The 25th anniversary of the siege on the Branch Davidian complex in Waco, Texas, inspires two documentaries this month, and the first original series on the new Paramount Network. Here is your January 2018 TV premieres calendar.
On Feb. 28, 1993, cult leader David Koresh refused to leave the center when served arrest and search warrants. Four ATF agents and six Davidians were killed in the initial battle that led to a 51-day standoff. On April 19, a fire gutted the center, where Koresh and 70 others later were found dead.
ABC and A&E both present documentaries on the events leading up to and including the siege (others likely will pop up during the coming months).
The Paramount Network, formerly Spike TV, is launching this month and chose “Waco” as its first original scripted series. (See my Emmy Magazine story on the Spike rebranding here.) From John Erick and Drew Dowdle, the limited series stars Taylor Kitsch as Koresh, with “Supergirl” star Melissa Benoist as his wife, Rachel, and Michael Shannon as FBI negotiator Gary Noesner. Andrea Riseborough, John Leguizamo, Rory Culkin and Camryn Manheim also star.
“Waco” debuts Jan. 24, but before that Paramount will treat viewers to a live Season 4 premiere of “Lip Sync Battle” on Jan. 18, the official first day of the Spike TV-to-Paramount relaunch.
Other big ticket premieres this month include Showtime’s “The Chi,” TNT’s “The Alienist,” CW’s “Black Lightning,” Amazon Prime’s “Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams,” FX’s “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” Starz’s “Counterpart” and HBO’s “Mosaic.”
Personally, I can’t wait to see (besides many of the above,) Netflix’s premiere of the first two seasons of the German import “Babylon Berlin.” From Tom Tykwer, the series explores the decadent world of 1929-34 Berlin through the eyes of a detective investigating a murder.
The January 2018 TV premieres calendar is extra long because I’ve included the returns of fall shows as well as new and season premieres, some finales, specials and movies. I’ll bold the titles I plan to watch. Happy New Year, and viewing.
January 2018 TV premieres calendar
Monday, Jan. 1
Streaming
- “Lovesick,” Netflix (winter premiere)
10 a.m.
- “The 2018 Rose Parade Hosted by Cord & Tish,” Amazon Prime (live special; hosted by Will Ferrell as Cord Hosenbeck and Molly Shannon as Tish Cattigan)
10:30 a.m.
- “129th Rose Parade,” NBC (special)
7 p.m.
- “Lucifer,” Fox (season 3)
- “The Bachelor,” ABC (season 22)
- “Kids Baking Championship,” Food (season premiere)
8 p.m.
- “The Gifted,” Fox (winter premiere)
- “The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin,” PBS (“Independent Lens” premiere; Jennifer M. Kroot’s portrait of “Tales of the City” creator)
- “Better Late Than Never,” NBC (season 2)
- “Valor,” CW (winter premiere)
- “60 Days In,” A&E (season premiere, 2 hours; second 2-hour episode airs same time Jan. 4, then hour-long episodes begin at 9 p.m. Jan. 11)
9 p.m.
- “NBC Football Fanatic,” USA (series premiere; Scottish-born Darren McMullen travels America to find NFL team to call his own)
- “Ridiculous Cakes,” Food (series premiere; stories behind creative cakes)
Tuesday, Jan. 2
7 p.m.
- “Lethal Weapon,” Fox (winter premiere)
- “The Middle,” ABC (winter premiere)
- “NCIS,” CBS (winter premiere)
- “Ellen’s Game of Games,” NBC (winter premiere)
- “My Big Fat Fabulous Life,” TLC (season premiere)
7:30 p.m.
- “Fresh Off the Boat,” ABC (winter premiere)
8 p.m.
- “LA to Vegas,” Fox (series premiere; airline crew and eccentric passengers take weekly flight to win big in Vegas)
- “black-ish,” ABC (winter premiere)
- “Bull,” CBS (winter premiere)
- “Intervention,” A&E (season premiere)
8:30 p.m.
- “The Mick,” Fox (winter premiere)
9 p.m.
