What's On Tonight (Wednesday): Assisted Living la vida loca

Assisted Living (via Tenor)

Good for you! Here's what's on television for tonight, Wednesday, January 6!

While TV is creeping back to life, the scripted TV options are still a little slim, so I go to a show that isn't good. Assisted Living is another of BET's programs that is written, directed, and produced by Tyler Perry. It's a follow-up to the TBS sitcom Meet the Browns, which in five seasons churned out a whopping 140 episodes. Assisted Living finds the Browns back in Georgia and helping Leroy Brown run a broken-down home for the elderly.

Elsewhere, we reach the middle Alex Trebek's final week of Jeopardy!, a new generation tries to name tunes, celebrities try for a million, Chicago is One again, billionaires go undercover, Ratones Paranoicos gets documentary spotlight, and post-disaster work gets docu treatment on PBS.

(UPDATE: Some shows are marked off because they were preempted for live coverage of news from Washington, D.C.)

STREAMING & EARLY PRIMETIME

The Expanse (Amazon, midnight): Holden and the Roci go on the hunt. Amos and Clarissa seek shelter on a devastated Earth. Bobbie and Alex fight a desperate battle. Marco makes Drummer an offer she can't refuse. Avasarala returns to a position of power.

Jeopardy! 💲 (Syndicated, check local listings): Three more episodes with Alex remain. Friday is the last one. Cherish them.✔️

Ratones Paranoicos: The Band That Rocked Argentina 🎥 (Netflix, 3 a.m.): The Argentinean rock band that rocked Whistler's socks off* gets documentary treatment. (*I have no idea if that is/was ever true.)

Surviving Death (Netflix, 3 a.m.): SERIES PREMIERE. What happens after we die? This docuseries shows the scientific investigation into life-after-death claims.

Tony Parker: The Final Shot 🎥 (Netflix, 3 a.m.): A French-American basketball player did stuff.

QUICK HITS:

NBA 🏀 (ESPN, 7:30 p.m.): Celtics at Heat

FOR THE RECORD: 30 Days With (YouTube, 1 p.m., season finale); Random Acts (BYUtv, 7 p.m.)

🕗 EASTERN / 🕖 CENTRAL

Chicago Med (NBC, 8 p.m.): Charles and April team up to take on a mysterious patient in the ED. Halstead is forced to make a life-or-death decision for one of his trial patients, and Marcel is confronted by his past when a former acquaintance is brought into the ED.

My Perfect Family (BYUtv, 8 p.m.): SERIES PREMIERE. "From children with autism, cystic fibrosis, or extremely rare neurological conditions to siblings with Crohn's disease and Down syndrome, My Perfect Family is about fantastic parents raising challenging children while maintaining a creative, pragmatic, and positive attitude."

QUICK HITS:

The Big Interview with Dan Rather (AXS TV): Perry Farrell

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire 💲 (ABC): Amanda Peet, Zachary Quinto, Karamo Brown

FOR THE RECORD: AEW: Dynamite (TNT); The Challenge (MTV); House in a Hurry (HGTV); Married at First Sight (Lifetime); The Masked Dancer (Fox); My 600-lb Life (TLC); Undercover Billionaire (Discovery Channel, season premiere); WWE NXT (USA)

🕘 EASTERN / 🕗 CENTRAL 

Assisted Living (BET, 9:30 p.m.): Cora tries to convince Mr. Brown to pitch in and help get Jeremy out of jail.

Chicago Fire (NBC, 9 p.m.): A mishap on the aerial ladder in the midst of a fire rescue leaves Mouch shaken and questioning his abilities. Kidd looks for support from Severide while Casey and Brett discuss their future.

House of Payne (BET, 9 p.m.): Ella finds that Malik and Lisa have deep-rooted issues. Ella reaches a new threshold with Curtis.

