film, TV, sports and pop culture figures)
- “The Trip: 2018,” Travel (special; lucky winner gets 3 weeks in St. Lucia and Antigua)
10 p.m.
- “Last Week with John Oliver,” HBO (season 5)
11 p.m.
- “Soft Focus with Jena Friedman,” Adult Swim (special; live-action comedic human-interest program)
11:15 p.m.
- “Eric Andre Does Paris,” Adult Swim (special; Eric Andre hits Paris streets to ponder existential questions with French people)
Monday, Feb. 19
Streaming
- “Fullmetal Alchemist,” Netflix (movie; brothers use alchemy to resurrect their mother to unexpected results)
7 p.m.
- “Traffic Stop,” HBO (doc; one woman’s life-changing encounter with police)
- “2018 American Rescue Dog Show,” Hallmark (special)
- “Escape to the Great Dismal Swamp,” Smithsonian (special; scientists uncover evidence vast wilderness covering parts of Virginia and North Carolina became decades-long home to escaped slaves)
8 p.m.
- “Star Wars Rebels,” Disney XD (final episodes premiere; 2 episodes per night through March 5 finale; read more about the final episodes)
- “Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Historically Black Colleges & Universities,” PBS (“Independent Lens” premiere; explore pivotal role of historically black colleges and universities)
9 p.m.
- “X Company,” Ovation (U.S. premiere; drama inspired by true story of Camp X, a top-secret Allied spy training facility in Lake Ontario during WWII)
Tuesday, Feb. 20
Streaming
- “The Frankenstein Chronicles,” Netflix (seasons 1 & 2, U.S. premiere; detective tracks possible serial killer in 1827 London, but case leads to something even more frightening)
9 p.m.
- “Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia,” PBS (“Frontline” doc; dangerous rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia that’s plunged the Middle East into a sectarian war; concludes Feb. 27)
Wednesday, Feb. 21
Streaming
- “Forgotten,” Netflix (movie; when his abducted brother returns seemingly different and with no memory, Jin-seok chases after truth behind his kidnapping)
8 p.m.
- “The Amazing Race,” CBS (season finale)
9 p.m.
- “Homicide City,” ID (series premiere; Philadelphia detectives reflect on their toughest cases)
Thursday, Feb. 23
Streaming
- “Seven Seconds,” Netflix (season 1; after white cop critically injures a black teen, northeastern city explodes with racial tensions, attempted cover up and trial)
- “The Tick,” Amazon Prime (season 1B)
- “Marseille,” Netflix (season 2)
- “Mute,” Netflix (movie; mute man with violent past is forced to take on underworld of near-future Berlin as he searches for his missing girlfriend)
- “Thunderbirds are Go!” Amazon Prime (season 4)
- “Ugly Delicious,” Netflix (season 1; doc series following chefs, activists and artists as they travel world using food to break down cultural barriers)
8 p.m.
- “17th Annual Movies for Grownups Awards,” PBS (awards special)
Saturday, Feb. 24
3:30 p.m.
- “Shot in the Dark,” Fox (doc; executive produced by Dwyane Wade and Chance the Rapper, doc looks at high school sports on South Side of Chicago)
7 p.m.
- “Notes from the Field,” HBO (movie; adaptation of Anna Deavere Smith’s one-woman show in which she plays 18 real-life characters caught in America’s school-to-prison pipeline)
8 p.m.
- “A Royal Romance,” Hallmark (movie; man inherits king’s throne but doesn’t want to rule)
Sunday, Feb. 25
5 a.m.
- “2018 Olympic Winter Games Closing Ceremony,” NBCOlympics.com and NBC Sports app (live coverage; taped primetime coverage on NBC begins at 7 p.m.)
7 p.m.
- “Love & Hate Crime,” ID (doc series premiere; explores cases of violence driven by prejudice)
- “Big Brother,” CBS (season finale; celebrity edition)
8 p.m.
- “Ash Vs. Evil Dead,” Starz (season 3)
- “The Walking Dead,” AMC (season 8B)
11 p.m.
“Mr. Pickles,” Adult Swim (season 3)
Monday, Feb. 26
Streaming
- “Ackley Bridge,” Acorn TV (Series 1, U.S. premiere; life in a 50/50 multicultural school)
7 p.m.
- “The Voice,” NBC (season premiere)
- “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” CW (winter premiere)
- “The Lost Tapes: Malcolm X,” Smithsonian (special; documents Malcolm X’s changing philosophy and moments that helped shape his legacy)
- “Kick-off to Mega Race,” Discovery (preview special)
8 p.m.
- “iZombie,” CW (season 4)
- “Street Outlaws vs. Fast N’ Loud: Build to Mega Race,” Discovery (4-part special over next 4 nights; inside garages of some of network’s top motor talent as they prep for epic Mega Race showdown)
8:30 p.m.
- “Living Biblically,” CBS (series premiere; man decides to live strictly in accordance with the Bible)
9 p.m.
- “Good Girls,” NBC (series premiere; 3 suburban moms rob local grocery store, but manager recognizes one of them)
- “McMafia,” AMC (series premiere; London banker from Russian family drawn into world of organized crime)
- “Shoot the Messenger,” WGN America (U.S. premiere; reporter exposes cover-up that could bring down government)
- “UnReal,” Lifetime (season 3)
9:30 p.m.
- “Final Space,” TBS (series premiere; animated intergalactic space saga)
Tuesday, Feb. 27
Streaming
- “Derren Brown: The Push,” Netflix (specials; British illusionist does his thing)
- 8 p.m.
- “American Creed,” PBS (doc; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David M. Kennedy investigate idea of a unifying American creed)
9 p.m.
- “Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.” USA (limited series premiere; dramatized look dual police investigations of two detectives into murders of two rappers)
- “Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings,” Discovery (series sneak peek; 32 big names in no prep racing compete)
Wednesday, Feb. 28
Streaming
- “The Looming Tower,” Hulu (limited series; traces rising threat of Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda in late 1990s and how FBI-CIA rivalry may have set path for 9/11)
- “Maigret,” BritBox (exclusive U.S. premiere, season 1; Rowan Atkinson stars as Chief Inspector Maigret as he looks to catch a serial killer stalking women in Montmarte; read more about “Maigret” here )
7 p.m.
- “Survivor,” CBS (season 36; 2 hours)
8 p.m.
- “Hollywood Medium,” E! (season 3)
9 p.m.
- “Designated Survivor,” ABC (winter premiere)
- “Twin Turbos,” Discovery (series premiere; father-son duo create custom built cars)
- “VH1 Beauty Bar,” VH1 (docu-series premiere; behind-the-scenes at Manhattan salon House of Dolls by Henry)