MONDAY
JANUARY 23
2017

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

For DC Comics fans, or at least fans of some of the TV series made from them, it’s a good day. The best of those series, Fox’s Gotham, presents another new episode tonight, with a plot reviving a dynamic character who died more than a season ago: Jerome, played by the dynamic co-star of Showtime’s Shameless, Cameron Monaghan. Before Jerome’s character died, I had presumed he would evolve into the future Batman villain known as the Joker. So now my hope, like that character, has risen from the grave.

 
  
 
 

CW, 8:00 p.m. ET

MIDSEASON RETURN: This other DC Comics series, starring Melissa Benoist as the title character, returns with its first new episode of 2017. It also returns with a prominent guest director: Kevin Smith of Clerks, Mallrats and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back fame, an enthusiastic and talented fanboy director (or, by now, a fanman) who already has directed a pair of episodes of this show’s sibling series, The Flash.
 
  
 
 

NBC, 10:00 p.m. ET

Where does Timeless time travel tonight? To the era of Jesse James, in what promises to be a wild, wild Western episode.

 
  
 
 

PBS, 10:00 p.m. ET

Tonight’s episode presents new information about a very cold case: The 1964 murder of Queens resident Kitty Genovese. At the time, New York tabloids reported that her murder was witnessed by 38 neighborhood people, who said and did nothing. Thanks to determined investigation by her brother and elsewhere, that long-accepted narrative now has an alternative viewpoint. For more on this episode, see David Hinckley's All Along the WatchtowerCheck local listings.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

This new documentary from HBO is horrific on several levels. It tells the tale of a pair of 12-year-old Wisconsin girls who, believing the Internet myths and threats of a frightening character called Slenderman, conspire to take a friend into the nearby woods – and stab her multiple times.

 
  
 
 

ABC, 10:01 p.m. ET

MIDSEASON RETURN: This ABC series moves to a new night, and returns with its first new episode of 2017, sporting a plot line designed to appeal to new viewers as well as returning loyalists. In tonight’s episode, the FBI recruits learn about the time-honored spy tactic of seduction.

 
  
 
 
 
 
Read and add comments HERE for today's Best Bets!
 
 
 
 
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3695 Comments
 
 
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Gerda Lundgren
Long-time TVWW devotee here. I manage a commercial vehicle operation and Hialeah Auto Glass Repair (https://autoglassrepairhialeah.com/) keeps our fleet going. Bianculli's picks keep us sane during maintenance delays - essential reading!
Mar 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
Dave Bianculli
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Another great set of picks! My trucking partners and I share your recommendations over coffee. We rely on West Palm Beach Auto Glass Repair (https://westpalmbeachautoglassrepair.com) for vehicle service. TVWW makes the downtime worthwhile.
Mar 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
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Mar 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
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Arvid Berggren
Long-time TVWW devotee here. I manage a commercial vehicle operation and Colorado Springs Mobile Mechanic (https://coloradospringcosmobilemechanic.com) keeps our fleet going. Bianculli's picks keep us sane during maintenance delays - essential reading!
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Frida Sundberg
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David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.