Widescreen: Eight great dates in 2016 for TV fans

Gone are the days of waiting until September for the best new content on your favorite channels - the winter months of 2016 promise plenty of savory treats for my fellow couch potatoes.

Here are eight important dates for TV watchers:

Friday, Jan. 1

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are back as Holmes and Watson in "Sherlock: The Abominable Bride," presented on WTTW Channel 11 as part of "Masterpiece Theatre." The latest mystery from Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat moves the action back to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's era, the 1890s, but keeps Cumberbatch and Freeman in the roles they've played in present-day mini-movies since 2010.

Tuesday, Jan. 12

"MADtv" launched its share of comedians over 14 seasons, and 19 of them will return for the "MADtv 20th Anniversary Reunion" on The CW, aka WGN for us here in the Chicago area.

Highland Park native Alex Borstein ("Family Guy") and Chicago native Ike Barinholtz ("The Mindy Project") will appear, as will Keegan-Michael Key ("Key & Peele"), Artie Lange ("The Howard Stern Show") and Stephnie Weir ("The Comedians"), among others.

Sunday, Jan. 24

The much-hyped six-episode revival of "The X-Files" begins its two-night premiere after the NFC championship game, and Mulder (David Duchovny), Scully (Gillian Anderson), Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) and The Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis) are all back on the field. The first and last episodes are expected to tie into the original show's alien conspiracy plot. New to the cast: Joel McHale ("Community"), Lauren Ambrose ("Six Feet Under") and Robbie Amell ("The Flash").

Monday, Feb. 2

"American Horror Story" creator Ryan Murphy brings us "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story," an FX miniseries with a powerhouse cast. Cuba Gooding Jr. plays Simpson. John Travolta, Courtney B. Vance and David Schwimmer play defense attorneys Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran and Robert Kardashian. Most excitingly, "AHS" regular Sarah Paulson dons the curly wig to play prosecutor Marcia Clark.

Sunday, Feb. 14

For most, the main TV attraction on Valentine's Day will be the heart-eating zombies of "The Walking Dead," returning to AMC for the back half of a sixth season that will introduce the villain Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).

The rest of us are excited to see HBO's latest offering from "Boardwalk Empire" creator Terence Winter: "Vinyl," boasting a pilot directed by Martin Scorsese, stars Bobby Cannavale as a '70s record-label executive in what looks to be a dark, splashy celebration of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Joining Cannavale are Olivia Wilde and Ray Romano.

Monday, Feb. 15

Stephen King, J.J. Abrams and James Franco join forces with streaming service Hulu for "11.22.63," a time-travel story in which Franco's teacher attempts to stop the Kennedy assassination. Chris Cooper ("Adaptation") and Cherry Jones ("24") co-star in this Abrams-produced adaptation of King's novel.

Also that night, AMC launches Season 2 of "Better Call Saul," starring former Naperville resident Bob Odenkirk as the shifty lawyer we first met in "Breaking Bad."

If it's music you prefer, the Grammy Awards return to CBS.

Friday, Feb. 26

Netflix's revival series "Fuller House" stars Candace Cameron Bure (D.J.), Jodie Sweetin (Steph) and Andrea Barber (Kimmy) as grown-up versions of the characters they played on ABC's "Full House" in the T.G.I.F. days. And fans of the family-friendly sitcom can expect to see John Stamos, Bob Saget and Dave Coulier, too - but not Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

That same day, Netflix also unleashes "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny," a sequel to Ang Lee's critically acclaimed 2000 martial arts epic that brings back Michelle Yeoh in the role of warrior Yu Shu Lien. The director is Yuen Woo-ping, who devised the high-flying stunts for the original film and "The Matrix."

And in the Spring ...

... HBO will presumably answer our questions regarding the fate of Jon Snow when "Game of Thrones" returns for its sixth season on an undetermined day in April.

• Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald multiplatform editor. You can follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.