40 Years A Prisoner arrives

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Tuesday, December 8. All times are Eastern.

Top pick

40 Years A Prisoner (HBO, 9 p.m.): “Although he has never been convicted of a crime, Mike Africa Jr. has served significant time. Debbie Africa, at the outset of her prison sentence, gave birth to Mike Jr. at Philadelphia’s House Of Corrections, while his father, Michael Africa Sr., served a concurrent sentence. Africa Jr. wouldn’t know of the existence of his father until the age of 5, when he visited him in prison. Smiling faces and prison gates fill their family photos. And every year—for 40, in fact—Africa Jr. has combed through boxes of court testimony searching for evidence in his parents’ favor, pausing his life for their parole.” Read the rest of Robert Daniels’ pre-air review.

Regular coverage

Big Sky (ABC, 10:01 p.m.)

Holiday stuff + for kids

Super Monsters: Santa’s Super Monster Helpers (Netflix, 3:01 a.m., premiere): Santa needs help, little monsters oblige, and all is right in the world.

Wild card

The Bachelorette (ABC, 8 p.m.): If things get truly bonkers in this, the weirdest season in Bachelor Nation history, we’ll sound the klaxon and convene an emergency roundtable; otherwise, feel free to head over to our sister site The Takeout for their suitably surreal coverage of whatever Bennett From Harvard has coming to him.

Can you binge it? It would be very difficult to binge all of The Bachelorette, even if you exclude all other Bachelor Nation series from your binge. Some seasons can be found in one place, others in another, and some can only be purchased. We do not advise. However, if you want to catch up on this season, you… also can’t, unless you pay for it. The last few episodes, at least, can be binged via Hulu.