Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, January 19th, 2026:
THE '60 MINUTES' SEGMENT ON CECOT AIRED LAST NIGHT
On December 21st, two hours before a segment on the infamous CECOT prison in El Salvador was scheduled to air on 60 Minutes, the segment was pulled, without an initial explanation.
In the days that followed, CBS News head Bari Weiss told news employees in statement that “My job is to make sure that all stories we publish are the best they can be. Holding stories that aren’t ready for whatever reason — that they lack sufficient context, say, or that they are missing critical voices — happens every day in every newsroom. I look forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready.”
That characterization of the story was disputed by Sharyn Alfonsi, the veteran 60 Minutes correspondent who reported the segment, who wrote in a private note to CBS colleagues that CBS News pulled the segment for “political” reasons.
The disputed segment finally aired without any prior public notice on Sunday, January 18th and it's notable that the only changes to the story was a new opening narration, and the addition of a lengthy coda from Alfonsi.
Everyone can judge for themselves whether the changes helped the segment, but my reaction is that while nothing that was added is inaccurate, it feels like an attempt to muddy the waters. It's as if a local news station does a piece about your house being robbed, but along with the details of the crime includes a history of the neighborhood you live in and what you had for breakfast the day of the robbery.
Here are the two versions of the opening segment:
Sharyn Alfonsi: You may recall earlier this year when the Trump administration deported hundreds of Venezuelan men to El Salvador, a country most had no connection to. The White House claimed the men were terrorists, part of a violent gang, and invoked a centuries-old wartime power, saying it allowed them to deport some men immediately, without due process, an unusual strategy that sparked an ongoing legal battle. Tonight, you'll hear from some of those men.
They describe torture, sexual and physical abuse inside CECOT, one of El Salvador's harshest prisons, where they say they endured four months of hell.
<Nicholas Maduro, the former president of Venezuela, now sits in a federal jail in New York awaiting trial. After a high stakes raid, the White House touted Maduro's capture as a blow to narco-terrorists, who it says floods U.S. streets with drugs.
The repression of the Maduro regime forced 8 million Venezuelans to flee, nearly one million of them to the United States.
Last year, in the biggest immigration crackdown in U.S. history, hundreds of those Venezuelans were deported to El Salvador, a country most had no connection to. The White House claimed that were part of a violent gang and designated them as terrorists. The Administration invoked a centuries-old wartime power - the Alien Enemies Act - to rapidly deport some of the men. Between March and April of last year, the U.S. sent 252 Venezuelan men to a brutal maximum security prison in El Salvador known as CECOT.
You will hear from two of those men. They describe torture, sexual and physical abuse inside the prison. Since November, 60 Minutes has made several attempts to interview key Trump Administration officials on camera about our story. They have declined our request.
Tonight, our report from inside CECOT.>
And here is the new coda to the segment:
<60 Minutes has repeatedly asked The Department Of Homeland Security for the complete records and criminal backgrounds of all 252 Venezuelan men the U.S. sent to CECOT. It would not provide them.
This past week, DHS told us "we are confident in our law enforcement's intelligence, and we aren't going to share intelligence reports and undermine national security every time a gang member denies he is one. That would be insane. "
Because of this, we relied on the ICE data that is available for our reporting. Of the 252 men, that data shows that 33 had been convicted of a crime in the U.S. Again, eight of them for violent or potentially violent crimes. Another 70 had pending charges, although we don't know the nature of those charges because DHS refuses to share that information.
Neither of the two detainees in our story has been convicted of any crime in the U.S. Nine days ago, DHS sent 60 Minutes a photo of William Lozado's left arm, with a swastika tattoo. In an interview in November, this is what his arm looked like. He told is that he got the offensive tattoo at 15 and didn't know what it meant. He claimed he regretted it and got it changed just before the U.S. sent him to CECOT.
Five gang experts told us that swastikas and "666," another tattoo on Lozada's arm, have no connection to the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua,
In a statement to 60 Minutes, the White House said "President Trump is committed to keeping his promises to the American people by removing dangerous criminal and terrorist illegal aliens."
The Administration's statements are available in full online.
DHS deflected all allegations of abuse at CECOT, saying the men were "not under U.S. jurisdiction" while they were in El Salvador. But last month, a federal judge ruled the U.S. had maintained what is called "constructive custody" over the Venezuelans who were sent to CECOT under the Aliens Enemies Act. He ordered the Trump Administration to give those men the due process they were denied.
In a declaration to the courts, Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained in part that bringing the Venezuelans to the U.S. for hearings or do virtual hearings would risk, quote, "material damage to U.S. foreign policy interests in Venezuela.">
As a way of comparison, here is the transcript for the entire segment.
SOME MLK DAY TV VIEWING SUGGESTIONS
For a variety of reasons I don't have to recount here, this year's Martin Luther King Day feels a bit more important. It feels like a year in which we should reflect on the state of race relations in the United States and how we got here.
Here are some streaming suggestions that cover both the life as well as the impact of his life. As well as a couple of pieces that put the struggles he went through into historical context:
MLK Speaks: A Conversation With Martin Luther King Jr. (PBS Passport)
In June 9th, 1962, two months after his time incarceration in a Birmingham Jail and about two months before the famous March On Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. sat down for a two-hour interview with David Susskind. The interview so rattled the White House that President Kennedy responded by going on national television to defend his Administration's positions and to outline his push for what would later become the Civil and Voting Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965. You can watch the entire interview in this documentary if you just fast forward through the first hour, which consists of talking heads discussing the interview. You have no doubt seen speeches by MLK Jr., but this might be the first time you hear him speak in an extended interview.