- “Chicago Med,” NBC (winter premiere)
- “Kevin (Probably) Save the World,” ABC (winter premiere)
- “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS (winter premiere)
- “Chopped Gold Medal Games,” Food (tournament premiere)
- “Restored by the Fords,” HGTV (series premiere; brother/sister team redo houses)
Wednesday, Jan. 3
7 p.m.
- “grown-ish,” Freeform (series premiere; 17-year-old Zoey from “black-ish” goes to college)
- “The X-Files,” Fox (season 11)
- “The Amazing Race,” CBS (season 30)
- “The Blacklist,” NBC (winter premiere)
- “The Goldbergs,” ABC (winter premiere)
7:30 p.m.
- “Speechless,” ABC (winter premiere)
8 p.m.
- “9-1-1,” Fox (series premiere; police, paramedics and firefighters do their thing in L.A.)
- “Law & Order: SVU,” NBC (winter premiere)
- “SEAL Team,” CBS (winter premiere)
- “Modern Family,” ABC (winter premiere)
9:30 p.m.
- “American Housewife,” ABC (winter premiere)
9 p.m.
- “Match Game,” ABC (season 3)
- “Chicago P.D.” NBC (winter premiere)
- “Criminal Minds,” CBS (winter premiere)
- “Billion Dollar Buyer,” CNBC (season 3)
10 p.m.
- “Laff Mobb’s Laff Tracks,” truTV (series premiere; stand-up jokes get turned into live-action recreations)
Thursday, Jan. 4
7 p.m.
- “The Four: Battle for Stardom,” Fox (series premiere; 4 singers compete against each other and challengers as Sean “Diddy” Combs, DJ Khaled, Meghan Trainor and Charlie Walk judge)
- “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS (winter premiere)
- “Superstore,” NBC (winter premiere)
7:30 p.m.
- “The Good Place,” NBC (winter premiere)
- “Young Sheldon,” CBS (winter premiere)
8 p.m.
- “Will & Grace,” NBC (winter premiere)
- “Mom,” CBS (winter premiere)
- “Nashville,” CMT (final season premiere)
- “Truth and Lies: Waco,” ABC (special; look back on the 25th anniversary of deadly raid on David Koresh’s Branch Davidian compound)
- “Project Runway All Stars,” Lifetime (season 6)
- “Van Helsing,” Syfy (season 2 finale)
- “Killing Fields: Murder Isle,” Discovery (season premiere; re-examines 2004 killing on the Isle of Wight, an isolated farmland community in Virginia)
- “Andes Rescue: Mysteries at the Museum,” Travel (special; story of survival that emerged from 1972 plane crash in Andes mountains)
- “Building Giants,” Science (series premiere; how super structures are built)
8:30 p.m.
- “Great News,” NBC (winter premiere)
- “Life In Pieces,” CBS (winter premiere)
9 p.m.
- “Chicago Fire,” NBC (winter premiere)
- “S.W.A.T.” CBS (winter premiere)
- “Ghost Wars,” Syfy (season finale)
- “Too Close to Home,” TLC (season 3)
- “The Interrogation Room,” Discovery (series premiere; inside look at what went on in suspect interviews during infamous criminal cases)
- “Mega Machines,” Science (series premiere; world’s most extreme machines)
- “Jay Leno’s Garage,” CNBC (season 3B)
Friday, Jan. 5
Streaming
- “Devilman Crybaby,” Netflix (season 1; sensitive demon-boy’s mysterious friend, Ryo, leads him into brutal, degenerate war against evil in anime story)
- “Before I Wake,” Netflix (movie; after sone dies, couple welcomes foster child and learn of his strange abilities)
- “Rotten,” Netflix (docuseries; uncomfortable look at food supply chain)
- “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” Netflix (season 10)
7 p.m.
- “Child Support,” ABC (series premiere; game show featuring host Fred Savage and kid wrangler Ricky Gervais)
- “MacGyver,” CBS (winter premiere)
- “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” CW (winter premiere)
8 p.m.
- “Mysteries & Scandals,” Oxygen (series premiere; legendary crimes and scandals that impacted pop culture)
- “Hawaii Five-0,” CBS (winter premiere)
- “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” ABC (winter premiere)
9 p.m.
