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| Coming Up Next... A Guide to January TV |
| by: Krystle Merchant If you’re anything like me, you feel like the Writers’ Guild of America is trying to kill you. The writers’ strike ended so many great shows just after they started to get interesting! (The Office or Heroes, anyone?) The networks have been relying on reruns and reality competitions to keep things going, but those can only take up so much space on your DVR or videotape. Well, luckily for you (and me), it’s time for the mid-season premieres! Every January, a batch of new shows comes up to bat on the network and cable channels. It’s like a new semester or quarter. Here’s a list of the new January shows on the major networks by premiere date. (CBS has most of its new and returning shows premiering in February, which might be a smart move considering the sheer number of new shows coming in January!) Biggest Loser: Couples Edition (January 1) (NBC) In the new season, the contestants are grouped together in teams of two. There are husband and wife teams, parent and kid teams, siblings, best friends, and even teammates. This is different since both people have to lose a certain percentage of their body weight to stay in the game each week. Also, the teams have to compete against each other within their trainer groups. The emotional component is always a focus on this show, but it’ll be interesting to see how long before they’re broken up and reorganized. The Celebrity Apprentice (January 3) (NBC) The Donald is back and this time, it’s for charity. The “celebrities” participating in this season include Omarosa (are you a celebrity if the only thing you’ve done is…another season of The Apprentice?), Gene Simmons (KISS), and Stephen Baldwin (the youngest brother of Alec). Cashmere Mafia (January 6) (ABC) Lipstick Jungle (January 5) (CBS) Darren Star, creator and producer of Sex and the City, brings us a very familiar drama about four women in New York. The difference is that these four women, who went to business school together, are more focused on their careers than their relationships or lack thereof. Lucy Liu is the “Carrie” -like character and you can definitely expect some fabulous wardrobe pieces with SATC designer Patricia Field in the fashion department. (In February, look out for the CBS version, Lipstick Jungle, based on a novel from SATC writer Candace Bushnell. Anyone else find it coincidental that these shows didn’t pop up until a few months before the SATC movie??) American Gladiators (January 7) (NBC) The classic 80s show that pits bodybuilders against regular people is back with new activities (and outfits) and some of the old apparatuses, for those old enough to remember. With names like Titan, Fury, and Mayhem the gladiators will be as tough and intimidating as ever! Also, the show will be hosted by Hulk Hogan, former WWF and WCW Champion, known nowadays from the VH1 reality show Hogan Knows Best. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (January 13) (FOX) This drama picks up where Terminator 2 left off with Sarah and her teenage son John fighting off their technological enemies from the future. They decide to stop Skynet, the company that goes on to invent to the robots that they have to fight, with the help of a mysterious stranger that has more to do with the future than they know. Well, that’s what the official summary says anyway. American Idol (January 15) (FOX) You know exactly what to expect. The crazy auditions, the sob stories, the tears…oh and the singing! All I can say is get excited!! Lost (January 31) (ABC) Season 4 may or may not answer all your questions about your favorite castaways. With a show that’s so shrouded in mystery, it’s hard to say what you should expect. But, you will surely see both Libby and Michael at least once this season. That’s pretty much all I’ve got. Eli Stone (January 31) (ABC) A lawyer. A bad guy gone good. A deadly illness. And a psychic or prophet or something. Eli Stone, a corporate lawyer who makes his living picking on the underdog decides to turn it around after having a series of hallucinations. A medical checkup reveals that he has a brain aneurysm. Could it be the cause of his visions? Will he be able to change his act without losing his grip on his life? Sounds like a hybrid of your run of the mill courtroom drama and a supernatural thriller; should those things be mixed? |
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