Animal Planet, 2:00 p.m. ET
Animal Planet has been conducting its miniature bowl games, featuring various breeds of puppies (and other animals) cavorting with toys on a tiny football field, for 17 years now. You’d think it’d be old by now. Then again, when the first Puppy Bowl was held, Tom Brady already was playing as a pro football quarterback. So time is relative… and this annual special continues to provide the paws that refreshes.
Hallmark Channel, 2:00 p.m. ET
If you’re more of a cat person than a dog person, then you may find that this kitty-come-lately Puppy Bowl ripoff, begun by The Hallmark as an annual event less than a decade ago, will, uh, mews you.
CBS, 6:00 p.m. ET
This really could be one of the best Super Bowls ever played. The Kansas City Chiefs, led by young superstar QB Patrick Mahomes, are defending their title from last year. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by old superstar QB Tom Brady, are the first team in Super Bowl history, all 55 years of it, to be playing in their home stadium. But with a COVID-reduced attendance, that may not be that huge a factor. But the QB matchup, a true generational battle, certainly is. And because Mahomes already won last year, and because Brady has the chance to take vengeance upon his former franchise, the New England Patriots (which didn’t value him enough to keep him in his twilight years), I may find myself rooting for Brady later today. Which, for a lifelong Miami Dolphins fan, would be an absolute first. But hey – if so, at least I’m still rooting for Florida. I can do that in sports. Just not in politics. And speaking of absolute firsts: I’ve seen all previous Super Bowl games, and never before have I looked forward to the recitation of a poem…
Showtime, 8:00 p.m. ET
Was it only this week that the Democrats in the House of Representatives, joined by fewer than a dozen Republicans, voted to strip incoming Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee seats? And is it only a few days from now when Donald Trump will face an impeachment trial in the Senate for a second time? Yes and yes. All of which makes this as-it-happens Showtime political documentary series a must-record. I’d say must-see, but we’ll all be watching the Super Bowl.
HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET
Another must-record. See above. This is Part 3 of this nonfiction miniseries, and tonight’s installment plays like a full-length courtroom drama. And a very dramatic one, because the defendant does double duty as defense attorney…
Showtime, 10:00 p.m. ET
Ibid. And this is the penultimate episode of this Bryan Cranston miniseries. So don’t forget to set your DVRs for this one, too…