‘Race’ Resumes, Animals as Videographers, The Curious Jeff Goldblum, Still ‘Too Hot to Handle’
After a 19-month break during the pandemic, The Amazing Race resumes in Switzerland. Nature reprises its Animals with Cameras miniseries for a second season, with custom-fitted cameras allowing us to follow animals to places camera crews never see. Renaissance man Jeff Goldblum is back with new episodes of The World According to Jeff Goldblum, letting his curiosity take him anywhere—including into backyards. A third season of the Netflix reality spoof Too Hot to Handle challenges its players to resist their carnal urges.
The Amazing Race
For the first time in franchise history, the Emmy-winning The Amazing Race was suspended mid-race when the world shut down because of the pandemic. In this episode, the teams are brought back 19 months later to continue the run, and in this episode, we will likely learn what kept some teams from returning and who’s invited back for the next leg, which kicks off in scenic Switzerland.
Animals with Cameras
Season Premiere
Go where no cinematographers are typically allowed in the second season of Nature’s inventive escapade in which custom-fitted cameras are attached to animals, taking us to realms we would otherwise never get to see as they interact in their natural habitat. The first of two episodes, “Oceans,” goes underwater with nesting female turtles, elephant seal pups frolicking in the ocean and tiger sharks diving hundreds of feet into the deep. A second episode, set in Australia, airs Jan. 26.
The World According to Jeff Goldblum
Actor-musician-personality Jeff Goldblum seems to live in a perpetual state of wonder, and as he pursues his eclectic interests, this diverting series happily follows. In five new chapters to finish World’s second season, Goldblum explores topics including our fascination with puzzles and tiny things, the way we celebrate birthdays, the symbolic importance of backyards and the wild world of biker culture. You can’t ask for a more enjoyable tour guide.
Too Hot to Handle
Season Premiere
For love—make that lust—or money is the motivating factor in this clever spoof of the Love Island variety of reality-TV trash. A new group of hotties arrives at tropical Turks and Caicos for what they imagine will be a wild ride of exhibitionistic hookups. Instead, their virtual gatekeeper “Lana” observes their every move to make sure no one so much as kisses, or they begin losing part of the $100,000 grand prize that awaits those who can show a bit of restraint.
Inside Wednesday TV:
- Chicago Med (8/7c, NBC): This sounds bad, when Dr. Blake’s (Sarah Rafferty) surgical team suddenly collapses while performing a liver transplant. New episodes of Chicago Fire (9/8c) and Chicago P.D. (10/9c) follow.
- The Wonder Years (8:30/7:30c, ABC): Maybe not everyone’s cut out to be a cool-cat musician like father figure Bill Williams (Dulé Hill). When son Dean (Elisha “EJ” Williams) is bumped from the school band’s first-chair saxophone position, Bill puts a bit too much pressure on the student to win it back.
- Home Inspector Joe (9/8c, HGTV): Licensed home inspector Joe Mazza helps clients tour properties and look for warning signs before buying. He also supervises necessary repairs and with the help of designer Noel Gatts gets the new homes ready for their owners.
- Growing Belushi (10/9c, Discovery): In the reality show’s second season, Jim Belushi expands his cannabis farm from a boutique operation to a multi-state business. Famous friends including Dan Aykroyd and Guy Fieri drop by to lend support.
