Sunday, February 23rd
The Amazing Race, season premiere at 8pm on CBS
– The Cowboys, Brenchel, Team Kentucky, the Harlem Globetrotters, and the controversial Twinnies are among the 11 teams returning for the third all-stars edition of the hit reality series (and a personal favorite) for a shot at redemption and one million dollars in a highly entertaining (for us) race around the world. The teams will travel through four continents and nine countries, spanning more than 35,000 miles, with challenges including a taking on mission high above the city in Guangzhou, China, rappelling down the roaring rapids of the Kiansom Waterfall in Malaysia, fighting with Gladiators in Rome, Italy and fueling up vehicles in Sri Lanka. Teams who are the farthest behind will gradually be eliminated as the contest progresses, with the first team to arrive at the final destination winning $1 million.
Food Court Wars, season premiere at 8pm on Food
– Food Court Wars pits two teams of aspiring food entrepreneurs against one another as they battle to win their own food court restaurant, rent-free for a year. Each week it’s a different U.S. city mall. The mall wants to open a brand-new “local” eatery in the food court that offers a fresh region-specific menu. Stakes are high as teams must test their concept, market their brand and run their outlet for a full day feeding hungry shoppers. The team whose restaurant makes the most profit wins their eatery space — a prize worth $100,000! The losing team must vacate the premises.
Growing Up Fisher, series premiere at 10:30pm on NBC
– It’s not every family that’s brought closer together by divorce, but then again, the Fishers are anything but typical. Take Mel Fisher (J.K. Simmons, The Closer, Law & Order), for example. He’s chopping down trees, showing his daughter how to drive, and playing football with his son… except that Mel’s blind. Then there’s Joyce (Jenna Elfman, Dharma & Greg), who is your typical teenager – really into fashion, busy with school – but the problem is she’s Mom. That makes it difficult for her actual teenage daughter, Katie (Ava Deluca-Verley, Southland), whose advice (and clothes) Joyce is always seeking. At the center of all this is Henry (Eli Baker), the Fishers’ 11-year-old son. Having always been his dad’s eyes and wingman, Henry is less than thrilled when his job is outsourced to Mel’s new guide dog, Elvis. While the boy is at first reluctant to accept the changes that Elvis brings, adult Henry (voiceover by Jason Bateman, Arrested Development) realizes upon reflection that his parents’ split finally allowed the Fishers to become one happy (divorced) family.
Monday, February 24th
The Voice, season premiere at 8pm on NBC
– The Voice returns with the strongest vocalists from across the country invited to compete in the blockbuster vocal competition show’s sixth season. Celebrity musicians and coaches Adam Levine, Shakira, Usher and Blake Shelton return, while Carson Daly continues to serve as host. The show’s innovative format features four stages of competition: the blind auditions, the battle rounds, the knockouts and finally, the live performance shows. In the end, America’s votes will decide who will be named The Voice and receive the grand prize of a recording contract.
Dallas, season premiere at 9pm on TNT
– The revival of the hit 80s soap centers on the Ewing clan, an enormously wealthy Texas family whose sibling rivalries, romantic betrayals, corruption and even murder are truly legendary. The exciting drama brought back three iconic stars from the original Dallas: Patrick Duffy as Bobby Ewing, Linda Gray as Sue Ellen Ewing and Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing, the latter of which tragically passed during the show’s last season. They are joined by the next generation of Ewings, who take ambition and deception to a new level. Josh Henderson is John Ross, the son of J.R. and Sue Ellen Ewing, while Jesse Metcalfe is Christopher, Bobby’s adopted son. The two cousins are sworn enemies after betrayal and backstabbing not only concerning the family’s oil business, but also their love lives. The love triangle between John Ross, Christopher, and Elena Ramos (Jordana Brewster), Christopher’s former AND current fiancé/John Ross’ former girlfriend, became a square last season when a pregnant Rebecca, Christopher’s ex-wife, took up with her new ally John Ross.
Private Lives of Nashville Wives, series premiere at 10pm on TNT
– Set in and around the capital of the high-stakes country music business, TNT’s new reality series Private Lives of Nashville Wives will follow a group of accomplished, opinionated and driven women as they deal with professional challenges, family issues and social relationships. The cast includes actress/mom Erika Page White (wife of ’90s hitmaker Bryan White), model Cassie Chapman (wife of contemporary Christian star Gary Chapman), singer/songwriter Sarah Davidson (wife of songwriter Dallas Davidson), businesswoman Jenny Terrell (wife of event planner J.T. Terrell), Cuban-American fashion designer Betty Malo (married to The Mavericks’ leader Raul Malo) and her twin sister, Ana Fernandez.
