The 1995 Bruce Willis film from Terry Gilliam is remade as a new series in “12 Monkeys” (Syfy, 9 p.m.) in which Aaron Stanford stars as a sick man from a diseased, post-apocalyptic future, returning to the present to try and eradicate its origin.
Co-writer Terry Matalas calls it “a complete sort of reimagining. We were all very, very big fans of the original film and had a deep love and respect for that material.”
Addressing the press last summer, he said “we didn’t want to just re-do what the movie does. We changed the rules in the movie. Can’t actually change time, and here you can. So everything from the top down changed.” Amanda Schull, Kirk Acevedo and Noah Bean round out the cast.
It’s accompanied by the second season premiere of “Helix” (Syfy, 10 p.m.), about doctors fighting their own strange virus.
Online, Gillian Anderson returns as a detective on the trail of killer played by Jamie Dornan in the second season of “The Fall” (Netflix, streaming).
Another new show that’s built on viral videos, “World’s Funniest Fails” (Fox, 8 p.m.) also has a title that puts it in the pantheon of network history, like “World’s Wildest Police Chases.” In this one, hosted by Terry Crews, a panel reviews various epic fail videos online and tries to determine whether they’re funny. Still to be determined: How desperate programming has become at Fox.
The Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Mozart’s comic opera “Le Nozze de Figaro” is performed on “Great Performances at the Met” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings), with Ildar Abdrazakov, Marlis Petersen and Isabel Leonard. James Levine conducted Richard Eyre’s production.
“Constantine” (NBC, 8 p.m.) moves to its new time slot, right before “Grimm” (NBC, 9 p.m.).
Rachel and Kurt are back at high school to help remake its glee club on a new “Glee” (Fox, 9 p.m.).
Kathryn Bigelow, Josh Gad, West Moore, Josh Barro and Atul Gawande are guests on a new “Real Time with Bill Maher” (HBO, 10 p.m.).
Oh, gosh, they’re rerunning the premiere of “Celebrity Apprentice” (CNBC, 9 p.m.).
“Dateline NBC” (NBC, 10 p.m.) investigates a mother’s stabbing death.
The 17-film, month-long Friday night salute to Neil Simon continues with “The Goodbye Girl” (8 p.m.), “Chapter Two” (10 p.m.) and “Only When I Laugh” (12:15 a.m.).
Men’s college hoops include Iona at Niagara (ESPNU, 7 p.m.), St. Francis at Robert Morris (ESPNU, 9 p.m.). In women’s games, it’s Creighton at Providence (Fox Sports 1, 8 p.m.).
In men’s hockey, it’s Connecticut at Notre Dame (NBC Sports, 7:30 p.m.).
NBA action includes Golden State at Oklahoma City (ESPN, 8 p.m.) and Cleveland at Clippers (ESPN, 10:30 p.m.).
Daytime Talk
Kelly & Michael: Nicole Kidman, Sienna Miller, Dr. Wendy Bazilian, Train. The View: Barbara Walters, Mario Cantone. The Talk: Jesse L. Martin, Tom Colicchio. Ellen DeGeneres: Rob Lowe. Wendy Williams: George Lopez. Meredith Viera: Angela Bassett. Queen Latifah: Katey Sagal, Bethany Hamilton (rerun).
Late Talk
David Letterman: Urban Meyer, Johnny Beehner, Ella Henderson. Jimmy Fallon: Brian Williams, Victoria Justice, Joshua Topolsky. Jimmy Kimmel: Mel Brooks, Christine Baranski, Jenny Lewis (rerun). Seth Meyers: Anna Kendrick, Timothy Spall, Martha Stewart (rerun). Late Late Show: George Lopez, Gavin DeGraw, Linda Perry, Julie Chen, Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood & Aisha Tyler. Carson Daly: William H. Macy, Lemaitre, Tearist (rerun). Tavis Smiley: Laura Poitras.