February is a short but stacked month when it comes to TV premieres. Crucially, two fan-favorite shows return, as You comes back for season four on Netflix, while Starz revives the cult hit Party Down for a highly anticipated third season. Apple TV+ launched a tearjerker in Dear Edward, and follows it up with a travel docuseries, a Billy Crudup dramedy, and a French-English series. Not to be left behind, broadcast networks like ABC and FOX will roll out shows featuring fan favorites like Joel McHale, Gina Rodriguez, and Milo Ventimiglia. To help parse through everything worthwhile arriving on the small screen in coming weeks, here is The A.V. Club’s guide for what to watch in February.
February TV preview: Party Down and You return, plus 12 more big shows to watch
Jason Katims' emotional drama, Eugene Levy's travel show, and a bunch of exciting network TV premieres
The Ark (Syfy, February 1)
If you’re itching to watch a TV show set decades in the future (basically, if you’re missing The CW’s The 100), The Ark might just fill the void. Dean Devlin and Jonathan Glassner’s sci-fi thriller follows the crew of the spacecraft Ark One in 2123, who go on an essential mission to a distant planet for the sake of humanity’s future. However, a catastrophic event occurs—because of course it does—that causes destruction and loss of life. With more than a year to go before reaching their target, the remaining crew members struggle to survive with limited supplies. Christie Burke, Richard Fleeshman, Reece Ritchie, Stacey Read, and Ryan Adams co-star. [Saloni Gajjar]
Freeridge (Netflix, February 2)
Netflix’s On My Block remained criminally underrated throughout its four-season run. Well, we have a chance to change that, kind of, as the show spins off into Freeridge, which follows four new characters in the titular but fictional LA neighborhood. They’re also into heists and learning more about their origins, but Freeridge takes a more mystical route. The core four believe they’ve unleashed a curse that’s bringing them misfortune, so now they have to fix it. OMB’s co-creators Lauren Iungerich, Eddie Gonzalez, and Jeremy Haft return for this coming-of-age comedy.
Dear Edward (Apple TV+, February 3)
Get those tissues ready. Fans of Jason Katims’ shows like Friday Night Lights and Parenthood already know his projects are tearjerkers. Apple TV+’s Dear Edward is no different, apparently. The show reunites Katims with FNL star Connie Britton too, as a nice treat. Dear Edward follows young Edward Adler (Colin O’Brien), the lone survivor of a plane crash that takes the lives of his family and everyone else on board. Those affected by the tragedy connect with one another to cope with their respective losses and pain. The cast includes Taylor Schilling, Amy Forsyth, Maxwell Jenkins, and Jenna Qureshi. [Saloni Gajjar]
Murder In Big Horn (Showtime, February 5)
The three-part docuseries Murder In Big Horn, which just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, delves into the deaths and disappearances of Native American teenage girls in Big Horn County, Montana. The project, helmed by Razelle Benally and Matthew Galkin, interviews Indigenous journalists, police officers, and families of the victims in an attempt to put a spotlight on this scourge of unsolved crimes. [Tim Lowery]
Not Dead Yet (ABC, February 8)
All your favorite TV stars are teaming up for a new ABC sitcom. Not Dead Yet stars Gina Rodriguez, Hannah Simone, Lauren Ash, Angela Gibbs, and Rick Glassman, so at least the ensemble is promising. Rodriguez plays Nell Stevens, a broke journalist—that tracks—who gets assigned the obituary beat. However, she starts getting life advice from an unlikely source: The dead folks she’s writing about. Expect a bunch of guest stars playing the deceased in each episode. [Saloni Gajjar]
You season 4, part 1 (Netflix, February 9)
Joe Goldberg is back, and he’s not in the United States anymore. You returns for season four’s first half, with Penn Badgley’s toxic alter ego setting up camp in Paris. Joe finds himself in France as a professor who gets entangled with the elite, rich folk. Unfortunately for Marienne (Tati Gabrielle), his season three victim, Joe is still looking for her. Will he catch up to her, or find a new woman to stalk and kill? Stay tuned. [Saloni Gajjar]
My Dad The Bounty Hunter (Netflix, February 9)