We Are The Dream: The Kids Of The Oakland MLK Oratorical Festival (HBO Max)
This 2000 documentary takes a look at the 40th Annual MLK Oratorical Festival, where students take the stage in a public speaking competition. These kids aren't just impressive, but their passion and clarity about the challenges they face is inspiring to watch.
Genius: MLK/X (Prime Video)
Season four of the Genius series focuses on the lives of two of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement - Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. The season does a nice job of showing the tension between the two men's approaches to obtaining racial equality. The scripted approach allows the filmmakers to show the moments of the their lives that weren't captured on camera, and the events that led up to both men eventually being shot and killed by assassins. I'm not sure why this NatGeo series isn't on Disney+, but the entire series is worth watching.
MLK: The Assassination Tapes (Paramount+)
This 2012 Smithsonian Channel documentary includes a staggering amount of previously unseen (at the time) film, tape and audio of the life of this iconic civil rights leader.
MLK: Historical Perspective (Aspire TV+)
Endorsed by the King Foundation, this 1994 documentary traces the life of MLK and the development of his philosophies about civil rights and integration as he is drawn into the fight against Jim Crow laws. It is a comprehensive look at MLK's life, albeit one that might be a bit too staid and respectful.
Brother Outsider: The Life Of Bayard Rustin (Netflix)
This 2025 documentary tells the story of the openly gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, who was the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. It is the compelling and often bittersweet story of a man who battled not only racial inequality, but also deep prejudice towards anyone being publicly gay.
Lowndes County And The Road To Black Power (Peacock)
In 1965, Lowndes County, Alabama had a population that was 80% black. But it also had zero registered black voters. This 2022 documentary uses archival footage and numerous personal accounts to chronicle the dangerous efforts to register voters in the heart of the Jim Crow South.
Becoming King (Paramount+)
Most behind-the-scenes documentaries tend not to be that compelling, but this emotional look at David Oyelowo's quest to play Martin Luther King in Selma, the film about his life, is just about perfect. It's an intimate look both at the process to winning a major acting role, but also a portrait of an actor struggling to tackle the challenges of portraying an iconic historical figure. Paramount+ also has the movie Selma, the Oscar-winning 2015 film that told the story of the dangerous three-month effort in 1965 to obtain equal voting rights in an often violently segregated Jim Crow South.
The Niagara Movement: The Early Battle For Civil Rights (PBS Passport)
While black leaders of the civil rights movement all agreed on the need to secure equality, there were a number of often contentious battles between them about the best approach to take in order to obtain that goal. After watching this documentary, you'll be amazed they were able to still accomplish so much, given their wildly conflicting approaches to the challenge.
King In The Wilderness (HBO Max)
This 2018 documentary uses the personal stories of the people closest to Martin Luther King Jr. to tell his story of the final months of his life.
American Experience: The Blinding Of Isaac Woodard (PBS Passport)
In 1946, as Isaac Woodard is headed home in his uniform after serving 42 months in the military, he was pulled off a bus in Georgia, beaten by local police and had his eyes gouged out. As horrific as this story is, the event also might serve as the jumping off point for the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
Blood Brothers: Malcolm X And Muhammad Ali (Netflix)
A lesser known story about the powerful bond between a internationally known boxer and a prominent civil rights activist whose relationship was as stormy as the times they lived in.
I Am Not Your Negro (Prime Video)
Director Raoul Peck uses unprecedented access to the papers of James Baldwin to produce this 2017 documentary film of the novel that Baldwin never finished. The book was a look at race relations in America that tracked the lives and assassinations of Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X.
Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise (PBS Documentaries/PBS Passport)
Henry Louis Gates Jr. embarks on a journey through the last fifty years of African American history in this four-hour 2016 documentary. It is a highly personal look at the places and people that have changed American civil rights laws and attitudes.
Lynching Postcards: 'Token Of A Great Day' (Paramount+)
This unsettling 2021 documentary provides a look at the history of lynchings in America as commemorated through souvenir postcards.
ODDS AND SODS:
* The documentary Take That premieres Tuesday, January 27th on Netflix. Here is a first video look at the special. And here is the official logline: "Take That tells the remarkable story of the UK’s most iconic boy band. Now, in this 3-part limited docu-series, go behind the scenes with Gary, Howard, Mark, Jason, and Robbie as they reveal their personal experiences in a band that captivated millions of fans, playing sold-out shows, topping the charts with 12 huge UK No.1 hit singles and selling over 45 million records worldwide."
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S COMING TODAY AND TOMORROW
MONDAY, JANUARY 19TH, 2026:
* Contraband: Seized At The Border Season Premiere (Discovery)
* Hidden Assets (Acorn TV)
* Hopes, Hoops And Dreams (Hulu)
* Judy Justice Season Premiere (Prime Video)
* 120 Hours Behind Bars Series Premiere (Discovery)
TUESDAY, JANUARY 20TH, 2026:
* Handsome Devil: The Charming Killer (Paramount+)
* Just A Dash Season Three Premiere (Netflix)
* Singles Inferno Season Premiere (Netflix)
* Star Search Series Premiere (Netflix)
SEE YOU TUESDAY MORNING!