Tuesday, February 25th
Amish Mafia, season premiere at 9pm on Discovery
– Untrusting of outside law enforcement, some Amish in Lancaster County, PA have for many years regularly turned to a small organized group of men for protection and justice. Discovery’s new series Amish Mafia provides a first-ever look at the men who protect and maintain peace and order within the Amish community in Lancaster. The 2006 School shootings in Lancaster County during which five young Amish girls were killed and five more seriously injured by a non-Amish milk truck driver brought to the nation’s attention the vulnerabilities of the Amish community, and their need for continued protection. Lebanon Levi is the Amish insider who holds the power and serves as protector of the community for a price. He exists above the law and occupies the role of police, judge and jury. Levi’s team engages in a life outside of Amish and non-Amish community codes as he quietly exerts his influence and control. Levi’s brand of order is precise as he seeks to keep outside forces from infiltrating the Amish community, while keeping the principles and morality within the community in check. Levi’s team is lean and fearless. This is a side of Amish society that exists under the radar, and the Amish church denies the group’s existence. Amish Mafia provides eyewitness accounts of the incidents, misdeeds and wrongdoings within the Amish community, as well as a rare look at Levi and his team members who work together to maintain harmony. To protect participants and their family members, some identifying information and property has been changed. Some scenes have been reenacted.
Mind Games, series premiere at 10pm on ABC
– With a little bit of science, a dash of con-artistry, plus a smattering of Jedi mind tricks, brothers Ross (Christian Slater) and Clark Edwards (Steve Zahn) can tailor a plan to influence any life-altering situation, thereby making their clients’ dreams come true and their nightmares go away. They are partners in Edwards and Associates, an unusual business based on the belief that people’s decisions are influenced by their environment in ways they’re not aware. Ross, a brilliant schemer recently out of prison after a two-year stint for fraud, has come up with a business model that he believes can make him and his team millions of dollars. Although his energy is infectious, his tactics can be questionable and his strategies border on the illegal. Now, if he can just keep his manic brother from going off the rails… A former university professor and world-renowned expert in the fields of human behavior, psychology and motivation, the frantic Clark has a checkered history, which stems from his bipolar disorder. Clark’s academic career imploded when the university became aware he was having an affair with a 22-year-old undergraduate. He’s still unable to reconcile losing the girl, and tries to focus his manic energy on Ross’ new fortune-making plan. By using the hard science of psychological manipulation, the brothers commit to solving their clients’ problems. With Clark’s expertise and Ross’s con artist ways, each believing to know what makes people tick, and with their unique staff to help them, the brothers will use psychology and science to offer clients an alternative to their fates.
Wednesday, February 26th
Survivor: Cagayan, 2-hour season premiere at 8pm on CBS
– The spring edition of Survivor, filmed in Cagayan, a province in the Philippines, will be themed “Brawn vs. Brains vs. Beauty.” The groupings of these tribes, each comprised of six castaways, reflect the distinguishing qualities that people bring to the game and test whether there is any truth to the pre-conceived notion that that certain characteristics will help you win the game of Survivor. All castaways will compete to outwit, outplay, outlast and ultimately be crowned Sole Survivor. The season’s cast includes a high-stakes poker player, an attorney, an ex-NFL cheerleader, a nuclear engineer, the President of the Miami Marlins and a former NBA All-Star. Will the Brains use their expertise solving puzzles to outsmart the others? Will Brawn dominate all the challenges given their physical attributes? Or will Beauty use their looks to master the social game?
The Americans, season premiere at 10pm on FX
– Returning for its second season, The Americans is a period drama about the complex marriage of two KGB spies posing as Americans in suburban Washington D.C. shortly after Ronald Reagan is elected President. The arranged marriage of Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell) has yielded two American children, 14-year-old Paige and 11-year-old Henry, who know nothing about their parents’ true identity. As their marriage grows more passionate and genuine by the day, it is constantly tested by the escalation of the Cold War and the intimate, dangerous and darkly funny relationships they must maintain with a network of spies and informants under their control. Their neighbor, FBI Agent Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich) has already come dangerously close to discovering their secret, but was thwarted by Nina (Annet Mahendru), his KGB mole and paramour. Torn between his wife Sandra (Susan Misner) and his deepening feelings for Nina, Stan is completely unaware that the beautiful Russian is actually a double agent, reporting on him to the KGB. Philip has been more successful handling his mole within the FBI, Martha (Alison Wright), assistant to Stan’s boss, Special Agent Gaad (Richard Thomas). Romancing Martha under the guise of one of his cover identities, an FBI bureaucrat named Clark, Philip has secured her unquestioning loyalty…by marrying her. Meanwhile, in the Jennings’ house, Paige has become increasingly suspicious that her parents are hiding something.
