TV Heartbeat! Game Of Thrones Season 4 Sneak Peak! Goodbye Jay Leno! The Walking Dead! Bates Motel! RIP Dads! And More!
Let the games begin! After all the chatter, the Winter Olympics are here! And strangely, the games begin BEFORE the Opening Ceremonies. NBC will begin coverage on Thursday with team ice skating on Thursday night, but the opening ceremonies will be on Friday.
NBC will be using its family of networks so the Olympics will take over NBC, NBC Sports, CNBC, MSNBC and USA at all hours. With time difference, remember to avoid all social media and news if you want to watch prime time sports and be surprised. Check out the following website for a detailed schedule and a search function to find out where to find your favorite sport: http://www.nbcolympics.com/tv-listings You know you want to watch Curling live at 3 am!
It’s the passing of the torch! Jay Leno will host his final Tonight show (again) on Thursday with Billy Crystal and Garth Brooks. Definitely a milestone for late night TV!
Jimmy Fallon will start up as the host of the Tonight show in a little over a week.
Speaking of farewells, Dads will air what’s likely its series finale this week. This is another show that’s getting one of those unofficial send offs without formally being announced as cancelled.
AMC is the only network offering some new premieres this week with the return of their Sunday programs including The Walking Dead. When we last left the group, it wasn’t a group anymore – everyone was fleeing the prison in different directions so let’s see how the show picks up with a re-start to the season.
Also on Sunday, our first look at season four for Game of Thrones! While HBO has released a few teases, there will be a (little) special which re-caps the stellar third season and sneaks a peak at what’s ahead. Be warned, it’s only 15 minutes long (right before a new episode of True Detective) so I don’t think they’ll be sharing the secrets of the universe, but it’ll have to tide us over until April 6th. Check out some looks at season four:
Thursday: Winter Olympics (NBC), Leno’s last Tonight Show (NBC)
Friday: Winter Olympics opening ceremonies (NBC)
Sunday: The Walking Dead (AMC), Talking Dead (AMC), Comic Book Men (AMC), Game Of Thrones Ice And Fire: A Foreshadowing (HBO)
Tuesday: Dads finale (Fox)
Not a big fan of winter sports? Perhaps you can use the next couple of weeks to catch up on some other shows which will be starting up again soon!
Bates Motel’s first season is now available on Netflix and definitely worth watching. Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore are worth their weight in gold as Norma and Norman Bates. While we ultimately know Norman’s fate (courtesy of Psycho), this engrossing series manages to sympathetically feature Norma as a single mom with a past and her struggles to find some stability for her and her son. The second season starts up in March on A&E.
House of Cards starts up next week on Netflix so study up on your American history by watching season 1 and the ambitious rise of a snarling Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood. Directed by David Fincher, it has that low, menacing feel that makes for fascinating watching. Season 2 starts next week.
For something a little less dark and twisted, you can always go for something a bit more suspenseful and catch up on Orphan Black’s outstanding first season. There’s about 2 months before season 2 starts, but you’ll need only 1 or 2 days to binge this show.
And for something lighter, re-watch the movie About a Boy which is about to be made into a TV show on NBC. The show won’t have Hugh Grant, Toni Collette or a very young Nicholas Hoult or Natalia Tena. Instead the cast will feature David Walton, Minnie Driver and Benjamin Stockham. No word on whether they’ll be singing Killing Me Softly, but it does look they’ll be singing…I hope with their eyes closed!
Health check! Chicago P.D. got a vote of confidence from NBC who ordered an additional 2 episodes for this season so look for an official renewal soon!
A few more shows got some official good news this week! House of Cards has already been renewed for season 3, even before the second season makes its bow. Bones will head into a 10th season and Banshee will get a third.
Hopefully we’ll continue to get some good news for your favorite shows. Stay tuned!
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I will cry softly if Almost Human gets cancelled (which it probably will be).
Not diggin’ groomed Jaime from GOT – I like the scruffy, long haired version.