Foxtel highlights: Tuesday, January 5

AMERICA: OUR DEFINING HOURS

History 130, 7.30pm

This three- part miniseries draws upon 300- plus years of history – from the Mayflower to September 11 – to reveal how the US seized moments of crisis to create a better tomorrow. In tonight’s premiere, titled A New Beginning, viewers witness how the country’s forebears survived the “starving time” of the first colonies, battled their mother country for independence and headed out to the frontier and west into the great unknown. Prepare for dramatic scenes, stunning CGI visuals and interviews with contemporary leaders, including John McCain, Colin Powell, John Major and David Miliband, along with noted historians from around the world.

BELOW DECK Arena 111, 1.30pm ( encore 8.30pm)

In tonight’s episode, steward Elizabeth Frankini struggles to keep her budding relationship with deckhand James Hough under wraps, but unfortunately that won’t stop idle chit chat about the aboard the mega yacht My Seanna as it cruises through the Caribbean. Expect lashings of drama when the crew welcome a group of experienced boat people on board, and a drunk guest gets out of hand and defies Captain Lee Rosbach, who is forced to lay down the law. Meanwhile, deckhand Izzy Wouters ( pictured), who was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, starts to feel under the weather. Unfortunately for her, it turns out to be quite serious indeed.

YOUNG SHELDON FOX Funny 114, 10.30am

This Big Bang Theory spin- off follows s Sheldon Cooper ( Iain Armitage, Ziggy in Big Little Lies), a bona fide genius, as he attends school hool in the US state of Texas and struggles to o fit in with family life at home. In tonight’s season two premiere, Sheldon sets about dismantling ntling his home fridge to stop an annoying hum, but things don’t go according to plan and his dad George orge ( Lance Barber) has to fix the error of his ways. ys. Even worse, it’s going to cost him $ 200 to do so, which Sheldon is going to hear about t to no end. In the following episode, Sheldon ldon gets jealous when meets a 10- year- old ld genius in physics class and watches her bond with

Dr Sturgis ( Wallace ce

Shawn).