Wednesday on TV – 1/1/20

Overnight last night was the series premiere of The Circle on Netflix. Be yourself — or someone else? In this lighthearted and strategic competition show, the players must choose, all while chasing a cash prize. Status and strategy collide in this social experiment and competition show where online players flirt, befriend, and catfish their way toward $100,000.
 
Also overnight last night was the complete first season premiere of Messiah on Netflix. When a man in the Middle East appears to be performing miracles, a rift breaks out over whether he’s the Messiah or a fraud in this suspenseful drama. The show stars Beau Bridges (Masters of Sex, Into the West, Stargate: SG-1), Emily Kinney (The Walking Dead), Jackson Hurst (Drop Dead Diva, Sharp Objects), Michelle Monaghan (Open, The Path, True Detective), Philip Baker Hall (Wildlife, The Loop), Barbara Eve Harris (Forever), Jane Adams (Hung), John Ortiz (Luck, The Anatomy of Hope), Mehdi Dehbi (Tyrant), Melinda Page Hamilton (Damnation, Dig, Nurses), Stefania Lavie Owen (Chance), & Wil Traval (Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Red Widow), as well as Fares Landousil, Iqbal Theba, Nicole Rose Scimeca, Sayyid El Alami, & Tomer Sisley.
 
Finally, overnight last night was the complete first season premiere of Spinning Out, also on Netflix. After choking during an important performance, a competitive skater dealing with family issues and her own inner demons struggles to revive her career. The show stars January Jones (The Last Man on Earth, Mad Men), Sarah Wright Olsen (Marry Me, Mad Love), Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir, Kaitlyn Leeb (Shadowhunters), Kaya Scodelario (The Pale Horse), & Will Kemp (Grace, NY-LON, Reign, Unveiled), as well as Willow Shields, Amanda Zhou, Charlie Hewson, Evan Roderick, Mitchell Edwards, & Svetlana Efremova.
 
Tonight is the series premiere of The Explosion Show on Science Channel at 10/9c. Subscribing to that old axiom that everything is better with explosions, whether it’s million-dollar movie stunts or state-of-the-art fireworks, a new Science Channel series will be ringing in the New Year with a BANG! Two notorious explosion experts — MythBuster and master of blowing things up, Tory Belleci, along with Nitro Circus daredevil and stuntman, “Streetbike” Tommy Passemante — host The Explosion Show. There are few who appreciate the sweet thrill of blowing stuff up as much as Tory and Tommy. Tory was one of the technical wizards behind some of the most memorable explosions on MythBusters. Streetbike Tommy is best known for his antics with Nitro Circus, the thrill seekers known for performing insanely dangerous stunts. Together, they’re on a mission to take audiences on an unpredictable ride, hanging with the experts, daredevils and professionals who are in the business of making things explode.
 
Finally, tonight is the series premiere of Alaska PD on A&E at 10/9c. The show brings viewers to America’s Last Frontier, where the line between civilization and lawlessness can be razor thin. Chronically shorthanded police departments across the state must turn to officers from the Lower 48 to fight a soaring crime rate. For the “newbies” it is a trial by fire as they learn first-hand that policing, like everything else, is different in Alaska. In a state where guns are carried as part of everyday life, officers often have to protect an entire town by themselves while enforcing laws many are unwilling to follow. They face numerous dangers found only in Alaska, not just from people who want to be free from the rules of society, but also from encounters with predatory animals roaming through town and sub-zero conditions that can be deadly and unrelenting. The series will follow Alaska’s law enforcement in Fairbanks, Kodiak, Kotzebue and Petersburg.