[Televisionary]

Girls is back on Sunday and the onslaught of returning shows is just beginning. Set your DVRs now! At BuzzFeed, you can read my latest feature, "13 Returning TV Shows To Get Excited About," in which I run down 13 returning television series worth watching this winter. (And, yes, I know that Game of Thrones isn't on there: We still don't have an airdate.) 1. Justified (FX) Season 5 of Justified finds Timothy Olyphant’s Raylan Givens tangling with some Florida lowlifes, relatives of Dewey Crowe (Damon Herriman), one of Harlan County’s sleaziest denizens. Plus, Boyd (Walton Goggins) tries to find a way to get Ava (Joelle Carter) out of prison… and he exacts a bloody revenge against those who put her there in the first place. Along the way, wisecracks are exchanged, along with gunfire. Season 5 premieres on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 10 p.m. 2. Girls (HBO) The stellar third season of HBO’s Girls finds the quartet struggling with new challenges and the first two ...

Stay cozy this New Year: I find the 18 new and returning television shows that will keep you warm this winter, from Girls and Justified to The Staircase, The Americans , and House of Cards . Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "18 Shows to Watch This Winter," in which I round up 18 new and returning noteworthy shows that you should be watching between January and March. Some you're looking forward to, some you may not have heard of, and there are a few that you've already drawn a big red circle on the calendar on the day that they return... Yes, Downton Abbey is back: the beloved British period drama returns to PBS’s Masterpiece for a third season beginning on Jan. 6, but it’s not the only new or noteworthy show heading to television this winter. Indeed, some of the most intriguing, dynamic, or plain interesting shows are launching in midseason this year, from Fox’s serial killer drama The Following and Sundance Channel’s Jane Campion-c...

With the return of Justified, Downton Abbey , and Shameless , and the launch of Touch, Luck , and others, I take a look at what’s coming to your TV this winter over at The Daily Beast, in my latest feature, "What to Watch on TV This Winter." (To get right to my thoughts on the 18 shows included and bypass the intro, you can click here .) January brings some fresh opportunities for the broadcast and cable networks to try and lure you back with new and returning programming. Among the highlights: costume drama fiends will be lined up for the Jan. 8 return of British drama Downton Abbey; FX’s Justified returns for a third season of Kentucky shootouts on Jan. 17; HBO’s cult comedy Eastbound and Down returns on Feb. 19; auteurs David Milch and Michael Mann unite for HBO’s Luck, launching Jan. 29; and Kiefer Sutherland returns to television with Fox’s Touch, which will get a preview broadcast on Jan. 25. (It officially premieres on March 19.) Absolutely Fabulous, the outrageou...

FX's subversive animated comedy Archer returns tonight and not a moment too soon, for television needs the gonzo spirit and out-there humor of this Adam Reed creation. The first seven episodes of Season Two of Archer , provided to press for review, might be the strongest to date, offering up a virtual cornucopia of sight gags, double entendre, shockingly foul language, superspy hijinks, and one of the worst examples of humanity in HR executive Pam Poovey. To say that these memorable characters are flawed is an understatement of the highest order; they're so morally corrupt, so self-absorbed and tragically insane, that it makes for obsessive and unpredictable viewing. And that's perhaps the beauty and magic of Archer : in creating a cast of characters who are so reprehensible in every way, it's impossible to turn your eyes away from the carnage--both physical and personal--that follows in their wake. Along the way, Sterling Malory Archer and his covert cohorts at ISIS a...

Winter is coming... Well, not that winter, not just yet. While we continue the long slog until April when HBO launches its adaptation of Game of Thrones , there's quite a lot of new and returning television series to keep us entertained in the meantime. Over at The Daily Beast, I offer "16 Shows to Watch This Winter," a round-up that includes such series as Episodes, Shameless, Big Love, Downton Abbey, Parks and Recreation, Portlandia, Off the Map, The Chicago Code, Lights Out, Archer, Justified, The Killing, Body of Proof , and others. In other words: quite a fair bit coming up. Which of these new and returning shows are you most excited about? Head to the comments section to discuss.

