1) “Independent Lens: Out of the Muck” (shown here), 10 p.m., PBS. By some standards, Pahokee, Fla., is troubled. It has hurricanes, alligators, 25-percent unemployment, property values that plunged by a third in seven years. But filmmaker Ira McKinley found much more, while visiting his roots. His film offers warm people who hug, laugh, fish, catch rabbits and dream of their seventh state football championship.
2) “Bob (Hearts) Abishola,” 8:30 p.m., CBS. This is one of TV’s best comedies, but new episodes have been scarce lately – only five in a 14-week stretch. Now they’re back, as Bob nears his goal – having his family business do production in Detroit, not overseas. Meanwhile, Kemi (the terrific Gina Yashere, one of the show’s creators) changes her persona when her son, a lawyer, visits.
3) “The Watchful Eye,” 10 p.m., Freeform. In last week’s two-hour opener, we met Elena, a new nanny scheming with her rich boyfriend (a corrupt cop) to steal from a rich family. Now we see her core of humanity: She fends off her mother (a convict), tries some matchmaking, then helps a rich girl. Throw in some spooky moments – including rumors of ghosts – and you have a thick and tasty brew.
4) “Bloodlands” and “Under the Vines,” www.acorn.tv. Two opposite tales overlap, each offering two episodes a week for three weeks. “Vines” is breezy fun, with a Sydney socialite and a London lawyer trying to run the vineyard they co-inherited. It wraps its season just as the fierce “Bloodlands” begins. James Nesbitt plays an Irish cop with a lethal secret from decades past. He barely eluded trouble in the first season; now the second brings compelling urgency.
5) “C.B. Strike: Troubled Blood” opener, 9 p.m., HBO. It’s a night of big-time drama and action for HBO. The James Bond film “Quantum of Silence” (2008) leads into the start of this four-part private-eye tale, based on a J.K. Rowling novel. They’re sandwiched at 6:15 and 10:01 p.m. by a rerun of “The Last of Us,” the post-apocalyptic survival series.
— Mike Hughes, TV America