- “Blue Bloods,” CBS (winter premiere)
Saturday, Jan. 6
7 p.m.
- “Say Yes to the Dress,” TLC (season 16)
8 p.m.
- “Love on the Slopes,” Hallmark (movie; extreme sports guide and writer don’t get along at first, but then …)
9 p.m.
- “Falling Water,” USA (season 2)
Sunday, Jan. 7
Streaming
- “Vera,” BritBox (season 8; see more Britbox premieres)
- “Star Trek: Discovery,” CBS All Access (chapter 2)
6 p.m.
- “Final Appeal,” Oxygen (series premiere; former football star/exoneree Brian Banks and former prosecutor Loni Coombs work to uncover the truth behind controversial cases)
7 p.m.
- “75th Annual Golden Globe Awards,” NBC (special)
- “The Simpsons,” Fox (winter premiere)
- “Wisdom of the Crowd,” CBS (winter premiere)
- “Sister Wives,” TLC (season premiere)
7:30 p.m.
- “Ghosted,” Fox (winter premiere)
8 p.m.
- “To Rome with Love,” Bravo (series premiere; love expert Diann Valentine tries to set up five women with Italians)
- “Last Scene Alive: An Aurora Teegarden Mystery,” Hallmark M&M (movie; actress playing Aurora in movie based on a book written by her ex is killed during filming)
- “Worst Cooks in America,” Food (season premiere)
- “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS (winter premiere)
- “Best in Snow,” Travel (special; best snow sculptures)
9 p.m.
- “The Chi,” Showtime (series premiere, watch it above; coming-of-age story about group of South Side Chicago residents linked by coincidence but bonded by need for connection and redemption)
- “Madam Secretary,” CBS (winter premiere)
- “Revenge Body with Chloe Kardashian,” E! (season 2)
- “Best in Ice,” Travel (special; best ice sculptures)
Monday, Jan. 8
7 p.m.
- “David Bowie: The Last Five Years,” HBO (doc; after nearly a decade of silence, musician created two groundbreaking albums and musical before his 2016 death)
8 p.m.
- “Unrest,” PBS (“Independent Lens” premiere; filmmaker Jennifer Brea’s fight against Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)
- “Home Town,” HGTV (season 2)
9 p.m.
- “The Brave,” NBC (winter premiere)
- “The Good Doctor,” CBS (winter premiere)
Tuesday, Jan. 9
7 p.m.
- “The Fosters,” Freeform (season 5B, including 100th episode)
- “America’s Next Top Model,” VH1 (season 24)
8 p.m.
- “This Is Us,” NBC (winter premiere)
- “The Mayor,” ABC (winter premiere)
- “American Experience,” PBS (season 30; opens with “Into the Amazon,” about President Theodore Roosevelt and Brazilian explorer Candido Rondon’s 1914 journey; see the full schedule here)
- “Major Crimes,” TNT (series finale)
- “The Haves and the Have Nots,” OWN (season 5)
9 p.m.
- “Undercover High,” A&E (series premiere; 7 young adults pose as high school students to examine what life is like as a teen today)
9 p.m.
- “Ink Master,” Spike TV (season 10)
- “How the Universe Works,” Science (season 6)
Wednesday, Jan. 10
7 p.m.
- “My 600-lb Life,” TLC (season 6)
7:30 p.m.
- “Alone Together,” Freeform (series premiere; 2 strictly platonic millennial misfits try to make it in status-obsessed LA)
8 p.m.
- “The Magicians,” Syfy (season 3)
9 p.m.
- “Rooster & Butch,” A&E (series premiere; self-made millionaires help out new entrepreneurs)
- “Family By the Ton,” TLC (series premiere; weight loss journeys of three cousins who together weigh almost 2,000 lbs.)
Thursday, Jan. 11
7 p.m.
- “Critics Choice Awards,” CW (special)
8 p.m.
- “Growing Up Hip Hop Atlanta,” WEtv (season 2)
Friday, Jan. 12
Streaming
- “Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams,” Amazon Prime (season 1; sci-fi anthology series based on Dick’s stories)
- “The Polka King,” Netflix (movie; Polish-born bandleader Jan Lewan draws fans into Ponzi scheme in this comedy based on true story)
- “Disjointed,” Netflix (season 1, part 2)
- “Tom Segura: Disgraceful,” Netflix (standup special)
- “Somebody Feed Phil,” Netflix (doc; creator of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” Phil Rosenthal, takes viewers on goodwill eating tour of world)
7 p.m.
