Tonight brings the president’s State of the Union Address (9 p.m., CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, PBS, C-Span, CNN, MSNBC).
This president isn’t the first to deliver a State of the Union against the backdrop of impeachment proceedings. President Bill Clinton delivered his on Jan. 19, 1999, as the Senate considered his fate. (Spoiler alert: He was acquitted.) For the record, he did not mention the word “impeachment.” But he did address the ongoing concerns about the “Y2K” computer problem that some feared might create untold havoc. (Spoiler alert: It didn’t.)
A night of prime time “news” offers a good excuse for a mere TV critic to review some of 2020’s most notable shows.
Netflix began the year with “Messiah,” a speculative thriller that imagines the emergence of a mysterious figure (Mehdi Dehbi) seemingly capable of miracles straight out of the Good Book. The series contemplates his arrival from the point of view of presidents, the faithful, a small-town minister, an Israeli agent and an American intelligence officer (Michelle Monaghan). Is he a con man? Insane? A dangerous provocateur? The real deal?
Every major character has his or her opinion of the miracle man and some personal motivations for seeing that their preferred version of events unfolds.
“Messiah” does a good job of contemplating biblical events from a modern perspective, asking the faithful and skeptics to wonder how a messiah might manifest in the era of social media.
Also streaming on Netflix, the addictive French import “The Bonfire of Destiny” presents a period soap based on real events, following survivors of a turn-of-the-century blaze at a charity function that claimed more than 100 society women and their servants.
If the notion of “Titanic” and its aftermath as a miniseries intrigues you, I strongly suggest you brave the subtitles and pounce on this unheralded gem.
Now airing on HBO, “The Outsider” does a masterful job of blending the crime procedural with horror elements. It’s from Stephen King, after all.
Streaming now on PBS.com, an “American Experience” presentation on Sen. Joseph McCarthy echoes current events in more ways than one,
Streaming on Apple TV+, the anthology series “Little America” presents tales of contemporary immigrant experience that are both uplifting and bittersweet.
On Hulu’s “Shrill,” Aidy Bryant (“SNL”) presents a plus-sized character who becomes bolder (and happier) with each passing episode.
And fans of Netflix’s incomparably strange, dark and smart “BoJack Horseman” finally see how it all turns out for the big 1990s TV star.
Not bad for the first month of the year!
TV-themed DVDs available today include the second season of the Welsh series “Keeping Faith,” available to stream on Acorn.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A seafood joint needs help on “Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— “Inside the NFL” (9 p.m., Showtime) reviews the Super Bowl and wraps up its 42nd season.
— Intrepid hunters and trappers fight a snake invasion on “Guardians of the Glades” (10 p.m., Discovery, TV-Y7).
CULT CHOICE
— Many people who find the Oscars absurd like to point out that Cary Grant never won an Academy Award. He was nominated for his role in the 1944 melodrama “None But the Lonely Heart” (6 p.m., TCM, TV-PG), playing the Cockney son of Ethel Barrymore (who won for best supporting actress). A rare “British” role for Grant, who had taken great lengths to Americanize his accent.
SERIES NOTES
Ziva warns Gibbs on “NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … Prizes galore on “Ellen’s Game of Games” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … Darlene juggles on “The Conners” (8 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) … A breaking story proves explosive on “The Flash” (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … Sibling rivals on “Bless This Mess” (8:30 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) … A trip to postwar L.A. brings the gang in touch with Bugsy Siegel on “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
JB Smoove appears on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Margot Robbie, Jeff Probst and Mura Masa & slowthai on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Andy Samberg and Ilan Rubin visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC).
