TV Best Bets
‘Brain Games: On the Road’
A fan-favorite National Geographic series takes a road trip in this new 20-episode series, which will air four episodes per night over five consecutive Fridays. With Philadelphia-born comic and radio personality Chuck Nice as host, each episode pits teams of everyday Americans against each other in an IQ showdown that encompasses mind-bending puzzles and brain teasers, color perception, memory tests and more. In the first of tonight’s four consecutive episodes, the Raise Gospel team takes on the Accidentals Quartet in such games as Upside Down Frowns and Trictionary. 5 p.m. on NGEO.
‘Hoosiers’
A real ‘‘sleeper,’’ director David Anspaugh’s highly entertaining 1986 drama crept up on critics and audiences, earning numerous plaudits, including an Oscar nomination for Dennis Hopper. It’s Gene Hackman, however, who gets top billing as the new coach of a 1950s Indiana high school basketball team with a poor record. Barbara Hershey co-stars in this beloved sports drama, which opens a mini-marathon of films starring the Oscar-winning Hackman. 5 p.m. on TCM.
‘Undercover Boss’
Taking its cue from the classic Arthurian legends of the Knights of the Round Table, Round Table Pizza has carried the moniker of ‘‘Pizza Royalty’’ for 60 years, thanks to its homemade dough, signature three-cheese blend and the freshest toppings. Now company executive Paul Damico, who appeared on this series in 2013 while affiliated with Moe’s Southwest Grill, goes back under cover in this new episode to gain insights for expanding this West Coast pizza company to the rest of the country. (TVPG) 8 p.m. on 2.1.
‘Magnum P.I.’
A bail bondsman hires Magnum and Higgins (Jay Hernandez, Perdita Weeks) to track down a woman who skipped out on her $250,000 bond in the new episode ‘‘Run, Baby, Run.’’ After they find the body of another private eye who had been pursuing the same quarry, they team up with Detective Lia Kaleo (Chantal Thuy) on the case. Meanwhile, T.C. and Katsumoto (Stephen Hill, Tim Kang) work together to find Cade’s (Martin Martinez) mother. Tim Griffin and Veronica Diaz Carranza also guest star. (TV14) 9 p.m. on 2.1.
‘Ancient Aliens’
Ancient Astronaut theorists can’t help noticing that some of the photos and video footage of unidentified aerial phenomena the Navy has been releasing since 2017 are strikingly similar to historical accounts from centuries ago. The new episode ‘‘Alien Air Force’’ raises the question as to whether some of these flying pyramids, cylindrical objects and even bell-shaped craft represent alien vessels that have been traversing Earth’s skies for centuries. (TVPG) 9 p.m. on HIST.
‘American Insurrection’
Director and co-writer William Sullivan’s 2021 thriller revolves around a worst-case scenario, setting the action in a bleak near-future where a powerful right-wing militia group has forcibly seized control of the United States. Any citizens who don’t subscribe to the ruling party’s rigid moral and political tenets are subjected to horrific violence and oppression. Several such individuals band together and make a desperate run for the Canadian border. Toby Leonard Moore, Nadine Malouf, Nick Westrate, Brandon Perea and Sarah Wharton star. 9 p.m. on SHOW.
‘Painting With John’
Clearly musician and painter John Lurie hasn’t cut back on his kooky quotient in the new season of this unconventional reality show, which continues with a new episode called ‘‘Children Kicking Hamburger All Over the Highway.’’ As that episode title suggests – or rather, doesn’t – this half hour finds John yelling at the moon for not keeping an appointment and delivers a lecture about new technology in the theater. (TVMA) 11 p.m. on HBO.