- “Blindspot,” NBC (winter premiere)
8 p.m.
- “Taken,” NBC (season 2)
- “Mama June: From Not to Hot,” WEtv (season 2)
9 p.m.
- “Love After Lockup,” WEtv (series premiere; real-life couples who found love despite prison walls between them)
- “Dateline NBC,” NBC (winter premiere)
Saturday, Jan. 13
8 p.m.
- “Frozen in Love,” Hallmark (movie; struggling bookstore tapped to change image of bad boy hockey player)
Sunday, Jan. 14
6:30 p.m.
- “Bob’s Burgers,” Fox (winter premiere)
8 p.m.
- “Victoria” on Masterpiece, PBS (season 2)
- “Past Malice: An Emma Fielding Mystery,” Hallmark M&M (movie; Emma uncovers a curse when she takes over an archaeological dig after her colleague is murdered in the crypts beneath Chandler Castle)
8:30 p.m.
- “Last Man on Earth,” Fox (winter finale)
9 p.m.
- “Jodi Arias: An American Murder Mystery,” Investigation Discovery (miniseries premiere; new look at investigation and trial of Jodi Arias for 2008 murder of Travis Alexander)
- “Seeking Sister Wife,” TLC (series premiere; three husbands, six wives and 24 children reside between three households)
- “Divorce,” HBO (season 2)
9:30 p.m.
- “Crashing,” HBO (season 2)
Monday, Jan. 15
Streaming
- “Detectorists,” Acorn TV (season 3; see more Acorn TV premieres here)
7 p.m.
- “The Gifted,” Fox (season 1 finale, 2 hours)
- “Supergirl,” CW (winter premiere)
- “Kevin Can Wait,” CBS (winter premiere)
7:30 p.m.
- “Man with a Plan,” CBS (winter premiere)
8 p.m.
- “NAACP Image Awards,” TV One (special)
- “Chain of Command,” Net Geo (doc series; filmed over 18 months, goes inside the walls of the Pentagon to front lines of the U.S. military’s fight against global extremism)
- “I Am Not Your Negro,” PBS (“Independent Lens” premiere; Raoul Peck’s examination for race of America)
- “Superior Donuts,” CBS (winter premiere)
8:30 p.m.
- “9JKL,” CBS (winter premiere)
9 p.m.
- “Street Outlaws: Memphis,” Discovery (series premiere; street racing Memphis-style)
- “Scorpion,” CBS (winter premiere)
11 p.m.
- “Hot Streets,” Adult Swim (series premiere; FBI Agent Mark Branski, with his partner, his niece and her dog, investigate supernatural phenomena)
Tuesday, Jan. 16
Streaming
- “Katt Williams: Great America,” Netflix (standup special)
7 p.m.
- “The Flash,” CW (winter premiere)
- “Trumpland: Kill All Normies,” Fusion (doc; author Angela Nagle examines social/political forces that have emboldened white nationalists)
8 p.m.
- “Black Lightning,” CW (series premiere; man becomes super hero)
- “Major Crimes,” TNT (series finale)
9 p.m.
- “This Time Next Year,” Lifetime (series premiere; Cat Deeley hosts as ordinary people embark on missions to change their lives in 12 months)
10 p.m.
- “True Conviction,” ID (series premiere; how nation’s top prosecutors tackled their toughest cases)
Wednesday, Jan. 17
Streaming
- “The Path,” Hulu (season 3)
7 p.m.
- “Riverdale,” CW (winter premiere)
8 p.m.
- “Dynasty,” CW (winter premiere)
9 p.m.
- “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” FX (season premiere; dramatizing the story of the designer’s murder)
- “Corporate,” Comedy Channel (series premiere)
- “Relative Success with Tabatha,” Bravo (series premiere; Tabatha Coffey helps family-run companies)
Thursday, Jan. 18
7 p.m.
