What to Watch, and more! Week of Feb. 6 – Feb. 12
Puppies bowl, monsters mash and a little girl becomes a chess queen!
FRIDAY, Feb. 6
Queen of Chess
Doc about a Hungarian girl named Judit Polgar and how she became the No. 1 chess player in the world (Netflix).
Shall We Dance
Acclaimed 1996 film, now restored in hi-definition, about an unhappy Japanese accountant who finds a missing passion in his life when he starts taking ballroom dancing lessons (Mubi).
SATURDAY, Feb. 7
Engineering Europe
Learn about the science and ingenuity of some of Europe’s most impressive engineering feats, like the Eiffel Tower and the London Bridge, plus electric flying machines and seaborne ports (Disney+).
Monster Movie Marathon
Settle in for the oversized fun of Godzilla Vs. Kong (above), Godzilla Vs. Kong: The New Empire and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (begins 3 p.m., TBS).
SUNDAY, Feb. 8
Puppy Bowl XXII
The cutest dogs on any gridiron—a televised live event promoting pet adoption—features 150 canines from more than 70 shelters across America (2 p.m., Animal Planet, Discovery, TruTV, HBO Max, Discovery+).
The ‘Burbs
A contemporary reimagining of the 1989 Tom Hanks cult horror comedy about couples whose lives become hilariously upended on their once peaceful little cul-de-sac, where a possible mass murderer looms. This one stars Keke Palmer, Julia Duffy, Jack Whitehall and Mark Proksch (Peacock).
MONDAY, Feb. 9
The Librarians
Independent Lens doc about the front-line workers fighting the national battle for control of what Americans are able to read (PBS).
Matter of Time
Documentary follows singer Eddie Vedder and a passionate community uniting to cure epidermolysis bullosa, a rare genetic skin disorder (Netflix).
TUESDAY, Feb. 10
The Artful Dodger
Australian comedy-adventure heist drama—based loosely on the character from Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist—returns for season two (above), starring Thomas Brodie-Sangster, David Thewlis and Maia Mitchell (Hulu and Disney+).
Chef’s Kiss
Set against the scenic backdrop of Tuscany, this delectable romcom follows a young marketing exec (Adrienne Bailon-Houghton) assigned to revitalize a family-owned pasta-sauce brand. But her mission gets sidetracked when she meets a hunky chef (Tim Robards). The Roku Channel.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 11
Mammal Origins
How did humans, and other mammals, first appear on the Earth? This probing NOVA documentary digs deep into the history of the warm-blooded dominance of the animal kingdom (9 p.m., PBS).
THURSDAY, Feb. 12
Soul Power
Four-part docuseries explores the rise and fall of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and its lasting impact on sports and American culture with superstar players like Julius Irving, Moses Malone and Spencer Haywood (Prime Video).
Can You Keep a Secret?
New comedy series about a domineering granny (Dawn French) and her late husband (Mark Heap)…who, it turns out, isn’t so “late” after all (Paramount+).
NOW HEAR THIS
Celebrate what would have been the 89th birthday of the late, great Roberta Flack and get With Her Songs: The Atlantic Albums, 1969–1978 (Rhino), an 8-CD retrospective collection that rounds up a decade of her recorded work from the late 1960s thru the ‘70s. You’ll hear hits including “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” “Killing Me Softly,” “Where is the Love,” “The Closer I Get to You,” plus all the album tracks.
The Media Tourist 