Name That Tune 💲 (Fox, 9 p.m.): SERIES PREMIERE. Hosted by Jane Krakowski with Randy Jackson as band leader, Name That Tune is back. Don't call it Beat Shazam because Name That Tune dates back to radio in the early 1950s. Filmed in Australia this fall, these contestants are Americans and still betting they can name a tune. I had the handheld game back in the 1990s.✔️

QUICK HITS:

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire 💲 (ABC): Karamo Brown

FOR THE RECORD: Court Cam (A&E); Forged in Fire (History); Frozen in Time: Discovery+ First Look (HGTV, special); Guy's Grocery Games (Food Network); Man's Greatest Food (Cooking Channel); The Murder Tapes (Investigation Discovery); NFL: The Grind (Epix, season finale); The Real Housewives of Orange County (Bravo); Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller (National Geographic)

🕙 EASTERN / 🕘 CENTRAL

Chicago P.D. (NBC, 10 p.m.): Ruzek and Burgess discover a child walking alone in the middle of the street, and when they take her home, they discover that her entire family has been murdered. Meanwhile, Upton is approached with a job offer from the FBI. Poor timing.

The Karate Kid 🎥 (VH1, 10 p.m.): Wax on, wax off lives on in this remake.

Kitchen Crash (Food Network, 10 p.m.): SERIES PREMIERE. "Professional chefs head to a local neighborhood block for an outdoor cook-off. With only 10 minutes on the clock, each chef must convince a local homeowner on the cul-de-sac to hand over ingredients from their kitchens and pantries, with the caveat that the competing chefs can only use the items that the homeowners can fit into one bin."

Nature Gone Wild (A&E, 10 p.m.): SERIES PREMIERE. Humans share their close encounters.

When Disaster Strikes (PBS, 10 p.m.): SERIES PREMIERE. A "three-part documentary series, explores what happens after natural disasters occur." First up is the search for survivors after Cyclone Idai brings enormous flooding to Mozambique

QUICK HITS:

NBA 🏀 (ESPN, 10 p.m.): Clippers at Warriors

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire 💲 (ABC): Ray Romano

FOR THE RECORD: House Hunters/House Hunters International (HGTV); Narco Wars (National Geographic); The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City (Bravo); True Conviction (Investigation Discovery)

🕚 EASTERN / 🕙 CENTRAL 

FOR THE RECORD: Nightly Pop (E!, 11:30 p.m.); Ridiculousness (MTV)

💤💤😴💤💤 

Dust (Comet, 1 a.m.): If you are into short science fictions films and some odd experimental media, this anthology might be worth checking out. Dust is an online platform, now repacking their acquired titles as an anthology series. Every episode is a collection of short films, some only a couple minutes and others up to 15 minutes. Of course, it is a really mixed bag. In this third episode, "Anton Yelchin is an android with a vendetta in Rise." Other titles include Number 13, based on a Dark Horse comic, and Plurality.✔️

LATE-NIGHT TALK & SATIRE

The Dick Cavett Show 📺 (Decades, 9 p.m.): David Bowie and Roy Dotrice (5 Dec 1974)

Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC, 11:35 p.m.): Regina King, Jake Tapper, and Best Coast
Johnny Carson 📺 (Antenna TV, 10 p.m.): Bette Davis and Martin Short (7 Jan 1988)
The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS, 12:37 a.m.): Hailee Steinfeld, Jim Gaffigan, and Seventeen
Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC, 12:36 a.m.): Ted Danson and Chris Coleman
A Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS, 11:35 p.m.): Samantha Bee and Paul Mescal
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC, 11:34 p.m.): Don Cheadle, Taylor Kinney, and Michael Kiwanuka
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen: @ Home (Bravo, 10 p.m.): Emily Simpson and Mary Cosby

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Note: All times are Eastern.

Key Sources: The Futon Critic; IMDb; TV Passport; Zap2it
⭐: Top Pick
💲: Game show
🎥: Movie
📺: Throwback
✔️: Video/gif/photo included

🏈🏀🥊: Sportsballs

Happy watching, everyone!