Here’s everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, February 6th, 2026:
THESE AREN'T RERUNS, THESE ARE TECHNICALLY 'NEVER SEENS'
In 1998, NBC ran a media campaign arguing that reruns aren't really reruns, because "If You Haven't Seen It, It's New To You." Which is technically true, but also a difficult argument to make at a time when streaming services were just a dream and reruns were still seen as something not watching in most cases.
But in 2026, there are so many viewing choices and content discovery is such a joke that it is easy to miss a really great program. And thanks to the magic of global licensing agreements, a lot of shows are now available to American audiences for the first time. So I want to bring back NBC's campaign as a way to highlight some of the things you missed the first time around. Or obscure titles new to the market you might have missed.
Number 24 (Netflix)
Gunnar Sensteby was 21-years-old when the German Army marched into Oslo. He wasn't political or as he admits, particularly brave at the time. But he became a member of Norwegian resistance movement during the German occupation and the most highly decorated citizen in Norway, including being the only person to have been awarded the War Cross with three swords, Norway's highest military decoration.
This movie tells his story, framed by an event in which an elderly Sensteby speaks to a class of students about his experiences. This wasn't a story I knew at all, but the film does a nice job of showing how someone can rise to the moment and change the course of events. Sensteby began by working at an underground newspaper, but eventually moved on to sabotage and other acts of resistance. He was imprisoned for two months by the Swedes and escaped after being captured by the Gestapo. He was later trained by the British and led a sabotage group nicknamed the Oslo Gang, that inflicted massive damage on German facilities. They also assassinated German officers and Norwegian collaborators.
Number 24 is an example of the best of global streaming films. It is the opportunity to discover a story you might not have otherwise known about. It's not a relaxing film to watch, but it is a worthwhile one.
Just Makeup (Prime Video)
Produced by the same company that does the Netflix series Culinary Class Wars, this series is essentially a variation of that show. Except featuring makeup artists. The contestants are a mix of iconic senior/first gen makeup artists, beauty content creators & Youtubers, SFX artists for film & TV, KPOP and K-Drama artists as well as beauty shop makeup artists, Judges include well-known Korean beauty artists Lee Hyori, Jung Saem Mool and Risabae.
While I personally am less interested in makeup than food, it is still a fascinating show to watch and it has some clever ways of pitting the artists against each other. The show might not be for everyone, but if this is your thing, you are going to love it.
Superior Donuts (Paramount+)
If you are in the mood for a solid, well-executed broadcast television comedy, then Superior Donuts might be for you. The CBS sitcom began life as a play, was adapted for television and starred Judd Hirsch as the owner of a failing donut shop in a decaying Chicago neighborhood. Franco Wicks (played by Jermaine Fowler) walks into Superior Donuts in response to a Help Wanted sign. But the owner, Arthur Przybyszewksi (Judd Hirsch), whose shop has just been vandalized, and whose ex-wife recently died of cancer, doesn’t want to open for the day, much less hire anybody. But in typical television fashion Franco convinces Arthur to hire him anyway and then the hijinks begin.
Hirsch is rock-solid in the show and it boasts an impressive ensemble including Katie Sagal, David Koechner, Maz Jobrani and Diane Guerrero. The results are not groundbreaking, but it is often hilarious and with two seasons of episodes to watch, you'll have plenty of laughs to get you through the weekend.
ODDS AND SODS
* Wicked: For Good will begin streaming on Peacock on Friday, March 20th.
* Patience has been renewed for a third season by Channel 4. Season one aired on PBS late last year and season two is just wrapping up in the UK, and will head to PBS later this year (I haven't seen a premiere date yet). In case you missed it, I interviewed series star Ella Maisy Purvis ahead of the series premiere last year.
* Nina Metz has a must-read piece on why most celebrity podcasts - or video talk shows pretending to be podcasts - are so terrible.
* The entire series run of Schitt's Creek will be available tomorrow, February 7th on HBO Max. HBO Max subscribers will also have access to a newly launched Schitt’s Creek playlist via the in-app “channels” feature, offering a seamless and continuous on-demand feed of the series.
* The Billboards newsletter has an interview with Bozoma Saint John, who worked at Pepsi when they were the sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show. She discusses what it takes to book a superstar for the event. She also reveals that when she was the global head of marketing at Netflix, she tried to convince the company to become the halftime show sponsor, which eventually went to Apple Music.
* Jeremy Barr, The Guardian's media reporter, says Nicole Cutrona, a CBS News producer who asked Bari Weiss about the network's use of "biological sex," is leaving the company.
* In another sign things are going well for the U.S., International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry is asking audiences not to boo or begin any political demonstrations directed at American athletes or officials during the Olympics. Vice President J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio will be heading up the American government's delegation to the games.
* The four-episode documentary Disaster: The Chernobyl Meltdown will premiere Sunday, March 1st on CNN. Here is the official logline: "Disaster will tell the story of the world’s worst nuclear accident, initially focusing on the scope of the catastrophic collapse of the reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat in what was then the Soviet Union, in 1986. It will also look at the Soviets’ calculated cover-up, and present-day fallout, exploring how it intersects with the ongoing war in Ukraine. Included are interviews with survivors speaking publicly for the first time, alongside rare insight into the CIA and Soviet responses."
THE $4.7 MILLION INTERVIEW
When a journalist interviews someone, they always hope it has an impact. But it isn't often that doing an interview results in someone having to pay out $4.7 million in damages.
Andy Dehnart has a fascinating piece recounting how an interview he did with Marcus Lemonis about his series The Profit lead to a court case that argued he had broken the terms of a previous settlement which included a non-disparagement clause:
One of the lawyers was Julie Araujo, representing herself and Amanda Dailey, the owners of Queork, which makes products out of cork and appeared on The Profit season six, episode two.
Araujo spent a considerable amount of time trying to establish whether my reference to “more than half the businesses who’d been featured were suing” meant the companies involved in the settlement, or companies that were suing him outside of that settlement.
Re-reading what I wrote today, I was absolutely referring to the businesses who settled—but until January 2026, I had no idea they had settled.
Then comes testimony from those featured on The Profit. Most follows the same pattern: They’re asked about their time on the show and their reaction to what Marcus Lemonis said in my article. Some discuss the pain of reading Marcus tell me about about those on The Profit with “domestic issues, drinking issues, drug issues,” because they thought it was about them specifically.
After that comes cross-examination, in which Lemonis’ lawyers get them to admit that they and/or their businesses were not named specifically, and the settlement was not mentioned in the interview.
It is a fascinating read and it includes the arbitration transcript, as well as the confidential settlement agreement.
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S COMING TODAY AND THIS WEEKEND
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6TH:
* Queen Of Chess (Netflix)
* Salvador Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Sense & Sensibility (BritBox)
* Spartacus: House Of Ashur Season One Finale (Starz)
* 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony (NBC)
* Yoh! Bestie (Netflix)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7TH,:
* Be Happy (Lifetime)
* Meet Me In New York (Great American Family)
* The Way To You (Hallmark)
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8TH:
* Puppy Bowl XXII (Animal Planet)
* Sarah's Oil (Wonder Project)
* Super Bowl LX (NBC)
* The 'Burbs Series Premiere (Peacock)
SEE YOU THIS WEEKEND!