Survivor, Better Call Saul, Girls, and Broad City are back. James Franco travels back in time to rescue JFK in a binge-series by Stephen King and J.J. Abram. Judd Apatow releases a new anti-romance rom-com about hipsters. A Full House remake and a Friends reunion?! (Well, kind of. We'll talk about that later.) Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon's new sequel to hit IMAX theaters… and Netflix? (I know where I'll be watching it.) Plus, the 2016 Oscars.
Let's not kid ourselves. This February month, TV released an onslaught of premieres, returns, specials, and binge-worthy series and left us feeling more vulnerable than a chameleon trapped in a bag of Skittles. But there are diamonds in this rough, and I'm here to tell you what those are. For this edition of essential lessons in TV watching, I've switched up the format a bit to make the navigating process a bit easier. We'll start with the upcoming essentials of the week, highlight some of the premieres you may have missed, and take a look at what's to come next. Now, time to get to work.
Love After having ended separate dysfunctional relationships, nice guy Gus (Paul Rust) meets rebel girl Mickey (Gillian Jacobs) and become close friends who say f*ck you to romance and steer clear from love, intimacy and other things they were hoping to avoid. A hipster melodramedy based in sunny L.A. written and created by Rust and Judd Apatow. Available Friday, Feb. 19 on Netflix.
Premieres Sunday:
Must See TV: A Tribute to James Burrows aka "The Friends Reunion" or the one everyone can't stop talking about but really isn't happening. Really, it's not. First: only five cast members are attending (Matthew Perry is working in London) and you can't have a Friends reunion with one member missing – David Schwimmer is clear on this. Second: The event is actually about legendary sitcom director James Burrows. He's recently finished his 1000th TV episode (15 were Friends) and in honor of his work, NBC will host a live event reuniting cast members from all of Burrow's past series. Scheduled to appear: Friends, Wings, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, Cheers, Frasier, Will & Grace, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Mike & Molly, and more. So depending on your preference, the Wings Reunion, or the Cheers Reunion, or the Taxi Reunion premieres Sun., Feb. 21 at 9 p.m. on NBC.
Girls Hannah takes a break from her mediocre writing to teach. Jessa puts drugs and daddy issues aside to become a therapist you pray you'll never have. Marnie ponders marrying a douchebag. Shosh hauls ass to Tokyo. Ray and Rilo Ken aka Adam stay cool. Watching late 20-somethings suck at life and relationships can be fun when there's snark and just the right amount of self-deprecating humiliation. Returns Sun., Feb. 21 at 10 p.m. on HBO.
Togetherness Four friends nearing their 40s struggle with relationships, intimacy and keeping their shit together. In TV-universe, life never seems to get better no matter how old you get. The characters you find in Togetherness proves TV-universe meta-wrong. Season two premieres Sun., Feb. 21 at 10:30 p.m. on HBO.
Catch up on this now:
Broad City Four and three and two and…. YAS. It's a wonderful world when Abbi and Ilana are living in it. Whether you're facing unemployment, shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond, pegging your crush, or dealing with any of life's terrible problems having a rock solid friend right there with you makes everything better. The greatest and most real show on TV right now. Hilary Clinton is slated to appear this season. Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central.
11.22.63 Based on Stephen King’s time-traveling thriller novel, James Franco travels back in time to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy only to find out that the past is not to be fucked with. Available now for your binge-viewing pleasure on Hulu.
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The New Yorker Presents Elements and articles from the print magazine essentially retold in a 30-minute television adaptation comprised of various narratives, short films, documentaries, readings, poetry, and time-lapsed animations of New Yorker cartoons. On Amazon and Amazon Prime.
Survivor Watch 18 contestants from three groups – brains, brawn and beauty – compete for survival a $1 million cash prize on a far-away island in Cambodia from the comfort of your home television screen. The battle started anew (again; how is this still on?) Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on CBS.
Vikings Long before modern civilization gave George R.R. Martin the tools to write Game of Thrones, there existed Vikings (chronologically speaking, of course): History Channel's version of the real real wildlings. Thursdays at 10 p.m. on History Channel.
Join or Die With Craig Ferguson Former Late Late Show host talks panel discussions and debates history. Thursdays at 11 p.m. on History Channel.
Beginning next week:
This is Not Happening
Host Ari Shaffir (Keeping Up with the Joneses) and comedian guests tell long-form real-life stories crime, romance, karma, and other comedic personal experiences. Guests this season include Jim Breur, Dan Cummins, Nick Swardson and more. Season two premieres Tues., Feb. 23 on Comedy Central at 12:30 a.m.
Fuller House The Fuller house is almost full. The Olsen twins won’t be back to take turns playing the role of Michelle and the show's pilot mentions she's busy with her fashion business in New York City. On the brighter side, the rest of the family will be back. Well, not D.J.’s dead husband… but that’s okay because we never meet him and Steve Hale, D.J.’s ex-boyfriend, is also returning. Fuller House will run like a gender-reversed spinoff of the original series: D.J., recently-widowed, moves back to the Tanner house to raise her three sons with help from little sister Stephanie, an aspiring musician, and crazy best friend Kimmy, who still wears a bacon and egg scarf. Lori Laughlin, John Stamos, Bob Saget, and David Coulier will make appearances throughout the season. Premieres Feb. 26 on Netflix.
The 88th Annual Academy Awards Chris Rock hosts. Nominees for best picture will include: The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Room, and Spotlight. Who do you think will win? Find the rest of nominee list here. Sun., Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. on ABC.
2016 New and returning series to catch up on now:
Binge
Mad Dogs Thriller about four guys in a jungle. (Amazon)
Love Hipster anti-romance rom-com from Judd Apatow. (Netflix)
Chelsea Does Chelsea Handler's four part documentary series. (Netflix)
11.22.63 James Franco travels back in time to rescue JFK. (Hulu)
Mondays
The X-Files 8 p.m. on Fox
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 8 p.m. on CW
The Magicians 9 p.m. on SyFy
Better Call Saul 10 p.m. on AMC
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee 10:30 p.m. on TBS
Tuesdays
Fresh off the Boat 8:30 p.m. ABC
Outsiders 9 p.m. on WGN
American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson 10:30 on FX
Wednesdays
Survivor 8 p.m. on CBS
Broad City 10 p.m. on Comedy Central
Thursdays
You Me and the Apocalypse 8 p.m. on NBC
Grey’s Anatomy 8 p.m. on ABC
Scandal 9 p.m. on ABC
How to Get Away with Murder 10 p.m. on ABC
Baskets at 10 p.m. on FX
Vikings 10 p.m. on History Channel
Animals 11:30 p.m. on HBO
Fridays
Amazing Race 8 p.m. on CBS
Sundays
The Walking Dead 9 p.m. on AMC
Vinyl 9 p.m. on HBO
Girls 10 p.m. on HBO
Togetherness 10:30 p.m. on HBO
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver 11 p.m. on HBO
The Venture Bros Midnight on Adult Swim
Specials
Grease Live on Fox.com
Ying Lo writes about television for Creative Loafing. She has a blog or you can find her flunking social media @yinglo. Let her tell you how best to binge watch every Monday.
This article appears in Feb 18-24, 2016.