- “Lip Sync Battle,” Paramount, formerly Spike TV (live season 4 premiere)
- “Beyond,” Freeform (season 2)
- “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC (winter premiere)
- “Supernatural,” CW(winter premiere)
8 p.m.
- “Scandal,” ABC (winter premiere)
- “Arrow,” CW (winter premiere)
- “Flip or Flop Nashville,” HGTV (series premiere; Exes-turned-business-partners flip houses)
9 p.m.
- “Portlandia,” IFC (final season)
- “How to Get Away with Murder,” ABC (winter premiere)
- “Damnation,” USA (season finale)
9:30 p.m.
- “BET’s Mancave,” BET (series premiere; singer-actor Tank, comedian Gerald “Slink” Johnson, producer Marcos “Kosine” Palacios and TV personality Jeff Johnson host late-night talk show)
Friday, Jan. 19
Streaming
- “Grace and Frankie,” Netflix (season 4)
- “Drug Lords,” Netflix (season 1)
- “Wonderstruck,” Amazon Prime (movie; two children from different eras secretly wish their lives were different)
- “The Open House,” Netflix (movie; mother and son besieged by threatening forces in new house)
- “Just Add Magic,” Amazon Prime (season 2B)
- “Trolls: The Neat Goes On!” Netflix (season 1; animated kids show)
8 p.m.
- “Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart,” PBS (“American Masters” premiere; activism & art of Lorraine Hansberry beyond her “A Raisin in the Sun”)
9 p.m.
- “Real Time with Bill Maher,” HBO (season 16)
- “Gold Rush: White Water,” Discovery (series premiere; gold hunters dive beneath one of Alaska’s wildest creeks)
- “Cake Hunters,” Cooking (season premiere)
10 p.m.
- “High Maintenance,” HBO (season 2)
Saturday, Jan. 20
7 p.m.
- “Cocaine Godmother: The Griselda Blanco Story,” Lifetime (movie; Catherine Zeta-Jones stars as real-life pioneer in Miami-based cocaine trade)
8 p.m.
- “Planet Earth: Blue Planet II,” BBC America (series premiere; look at natural wonders)
- “One Winter Weekend,” Hallmark (movie; writer hopes ski getaway with best friend will spark inspiration for story about her self-imposed dating detox)
- “The Paynes,” Own (time slot premiere)
- “Say Yes: Wedding SOS!” TLC (series premiere; style expert George Kotsiopoulos serves as host)
Sunday, Jan. 21
7 p.m.
- “Counterpart,” Starz (series premiere; spy agency employee discovers secret parallel dimension when he meets his near-identical counterpart from that world)
- “Screen Actors Guild Awards,” TNT & TBS (special)
8 p.m.
- “Morning Show Mysteries: Mortal Mishaps,” Hallmark M&M (movie; morning show host Billie Blessings investigates murder of station executive when head chef at her restaurant becomes a suspect)
9 p.m.
- “The Resident,” Fox (series premiere after NFC Championship game; final years of a young doctor’s training)
Monday, Jan. 22
Streaming
- “Dear Murderer,” Acorn TV (exclusive U.S. premiere, season 1; look at life of infamous New Zealand barrister Michael Bungay)
7 p.m.
- “Mosaic,” HBO (series premiere; two men are suspects in murder of children’s book author in Steven Soderbergh’s version of story that viewers can experience their own way in MOSAIC app)
8 p.m.
- “The Alienist,” TNT (series premiere; amid a series of brutal murders in 1896 New York City, criminal psychologist joins newspaper illustrator and secretary in secret investigation)
- “The Resident,” Fox (time period premiere)
- “The Force,” PBS (“Independent Lens” premiere; Peter Nicks’ look at long-troubled Oakland Police Department)
9 p.m.
- “Murder Is Forever,” Investigation Discovery (series premiere; true crime series based on Patterson’s new books)
- “Summer House,” Bravo (season 2)
Tuesday, Jan. 23
Streaming
- “Todd Glass: Act Happy,” Netflix (standup special)
8 p.m.
- “Exodus: The Journey Continues,” PBS (“Frontline” premiere; sequel doc revisits several refugees and follows new migrants and refugees as they flee countries besieged by violence)
- “Bizarre Foods,” Travel (season premiere)
9 p.m.