I'm going to really miss FX's gleefully absurd animated comedy Archer . The Adam Reed-created action/workplace comedy wraps up its first season tonight after last week's hilariously perverse and just plain weird episode that finds ISIS' best two agents--that would be Sterling Archer and Lana Kane, natch--poached by a rival intelligence agency, ODIN. (The same agency that happens to be headed up by a man voiced by Jeffrey Tambor, which makes this episode all the more delicious because it's another Arrested Development reunion between Tambor and the former Lucille Bluth, Jessica Walter.) Anything with Walter's Mallory is a plus and tonight's season finale features a mystery-style set-up involving a sleeping Mallory, a blood-covered Sterling, and a sharp cleaver, all before flashing back 18 hours earlier to reveal just how we got to this point. I'll admit that I wasn't knocked head over heels by the pilot for Archer when I saw it last year, but the ser...

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. "Danger zone!" FX has ordered a second season of its animated action-comedy Archer , from creators Adam Reed and Matthew Thompson. The cabler has commissioned 13 episodes for the series' second season, which is set to launch next year. The order is up from the seven installments that comprised Season One of Archer . [Editor: while Archer started off rocky and is somewhat hit-or-miss, I'm actually quite enjoying its off-kilter madcap action now that the season is set to wrap in a few weeks' time.] ( Variety ) The Los Angeles Times ' Maria Elena Fernandez talks to Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse about their partnership on the show. And thanks to a video interview, you can get the words from Team Darlton themselves as they recount the events back in 2004 that lead to the duo forming one of Hollywood's strongest creative partnerships. ( Los Angeles Times ' Show Tracker ) SPOILER! Mean...

Just a few quick thoughts about FX's new comedy series. While the comparison between FX's new animated comedy Archer and James Bond is an obvious one, the comparing this series, from creator Adam Reed ( Sealab 2021 ), to Better Off Ted would be more apt. While Archer follows the high-flying exploits of a suave James Bond-esque secret agent man, at its heart the series is a deliciously loopy and perversely raunchy workplace comedy. Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) is Codename: Duchess (and, yes, his less-than-virile codename is the source of constant amusement), an insufferable superspy working for a top-secret organization called ISIS that just happens to be run by his tartly vindictive mother Malory ( Arrested Development 's Jessica Walter). Between globe-spanning missions and snuffing out world domination plans, the plot focuses on office politics, double-agents, health care plans, and the absurd love triangle that has developed between Archer, his deadly black ops ex...

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. The Hollywood Reporter 's James Hibberd has an interview with Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse in which they speak about the looming ending of the iconic ABC series, which launches its sixth and final season next month. While Cuse and Lindelof's involvement with the franchise will end at that time, both were quick to point out that they don't own Lost and that the studio could revive the series in some fashion down the road. "The Walt Disney Co. owns Lost ," said Cuse. "It's a franchise that's conservatively worth billions of dollars. It's hard to imagine Lost will rest on the shelves and nothing will ever be made with Lost . Eventually somebody will make something under the moniker of Lost -- whether we do it or not. We just made a commitment to this group of characters whose stories are coming to a conclusion this May." ( Hollywood Reporter 's The Live Feed ) Are ...

FX has today announced its midseason schedule, including return dates for Damages and Nip/Tuck and series launches for Timothy Olyphant-led drama Justified (formerly known as Lawman ) and comedies Archer and Louie . Season Three of Damages will kick off on Monday, January 25th at 10 pm ET/PT. (The series previously aired on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings during its first two seasons.) Series regulars Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, Tate Donovan, and Ted Danson are all set to return for the third season, which will also feature new regulars Campbell Scott (Joe Tobin) and Martin Short (Leonard Winstone) and guest stars Lily Tomlin (Marilyn Tobin), Keith Carradine (Julian Decker), and Len Cariou (Louis Tobin). Elsewhere at the cabler, Nip/Tuck will launch its final season on Wednesday, January 6th at 10 pm ET/PT and animated comedy Archer begins on Thursday, January 14th. Looking further afield, Justified will premiere in March and comedy Louie will debut later in the spring. The full p...