Andrew Lincoln in ‘Coldwater,’ ‘Thousand Blows’ Returns, Peach Bowl, TMZ on the Reiner Murders

Coldwater

Watching a one-time action hero struggle with cowardice provides a fascinating hook to this six-part psychological thriller (airing weekly) that brings The Walking Dead‘s Andrew Lincoln back to TV in a polar opposite role. Here, he’s more like running scared. The intrigue begins when John, a mild-mannered househusband and dad, relocates his family from London to the small Scottish town of Coldwater to escape the public shame of having fled a violent incident in a neighborhood park, leaving one of his kids behind. It’s his bad luck that his new Coldwater neighbor, Tommy (a wild-eyed Ewen Bremner), is a manipulative lunatic and possible serial killer who exploits John’s insecurities and weaknesses. Scene-stealer Eve Myles plays Tommy’s enabling wife Rebecca, an unconventional pastor who may be even more of a monster. Episodes air on the linear Showtime schedule Sundays at 9/8c.

A Thousand Blows

The bare-knuckled Victorian-era boxing drama from Peaky Blinders‘ Steven Knight returns for a second season, with Adolescence Emmy winners Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty reprising their roles as volatile veteran boxer and underworld boss Sugar Goodson and Forty Elephants gang leader Mary Carr. As the new season opens, with all episodes available for bingeing, Mary returns to London’s gritty East End to rescue Sugar from his drunken downward spiral, reclaim her position as queenpin, and rekindle her relationship with rising Jamaican boxer Hezekiah (Malachi Kirby), who’s out for revenge after the murder of his best friend, Alec. Step into this ring at your peril.

Peach Bowl

Can No. 1 Indiana move on to the national championship game undefeated? This college football semifinal, opposite No. 10 Oregon in Atlanta, will decide who plays opposite the winner of Thursday’s Fiesta Bowl at the January 19 national final. (The fact that I’m wearing red today in honor of my alma mater should tell you who I’ll be rooting for.)

TMZ Investigates

The murders that rocked Hollywood, and saddened fans across the world, get the TMZ treatment. An hour-long special promises new revelations about the stabbing deaths last month of Rob and Michele Reiner, for which their son Nick was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Spartacus: House of Ashur

Be careful who you betray in the ancient city of Capua in this luridly violent spinoff. The mighty Korris (Outlander‘s Graham McTavish), trainer of gladiators and a fearsome warrior himself, is on the rampage after the slaughter of his paramour. But what everyone in the Roman city really wants to know is when pioneering female gladiator Achillia (Tenika Davis), maimed but triumphant in her first public battle, will be ready to fight again. Turns out her wounds are at least as emotional as physical.

INSIDE FRIDAY TV:

• U.S. Figure Skating Championships (8/7c, NBC): Can 2025 World gold medalist Alysa Liu, profiled last weekend on 60 Minutes, live up to the hype? Similar expectations apply to Ilia Malinin, hoping to make his Olympic debut after scoring three straight U.S. championships and consecutive World golds. They and other top U.S. skaters take the ice at Enterprise Center in St. Louis in hopes of making the cut for next month’s Winter Games in Milan-Cortina.
• Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (8/7c, ABC): Three seasoned comedic actors spin the wheel in the game show’s winter premiere when The Neighborhood‘s Max Greenfield, The Good Place‘s D’Arcy Carden, and Veep/Nobody Wants This star Timothy Simons play for charity.
• RuPaul’s Drag Race (8/7c, MTV): Dove Cameron is the guest judge when the queens form rival “Q-Pop” girl groups. 

ON THE STREAM:

• Tehran (streaming on Apple TV): Hugh Laurie joins the Israeli-produced espionage thriller for its third season, playing South African nuclear inspector Eric Peterson, who aligns himself with rogue undercover agent Tamar (Niv Sultan). The show has already been renewed for a fourth season.
• People We Meet on Vacation (streaming on Netflix): Emily Bader and Tom Blyth (Billy the Kid) are best buds from college, Poppy and Alex, who spend every summer vacation together. Platonically. But this being a romcom, based on Emily Henry‘s charming novel, things eventually become emotionally complicated.
• Chain Reaction (streaming on Shudder): A documentary explores the impact of Tobe Hooper‘s notorious The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 50 years later, with commentary by the likes of Stephen King and Patton Oswalt.
• Prodigal Son (streaming on Netflix): Both gone-too-soon seasons of Fox’s fantastically entertaining crime thriller (2019-21) land on the streaming giant, starring Tom Payne as a troubled profiler whose incarcerated dad (the brilliant Michael Sheen) is an infamous serial killer with uncanny insights into the criminal mind. Perfect for bingeing — and probably too late for a revival, even if it finally gains the large audience it deserves.