Widescreen: New TV season brings five must-see January premieres
The new year is here, and so is a new television season. Here are five January premieres to add to your watchlist:
Tuesday, Jan. 7
"Jeopardy!: The Greatest of All Time" (7 p.m., ABC)
Alex Trebek hosts a multiple-night tournament that could go to seven games. "Jeopardy!" phenom and Naperville native James Holzhauer will take on Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter - the three men have won more money than anyone else in the quiz show's storied history. The first player to win three matches wins a million bucks. There are three guaranteed shows from Jan. 7-9; a fourth could air Jan. 10, and the possible fifth through seventh games would run Jan. 14-16.
Sunday, Jan. 12
"The Outsider" (8 p.m., HBO)
Jason Bateman co-stars and directs the first two episodes of this 10-hour miniseries based on a Stephen King novel and adapted for TV by "The Night Of" scribe Richard Price. Crime novelist Dennis Lehane ("Mystic River") also has a writing credit on this mystery that begins with a young boy's murder. This is a Stephen King story, mind you, so expect some supernatural shenanigans.
Sunday, Jan. 19
"9-1-1: Lone Star" (Fox)
Rob Lowe gets an executive producer credit and stars alongside Liv Tyler in this Austin, Texas-based spinoff from Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear. "9-1-1" has delivered a solid third season on Mondays, feeling like the kind of show you've been watching in reruns for years; hopefully a spinoff won't dilute the drama.
Thursday, Jan. 23
"Star Trek: Picard" (streaming on CBS All-Access)
Patrick Stewart is back as Jean-Luc Picard. Need we say more? OK then, how about appearances by fellow Enterprise crew members Data (Brent Spiner), Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Troi (Marina Sirtis)? More? The cybernetic menace known as the Borg is back, too, in the guise of "Star Trek: Voyager" crew member Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and free-spirited Hugh (Jonathan Del Arco, of the "Next Generation" episode "I, Borg").
Friday, Jan. 24
"Shrill" (streaming on Hulu)
The first season of this comedy based on Lindy West's memoir was fun, poignant and, with just six episodes, over in a flash. Season 2 gets two more episodes and brings "SNL" stalwart Aidy Bryant back as Annie, a writer who confronts her body image issues, her slacker boyfriend (Luka Jones) and her internet trolls.
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