If you’re sitting on your couch in Metro Detroit tonight, January 16, 2026, staring at a blank screen and wondering if there’s anything better than another "Chicago Fire" rerun, I’ve got you. Honestly, the Friday night lineup in Detroit can be a total mixed bag. You’ve got the local news heavy hitters, some surprisingly good sports matchups, and the usual network suspects trying to keep us from switching over to Netflix.
It’s cold outside. Probably snowing, because it's January in Michigan. Let’s figure out what’s actually worth your time on the tube tonight.
Detroit TV listings tonight: The big broadcast highlights
The local Big Three—WDIV (NBC), WXYZ (ABC), and WJBK (Fox)—are sticking to their bread and butter tonight. If you're looking for the standard "sit back and don't think too hard" Friday night experience, here is the breakdown of what the antennas are picking up.
WDIV Local 4 (NBC)
Local 4 is leaning into the procedural drama. After the 6:00 PM news with the usual weather updates—which we all watch religiously just to see if we need to salt the driveway again—they’re rolling into a night of Law & Order and SVU.
Specifically, at 9:00 PM, you’re looking at a fresh episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. It’s comforting in a dark way, right? You know exactly what you’re getting. Following that at 10:00 PM is The Hunting Party, which is NBC’s newer crime drama that’s been trying to find its footing. It's okay. Not "peak TV," but it passes the time.
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WXYZ Channel 7 (ABC)
Over on Channel 7, things are a bit more... medical. After 7 News Detroit wraps up, they’ve got 9-1-1: Nashville at 9:00 PM. This spinoff has been doing some heavy lifting for ABC lately. Then, the literal eternal flame of television, Grey’s Anatomy, airs at 10:00 PM. Seriously, how is that show still on? At this point, I think the hospital has been renamed five times and everyone has dated everyone else twice. But hey, if you’ve stayed with it for 20+ seasons, tonight’s episode "Heavy on Me" is waiting for you.
WJBK Fox 2
Fox 2 is the place for the "Gordon Ramsay yelling at people" fans. Hell’s Kitchen is the main event at 8:00 PM. It’s the "Hell of a Showdown" episode where the finalists get those emotional family visits. It’s the one night a year Ramsay isn't a total nightmare to everyone in the room.
Sports: Red Wings and the hardwood
If you’re a sports fan in Detroit, tonight is actually a pretty decent slate.
The Detroit Red Wings are back at Little Caesars Arena. They’re facing off against the San Jose Sharks at 7:00 PM. You can catch this on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit (the channel formerly known as Bally Sports, for those of us still adjusting to the name change). The Wings have been scrappy this season, and a home game against the Sharks is usually an "expect a win but be prepared for stress" kind of night.
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On the college side, Fox (WJBK) is actually preempting some of its usual Friday fluff for a massive Big 12 showdown. At 8:00 PM, Baylor is taking on Kansas. If you’re a basketball purist, this is probably the best thing on television tonight, regardless of whether you care about the teams. It’s high-level, primetime college hoops.
Quick Sports Reference for Tonight:
- NHL: Red Wings vs. Sharks - 7:00 PM (FanDuel Sports Detroit)
- NCAA Basketball: Baylor at Kansas - 8:00 PM (Fox 2)
- NBA: If you're looking for the Pistons, they're off tonight after that Thursday game, so you'll have to settle for the Red Wings or the Kansas game.
The "Hidden" Gems and Nostalgia Trips
Sometimes you just want to watch something from 1994. I get it. Detroit’s sub-channels are actually some of the best in the country for this.
MeTV (4.3) is running its classic Friday block. You’ve got MASH* at 7:00 PM and 7:30 PM. There is something incredibly soothing about that theme song while you’re eating dinner. After that, it’s The Andy Griffith Show. It’s basically a warm blanket in digital form.
Detroit PBS (Channel 56) is doing its usual high-brow Friday. They have One Detroit at 7:30 PM, which is actually a great way to keep up with what's happening in the city without the "if it bleeds, it leads" vibe of the commercial news. Later on, they’re airing Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light on Masterpiece. It’s British, it’s intense, and it has much better costumes than Grey’s Anatomy.
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Why your Detroit TV listings might look different
A common frustration: "The guide says one thing, but my TV is showing another."
In Detroit, this usually happens for two reasons. First, local sports preemptions. If a game runs long or a local station decides to pick up a specific sporting event, the national feed gets bumped. Second, we get emergency weather cuts. If a "clipper system" is coming off the lake and dropping six inches of snow on Troy and Royal Oak, the meteorologists are going to break into your show.
If you're using a digital antenna (OTA), make sure you've rescanned recently. Stations like WADL and some of the smaller independent ones have been shuffling their sub-channels a lot in the last year.
Actionable Next Steps for Tonight
- Check the Weather First: Flip to WDIV or WXYZ around 6:15 PM. There's a "significant snowfall" warning for Metro Detroit tonight. You'll want to know if you're waking up to a shovel-fest before you commit to a 3-hour movie.
- Sync Your Apps: If you’re watching the Red Wings, make sure your FanDuel Sports Network app is updated. Their login system can be a nightmare right at puck drop.
- Set the DVR for "The BMF Documentary": If you have Starz, the Blowing Money Fast docuseries has an episode tonight (S2 E1) specifically about the early days of the Flenory brothers in Detroit. It’s a fascinating, if gritty, look at local history.
Whatever you pick, stay warm. Whether it's the Red Wings game or just another night with the doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial, tonight's Detroit TV lineup has enough variety to keep the "boredom" at bay until the weekend truly starts.