- “Bellevue,” WGN America (U.S. premiere; detectives race to solve mystery that could be related to a 20-year-old murder which once traumatized Bellevue)
- “Baskets,” FX (season 3)
- “Drunk History,” Comedy (season 5)
9:30 p.m.
- “The Detour,” TBS (season 3)
- “Another Period,” Comedy (season 3)
Wednesday, Jan. 24
7 p.m.
- “Schitt’s Creek,” Pop (season 4)
- “David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef,” Smithsonian (series premiere; naturalist visits reef off coast of Queensland, Australia)
7:30 p.m.
- “Let’s Get Physical,” Pop (series premiere; in order to get inheritance, middle-aged slacker must run family gym during 1980s aerobics craze)
9 p.m.
- “Waco,” Paramount (limited series premiere; dramatization of 51-day standoff in 1993 at Branch Davidian ranch)
- “Slutever,” Viceland (series premiere; writer Karley Sciortino looks at sex, relationships and intimacy)
Thursday, Jan. 25
7 p.m.
- “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” VH1 (season 3)
8 p.m.
- “MVP: Most Valuable Performer,” CBS (special; interactive talent show to find pro football player with best off-the-field talent)
Friday, Jan. 26
Streaming
- “Britannia,” Amazon Prime (U.S. premiere; in 43 AD, Roman Imperial Army returns to crush Celtic heart of Britannia)
- “One Day at a Time,” Netflix (season 2)
- “A Futile and Stupid Gesture,” Netflix (movie; troubled life and groundbreaking career of “National Lampoon” co-founder Doug Kenney)
- “Dirty Money,” Netflix (docuseries; scandal and corruption in world of business)
- “Llama Llama,” Netflix (season 1; animated kids show)
- “The Adventures of Puss In Boots,” Netflix (season 6)
8 p.m.
- “Jane the Virgin,” CW (winter premiere)
Saturday, Jan. 27
Streaming
- “Silent Witness,” BritBox (season 21)
7 p.m.
- “Elton John: The Nation’s Favorite Song,” Reelz (special; stories behind Elton John’s 20 greatest songs as voted by fans)
8 p.m.
- “Winter’s Dream,” Hallmark (movie; 16-year-old downhill racer asks former ski champion for help)
Sunday, Jan. 28
6:30 p.m.
- “60th Annual Grammy Awards,” CBS (special)
7 p.m.
- “Silicon Valley: The Untold Story,” Science (3-part doc premiere; history of computer and tech industry)
8 p.m.
- “Waco: Madman or Messiah,” A&E (2-night doc; look at Branch Davidian standoff 25 years ago; ends Jan. 29)
- “Shameless,” Showtime (season finale)
9 p.m.
- “Best in Food,” Food (series premiere; behind-the-scenes at food competitions across country)
Monday, Jan. 29
Streaming
- “Girlfriends,” Acorn TV (exclusive U.S. premiere, season 1; Acorn TV original follows three friends struggling with responsibilities that come with being a modern woman of a certain age)
8 p.m.
- “I Am Another You,” PBS (“Independent Lens” premiere; filmmaker Nanfu Wang follows a drifter across America. exploring meaning and limits of freedom)
- “Valor,” CW (season finale)
Tuesday, Jan. 30
Streaming
- “Babylon Berlin,” Netflix (seasons 1 & 2; German drama about Cologne detective’s investigation into porn ring run by Russian mafia in 1920s Berlin)
- “A French Village,” MHz Choice (U.S. premiere, final season; as WWII ends, survivors in small French village look to future)
- “Retribution,” Netflix (season 1)
7 p.m.
- “Citizen Rose,” E! (limited series; behind-the-scenes of activist Rose McGowan’s life)
- “Super Bowl Greatest Commercials 2018,” CBS (special)
8 p.m.
- “State of the Union Address,” major networks (news special)
Wednesday, Jan. 31
7 p.m.
- “Big Papi Needs a Job,” Fusion (series premiere; retired baseball player David “Big Papi” Ortiz embarks on next phase)