Thursday, February 27th
The Red Road, series premiere at 9pm on SundanceTV
– The SundanceTV original series stars Jason Momoa (Drogo, Game of Thrones) in a role he describes as the “most challenging thing I’ve ever done”. Lines will be crossed when tragedy forces two men, a mesmerizing ex-con and an embattled local cop, to face the secrets of their past. Harold Jensen (Martin Henderson) is a Walpole, NJ, police officer currently investigating the disappearance of a young college student in the New Jersey Mountains, home of a Lenape Mountain Native American tribe. Brimming with menace, charisma, and hypnotic self-confidence, Phillip Kopus is a member of the Lenape Tribe and an ex-con whose suspicious return to Walpole threatens to up-end the fragile peace. As these two men find themselves increasingly compromised by one another, the lives of both quickly unravel.
Vikings, season premiere at 10pm on History
– The History original series Vikings transports us to the brutal and mysterious world of Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), a Viking warrior and farmer who yearns to explore—and raid—the distant shores across the ocean. His ambition puts him at odds with local chieftain Earl Haraldson (Gabriel Byrne), who insists on sending his raiders to the impoverished east rather than the uncharted west. When Ragnar teams up with his boat builder friend Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard) to craft a new generation of intrepid ships capable of conquering the rough northern seas, the stage is set for conflict. But for all its warfare and bloodshed, Vikings is also a story of family and brotherhood, capturing the love and affection between Ragnar and his wife, Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick), a respected warrior in her own right. It is the tale of Ragnar’s brother Rollo (Clive Standen), a fierce fighter who simmers with jealously; of Earl Haraldson’s wife Siggy (Jessalyn Gilsig), a dutiful beauty who may be less than loyal; and of the monk Athelstan (George Blagden), whose Christian morals clash with the Vikings’ pagan society. As ambition and innovation rattle a civilization, these characters will be put to the test—and their way of life will never be the same again.
Friday, February 28th
Inside Job, series premiere at 9pm on TNT
– Each week on Inside Job, one of America’s hottest companies will invite four highly qualified job candidates to compete for a six-figure executive position. For one week, they’ll live together, work together and play together as part of the interview and hiring process. What the candidates don’t know, however, is that one of their fellow candidates is already a management executive of the company. This undercover insider will monitor every move the job candidates make – good or bad – and report the findings back to the boss. At the end of the week, the insider will be revealed, and it is the insider who will decide who is the most deserving candidate to be offered the job of a lifetime.
Betty White’s Off Their Rockers, season premiere at 10pm on Lifetime
– After being canceled by NBC in July, Lifetime has given new life to Betty White’s Off Their Rockers. White will return as host for the third season, comprising of 20 half-hour episodes of the hidden camera series.
Hannibal, season premiere at 10pm on NBC
– The dark and haunting TV adaptation of Red Dragon, which follows cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter before his capture, returns for a second season with more shocking revelations and psychological cat and mouse games. Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) is locked in a mental asylum accused of Hannibal Lecter’s crimes (Mads Mikkelsen). Now that Will sees Hannibal for what he truly is, he faces a fight to prove his own sanity and convince those closest to him he is innocent of murder. Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) is dealing with his own feelings about Will and whether his protégé is in fact a cold-blooded killer. Looking for answers, Jack turns to Hannibal, a man he has come to trust. With Will locked up, Hannibal becomes Jack’s new consultant on cases. Hannibal is torn between self-preservation and his desire to keep Will close to him, despite advice from his psychiatrist, Bedelia Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson), to stay away. The deadly dance between these characters continues to turn in startling and unexpected ways, in a season that will show that nothing can ever be the same again.
Saturday, March 1st
Transformers Rescue Bots, season premiere at 1:30pm on The Hub
– With Michael Bay’s Transformers: Age of Extinction almost four months away get your ‘robots in disguise’ fix on this kids show.
Film Independent Spirit Awards, live awards show from 10pm to midnight on IFC
– Have a hankering to see a movie awards ceremony that’s much more loose-limbed than the Oscars but much less likely to gift multiple awards to Grown Ups 2 than the Razzies? Then check out the 28th annual celebration of indie filmmaking.
Deion’s Family Playbook, series premiere at 10pm on OWN
– This docu-series follows the fun-filled and compelling real-life story of Deion Sanders, the only pro athlete to ever play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series. Few people know that Deion, best known as “Prime Time,” is a single father raising five kids of his own, while also helping to raise four other children who live with him, including the twins whom his mother cares for, his niece and nephew and a student in need whom he recently took into his home. Additionally, Deion is co-founder and football coach of Prime Prep Academy, a charter school that aims to make a lasting impact on the lives of children in underserved areas. With so much on his plate both at school and at home, Deion strives to keep all facets of his complicated, crazy and chaotic life in balance and under control. Help is on the way every other week when his girlfriend, Tracey Edmonds, a Hollywood producer who has two sons of her own, comes to visit.
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