The 5 New TV Shows You Can’t Miss in February

This February instead of roses, a box of chocolates or jewelry, give your special someone something that really lets them know how much you care: a subscription to Netflix or Hulu or Apple TV+. Really there are so many streaming options available, you will never have to go to the mall again in search of a present. Added bonus? A streaming subscription always fits.

We here at Paste TV love television, and this month we will be covering so much that the medium has to offer, including the long-awaited returns of Homeland and Better Call Saul, the third season of USA’s The Sinner starring Matt Bomer (sigh), and Hulu’s gender flipping take on High Fidelity.

So cozy up on the couch, because up first we have picks for the 5 new under-the-radar shows you can’t miss this month:

1. Girl Scout Cookie Championship
Stars: Alyson Hannigan, Nacho Aguirre, Katie Lee and Carla Hall
Premiere Date: February 3 at 8 p.m. on Food Network

I’m what is known as the Cookie Mom—sorry, Cookie Coordinator—for my daughter’s Girl Scout Troop. From December through March my house is full of Girl Scout Cookies. I recently described the décor in our living room as Girl Scout Cookies meets Hot Wheels. So I’m very excited about this four-episode series which finds five bakers using Girl Scout cookies as the basis for their baking creations. Think Blueberry Mint Glacier cake made with Thin Mints, or a 10-layer Red Velvet cake made with Peanut Butter Sandwiches (or Do-si-dos as some of you call them). Alyson Hannigan, a former Girl Scout herself, presides over the competition.

2. In Memoriam
Executive Producers: Ben Steele, Darren Kemp and Sarah Foudy
Premiere Date: February 8 at 9 p.m. on Investigation Discovery

There’s an active shooting incident every 14 days in the United States. You don’t need me to tell you that what was once a rare and devastating occurrence has now become all too commonplace. Society will move on after a tragedy. But what happens to the survivors? What happens to those grieving the sudden and incomprehensible loss of a loved one? Investigation Discovery looks at three shootings that took place during a six-month time period— the tragedies at the Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest music festival, the Sutherland Springs Baptist Church, and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Through interviews with those who are left to mourn as well as firsthand accounts of what happened as the horrific events unfolded, the special brings viewers up close to the inexplicable tragedy and how those left behind move forward.

3. For Life
Executive Producers: Hank Steinberg and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson
Stars: Nicholas Pinnock, Indira Varma, Joy Bryant, Mary Stuart Masterson, Boris McGiver, Glenn Fleshler, Dorian Missick, Tyla Harris and Timothy Busfield
Premiere Date: February 11 at 10 p.m. on ABC

Aaron Wallace (Nicholas Pinnock) is serving a life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. Through a little-known loophole, he gets his law degree while in prison and works to not only free himself but to help others who suffer his same fate. It sounds like an outlandish legal Case of the Week TV series but the drama was inspired by the life of Isaac Wright Jr., who was wrongfully convicted on drug charges and spent seven years in prison before the charges against him were dismissed. He went on to get a law degree from Saint Thomas University and passed the New Jersey Bar in 2008. New Jersey Bar’s Committee on Character delayed his admission to the bar for nine years. He was finally admitted on September 26, 2017 and now serves as executive producer on the series.

4. Utopia Falls
Executive Producers: R. T. Thorne, Joseph Mallozzi
Stars: Snoop Dogg
Premiere Date: February 14 on Hulu

Being billed as the first ever sci-fi hip-hop series and set in the post-apocalyptic future (is there any other kind?), Utopia Falls follows 24 teens chosen to compete in the Exemplar performing arts competition in the seemingly idyllic colony of New Babyl. But, of course, all is not what it seems. When one of the contestants Aliyah (Robyn Alomar) stumbles upon an ancient form of music culture known as hip-hop, she confronts the government in a quest for freedom. The series features the music of Kendrick Lamar, The Notorious B.I.G., The Roots, and Alessia Cara as well as the work of Tanisha Scott, the choreographer for Rihanna and Cardi B.

5. War of the Worlds
Executive Producers: Howard Overman, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps
Stars: Gabriel Byrne, Elizabeth McGovern, Léa Drucker, Natasha Little, Daisy Edgar Jones, Stéphane Caillard, Adel Bencherif and Guillaume Gouix
Premiere Date: February 16 at 9 p.m. on Epix

The H.G. Wells classic novel, first produced as a 1938 radio play narrated by Orson Welles where those listening thought the Martian invasion was real, gets an updated twist in this eight-episode series. Within days of detecting signs of life on another planet, nearly all of humanity is wiped out. Those remaining are left to figure out who their attackers are and why they are so determined to destroy the earth. The project marks McGovern’s first TV series roles since Downton Abbey. Set in the present day, the series will grapple with issues including refugee crisis, climate change and Brexit. The international series first debuted in France in October 2019.