“Project Blue Book” (10 p.m., History, TV-MA) returns for a second season, lending an expensive period costume drama feel to a tale about the depressingly familiar Roswell malarkey.
— Back in the real world, the thoughtful series “Secrets of the Dead” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG check local listings) emphasizes the life-and-death nature of real decisions made by historical figures.
Conventional histories of World War II record that the civilized world recoiled when the Nazi death camps were liberated in the spring of 1945, informing everyone of the gruesome ruthlessness of the Nazis’ plans to exterminate the Jewish people and other minority groups that didn’t fit into their master race schemes.
“Secrets” uses talking-head interviews and historical re-enactments to discuss the fact that knowledge of the death camps had leaked out much earlier and that Jewish leaders had petitioned the Allies to bomb the concentration camps to end their assembly line of slaughter.
This “Secret” wrestles with one of the great moral questions of the war, but also one of the thorniest aspects of studying and discussing history: judging figures from the past based on knowledge and assumptions that only emerged decades later.
— Questions of faith and identity get the once-over as Becky’s boyfriend appears not only to be “churchy” but a besotted Green Bay Packers fan, as “The Conners” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) returns from its holiday hiatus.
— A participant on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” gets her own Netflix special: “Fortune Feimster: Sweet & Salty.” Performing in a North Carolina church converted into a theater, she discusses her Southern upbringing, a culture she saw as divided into equal parts: a devotion to Christianity and Chili’s restaurants.
— Catching up with the Netflix series “Spinning Out” that debuted earlier in January, I was immediately struck by its over-reliance on soundtrack to establish mood at the expense of story.
Some series, most notably the recent Freeform comedy “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay,” offer overwritten characters. Every thought and feeling are regurgitated, often in whole sentences and even paragraphs.
In contrast, “Spinning Out” almost seems ashamed of its own script. As the show began, I noticed two whole songs and a musical montage interlude before two characters engaged in what might be considered a conversation.
For the record, Kaya Scodelario stars as Katerina “Kat” Baker, an ice skater battling injury and desperately trying to keep her bipolar disorder under wraps. January Jones (“Mad Men”) stars as her mother, similarly afflicted.
— At a time when so many choose to dispense with cable television entirely, many cable outlets seem to advertise their pointlessness.
Founded as an outlet for independent cinema, IFC dedicates tonight’s schedule to “National Lampoon’s Vacation” (8 p.m., TV-MA) and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (10:15 p.m., TV-14).
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A soccer star suffers strange symptoms on “The Resident” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— “This Is Us” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14) is a multigenerational three-hanky affair.
— An agent’s son is kidnapped on “FBI” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— Pictures in the post office set the agenda on “FBI: Most Wanted” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— Kapoor strives to help his family on “New Amsterdam” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— To protect Piper, Jo rolls the dice on “Emergence” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
CULT CHOICE
— Director and writer Jordan Peele turns the everyday awkwardness of a guy (Daniel Kaluuya) meeting his girlfriend’s (Allison Williams) parents (Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford) into a horror movie about racism in the 2017 shocker “Get Out” (7:35 p.m. and 9:45 p.m., FXM, TV-MA).
SERIES NOTES
Grim findings at a testing site on “NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … Prizes galore on “Ellen’s Game of Games” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … 2040 arrives peacefully on “Arrow” (8 p.m., CW, TV-14) … Seed sorting on “Bless This Mess” (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
A Cuban restaurant needs help on “Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … Paul’s comments put the kids on edge on “mixed-ish” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … The dark side of fame on “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14) … A glimpse at a different life on “black-ish” (9:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Jeff Goldblum appears on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Martin Short, David Dobrik and Yola on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Aidy Bryant, Lewis Black, Rep. Eric Swalwell and Adam Marcello visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC).
