What’s on TV this week—The Brothers Sun and Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale premiere

Welcome to What’s On, our weekly picks of must-watch shows. Here’s what you need to watch from Sunday, December 31 to Thursday, January 4. All times are Eastern. [Note: The weekend edition of What’s On drops on Fridays.]

The biggies

The Brothers Sun (Netflix, Thursday, 3:01 a.m.)

In the action-comedy The Brothers Sun, Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh plays a doting mother and a mafia queen. Eileen “Mama” Sun lives in California with her young son, Bruce (Sam Song Li), who is clueless about their family’s criminal ties. That changes when his brother, Charles (Justin Chien), arrives from Asia to protect them from a rival gang. The cast includes Madison Hu, Alice Hewken, Joon Lee, Highdee Kuan, Jenny Yang, and Jon Xue Zhang. Look for The A.V. Club’s review on the site this week.

Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale is a seven-part supernatural series set in a contemporary English town where witches have lived for years. It changes when a local rugby star dies in a freak accident, changing the residents’ views on whether witches should continue to live among them. Meanwhile, a battle brews between local go-to sorceress Sarah Fenn (Elaine Cassidy) and her best friend, Abigail (Amy de Bhrun), the mother of the dead teen.

Hidden gems

Bitconned (Netflix, Monday, 3:01 a.m.)

Bryan Storkel directs Bitconned, a true-crime documentary about one of the first cryptocurrency scams, Centra Tech. It focuses on the rise and fall of the company and its CEO, Ray Trapani, and how the rapidly changing financial system allowed for the rise of bitcoin.

British thriller Fool Me Once is based on Harlan Coben’s 2016 novel of the same name. It centers on Maya Stern (Michelle Keegan), whose seemingly dead husband returns as an intruder. Meanwhile, her niece and nephew dig into the murder of their mother, realizing the two cases are intertwined. The ensemble includes Richard Armitage, Adeel Akhtar, Joanna Lumley, and Emmett J. Scanlan.

Backed by ABC News Studios, Daughters Of The Cult is an intense five-part docuseries about members of a Mormon fundamentalist cult. They orchestrated a wave of murders in the name of their leader, Ervil LeBaron, a.k.a. the Mormon Manson, whose followers hid in plain sight. Now, relatives and past members reveal the truth behind their crimes.

More good stuff

Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve (ABC, Sunday, 8 p.m.)

If you love tradition, then you’re probably watching Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve party on ABC until that damn ball drops in chilly Times Square. This year’s soiree will be hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Rita Ora in New York City, Jeanne Ma in Los Angeles, and Dayanara Torres in Puerto Rico. Performers across various cities include Cardi B, Reneé Rapp, Green Day, LL Cool J, Post Malone, Aqua, and Ivy Queen.

After a successful docuseries like 2018's Game Changers, the team returns for another adventure in You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment. As the long title suggests, the eight episodes look into whether diets and lifestyles affect the body, specifically focusing on plant-based foods vs. consuming meat and dairy in twin siblings.

Extended Family aired its first-look pilot episode on December 23, 2023, but is now on a regularly scheduled programming block, airing every Tuesday. Mike O’Malley’s comedy is about Jim (Jon Cryer) and Julia (Abigail Spencer), a divorced couple who continue raising their kids together at home. Of course, shit gets complicated when Julia falls for Trey (Donald Faison), the owner of Jim’s favorite sports team. Surely stranger things have happened in sitcoms before, right? Look for our interview with Cryer later this week.

Can’t miss recaps

Fargo (FX, Tuesday, 10 p.m.)

The Curse (Paramount+, Friday, 3:01 a.m.)

Arriving now

Finding Your Roots (PBS, Tuesday, 8 p.m., season 10 premiere)

Night Court (NBC, Tuesday, 8 p.m., season two premiere)

Good Trouble (Freeform, Tuesday, 10 p.m., season five winter premiere)

Ending soon

Magnum P.I. (NBC, Wednesday, 10 p.m., series finale)