Don’t be fooled by the title, this isn’t just a retread of The Mandalorian told from Grogu’s point of view… but also, it’s not not that. My Dad The Bounty Hunter is about two kids who are so obsessed with their cool dad that they hide in his car one night so they can visit him at work, only to discover that his job is being an intergalactic bounty hunter with a vaguely Mandalorian-y helmet. It looks very cute and somewhat action-packed, even if the cute kids are people and not whatever Grogu is. [Sam Barsanti]
Animal Control (FOX, February 16)
With the Community movie officially in the works, there’s no need to stress out about Joel McHale starring in what looks to be a pretty super-wacky network sitcom. He’ll make time for that other thing, it’ll be okay! As for Animal Control, it looks like a much sillier version of Reno 911!, but with animal control people instead of cops, led by McHale in the full “jaded, sarcastic guy” mode that he’s generally so good at. [Sam Barsanti]
Hello Tomorrow! (Apple TV+, February 17)
The retro-futuristic Hello Tomorrow!—the setting seems to be pre-Beatles suburbia but with hovering cars—follows Jack (The Morning Show’s Billy Crudup) and fellow door-to-door salesmen as they try to get the good people of Earth to buy timeshares on the moon. The show was developed by Amit Bhalla and Lucas Jansen, both writers on Bloodline, with Hank Azaria, Haneefah Wood, and Alison Pill rounding out the cast. [Tim Lowery]
The Company You Keep (ABC, February 19)
Milo Ventimiglia is moving from a wholesome This Is Us dad to a straight-up criminal in his next TV project. The actor leads ABC’s The Company You Keep, based on a South Korean drama called My Fellow Citizens. He plays conman Charlie Nicoletti, whose entire family is involved in his illegal enterprise. His love life briefly soars when he meets Emma (Catherine Haena Kim), and they share a sexy night together. It turns out, though, she’s a CIA agent with family expectations of her own. Their will-they-won’t-they forms the crux of the show. Tim Chiou, Sarah Wayne Callies, James Saito, and Freda Foh Shen also star. [Saloni Gajjar]
Party Down (Starz, February 24)
Most of our favorite catering waiters are back for a revival season of the cult comedy series, Party Down. Starz wrangled up former PD cast members for the renewal, including Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Jane Lynch, Martin Starr, Ryan Hansen, and Megan Mullally. (We’ll miss you, Lizzy Caplan). There’s a whole new slate of events to cater, as well as new crew members, including Jennifer Garner, Tyrel Jackson Williams, Zoë Chao, and James Marsden. Are we having fun yet? [Gabrielle Sanchez]
The Reluctant Traveler (Apple TV+, February 24)
Schitt’s Creek star Eugene Levy, an avowed, lifelong indoor kid (at least according to this upcoming series’ trailer), heads to the great outdoors to travel the world, doing everything from surveying wildlife in South Africa to trudging through the snow in Finland to witnessing a sumo match in Tokyo. Our bespectacled host is certainly witty and charming, so let’s hope that translates well in this format. [Tim Lowery]
The Consultant (Prime Video, February 24)
Christoph Waltz, who knows a thing or two about playing sadistic creeps in positions of authority, stars in this high-octane workplace satire as a cost-cutting suit who just might be, as one of the workers of CompWare puts it, “a sociopath.” The cast of Prime Video’s thriller, which is from Servant creator Tony Basgallop and is helmed by WandaVision director Matt Shakman, also includes The White Lotus’ Brittany O’Grady and Paper Towns’ Nat Wolff. [Tim Lowery]
Liaison (Apple TV+, February 24)
The six-episode Liasion is a high-stakes thriller exploring how the mistakes of our past have the potential to destroy our future. An espionage drama, it plays out against the backdrop of an enduring love story. Vincent Cassel and Eva Green lead this French and English-language series. [Saloni Gajjar]
Other TV shows returning in February
The Proud Family: Loud & Prouder season two (Disney+, February 1)
Harlem season two (Prime Video, February 2)
The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 13 (Bravo, February 7)
A Million Little Things season five (ABC, February 8)
The Flash season nine (The CW, February 8)
Kung Fu season three (The CW, February 8)
Wu-Tang: An American Saga season three (Hulu, February 15)
The Upshaws season three (Netflix, February 15)
Star Trek: Picard season three (Paramount+, February 16)
Carnival Row season two (Prime Video, February 17)
American Idol season 19 (ABC, February 19)
Snowfall season six (FX, February 22)
Outer Banks season three (Netflix, February 23)
Bel-Air season two (Peacock, February 23)