With the advent of winter premieres, the start of the premium cable network shows, and with February sweeps around the corner, it’s time to revisit my thoughts from the beginning of the season and look ahead at what’s to come for Sunday nights.
7:00
Once Upon A Time – The fairy tale show is back for season 4, after an uptick in quality during the past season. With little else in competition, I see no reason not to continue turning in.
The first half of the season was a shameless attempt at cashing in on the Frozen phenomenon. We shall see what the producers have up their sleeve for the spring.
7:30
Brooklyn Nine-Nine – FOX has moved its breakout comedy hit from Tuesday nights, where it was ill-matched with New Girl and The Mindy Project. Now it will compete along side more like minded, if animated, comedies.
The show still has a tendency to treat Andy Samberg’s character as too much of a simpleton to be taken seriously as a successful detective, but, beyond that, it is still bringing the funny.
8:00
Resurrection – ABC’s tale of what happens when the dead start to return, as though nothing had happened, became the surprise hit of the spring. The mystery of why seems to be a big part of the show, so I imagine they will need to tackle that sooner rather than later, and I can’t imagine how they can come up with something reasonable.
The show is burning through its cast of characters, and hasn’t really addressed much of the mythology behind the how and why the dead have returned. I still think they will need to do so soon.
The Good Wife – More like the Great Wife, if you catch my drift. Rarely do you see a show hit a creative high point in season 5, but that is exactly what The Good Wife did last season. The status quo was upset once again in the season finale, so it will be interesting to see things play out once again.
Interesting point about the show: Julianna Margulies and Archie Panjabi have not shared a scene together since episode 14 of season 4, which aired on February 17, 2013.
The Newsroom – HBO’s and Aaron Sorkin’s take on 24 hour cable news returns for a third and final season, dealing with the fallout of last season’s faked story storyline.
The show, and possibly Aaron Sorkin’s television career, wrapped up in December after a final season dealing with a fake Edward Snowden and the real Edward Snowden.
Homeland – The fourth season gives the show a fresh start, with Brody finally dead. Time will tell if they are able to pull out of the talespin that overextending the Brody story put them in to.
When dealing with CIA spy stuff in Islamabad, the show was as good as its ever been. When dealing with Carrie’s personal life, opinions diverged.
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During a commercial that aired during the Super Bowl in February, CBS announced that the currently airing 7th season would be the last for The Good Wife. Premiering in 2009, the show starred Julianna Margulies as the wife of a disgraced politician who restarts her own law career to provide for the family. Considered by many critics to be the last great network drama, the show had its own behind-the-scenes drama, with Margulies and Archie Panjabi going the final 2 1/2 seasons of Panjabi’s tenure on the show without appearing in a scene together.