What are you going to watch next year? Here are some sure bets:
JAN. 5
Downton Abbey, PBS
It’s dark days at the Abbey as the widow Crawley aka Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) goes frosty on her infant son, George, in the wake of Matthew’s death-by-auto. How to get through? A good talking to from Mary’s grandmama (Maggie Smith) sets on her road to recovery and just in time: Her papa, Lord Robert (Hugh Bonneville) is monkeying with her son’s inheritance—the estate.
JAN. 8
Killer Women, ABC
Tricia Helfer (“Battlestar Galactica”) stars as the lone female Texas ranger among a bunch of unappreciative men. What else is new?
JAN. 9
Spoils of Babylon, IFC
Hollywood stars such as Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan and forgotten Oscar winner Tim Robbins gather forces in this send-up of melodramatic miniseries such as “The Thorn Birds.” Will it really work without Barbara Stanwyck and Richard Chamberlain?
JAN. 8
American Horror Story, FX
Just like the white-winged dove, Stevie Nicks, whose songs have been used throughout the season on this creepy, campy horror series, makes a cameo appearance. Break out the patchouli oil and watch.
JAN. 10
Enlisted, FOX
Two brothers stationed on a Florida army post are assigned mundane tasks under the supervision of their brothers, a commanding officer being punished after making a boo-boo overseas. Geoff Stults stars. This show’s fall premiere was delayed. Not the most overwhelming endorsement.
Helix, SYFY
A dreadful virus invades a high-tech research facility. Dr. Alan Farragut (Billy Campbell) comes to the rescue – or not.
JAN. 12
True Detective, HBO
A 2012 murder in Louisiana reverberates back to the 1995 cult-style murder of a teenage prostitute. The detectives assigned to the earlier case are interviewed by the men looking for the current killer. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson star.
Girls, HBO
Lena Dunham and her band of achingly hip youngsters return for another braless season of romantic desperation, soul searching and unintentional comedy.
The Golden Globes, NBC
How far will Harvey Weinstein go to make sure his movies (“Philomena,” “August: Osage County” and “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”) go home with the gold tonight?
JAN. 13
Intelligence, CBS
Josh Holloway (“Lost”) stars as a man who has a microchip in his brain that allows him to hook into the global information grid and fight enemies of America. This dude definitely does not need a smart phone. CBS mainstay Marg Helgenberger plays his humorless boss.
JAN. 15 & 16
American Idol, FOX
Harry Connick Jr. joins the judges’ panel as this creaky talent show tries to recapture lost glory. J. Lo is back, too. The question is: Does anyone care?
JAN. 18
Flowers in the Attic, LIFETIME
Ellen Burstyn is Nurse Ratched to the umpteenth power as the mean grandma in this latest adaptation of the V.C. Andrews novel about a twisted family with an incestuous streak. Co-starring Heather Graham and Kiernan Shipka, Sally Draper of “Mad Men.”
JAN. 19
Sherlock, PBS
Cumberbitches, rejoice! Benedict Cumberbatch returns in the latest installment of the PBS mystery miniseries.
Looking, HBO
It’s “Girls” for gay men. Three mopers (Jonathan Groff, Frankie J. Alvarez and Murray Bartlett) bed-hop their way through San Francisco, “looking” for true love.
JAN. 23
Rake, FOX
Greg Kinnear plays a self-destructive attorney whose dedication to the underdog redeems him in the face of a massive gambling addiction, IRS debt and strange cavortings with a loyal prostitute.
JAN. 25
Lizzie Borden Took An Axe, LIFETIME
If Christina Ricci can star in a movie like “Snakes on a Plane,” why not play the legendary axe murderess? The movie co-stars Billy Campbell and Clea Duvall.
Black Sails, STARZ
Pirates are in – finally. Hoodlums, hookers and smugglers are the denizens of New Providence Island, the setting for this high-seas “Treasure Island” prequel starring Toby Stephens, son of Dame Maggie Smith. Couldn’t she get him a part on “Downton Abbey”?
JAN. 26
The Grammy Awards, CBS
This live talent show did so well in the ratings last year that it’s bound to be better than ever. Will Sara Bareilles really win Album of the Year? She’s the dark horse.
FEB. 2
The Super Bowl, CBS
FEB. 6-23
The Winter Olympics, NBC
Let the games begin from Sochi, Russia.
FEB. 14
House of Cards, NETFLIX
What are you getting your valentine? A Netflix subscription might be in order as Season 2 of this deliciously diabolical series starring Kevin Spacey as vice presidential candidate Francis Underwood and Robin Wright as his insane wife.
FEB. 17
The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, NBC
The great experiment begins. Jay Leno was shoved aside, at the height of his popularity, for Fallon, a demographically desirable, boyish host as the iconic late-night talk show returns to New York for the first time in decades.
FEB. 24
Late Night with Seth Meyers, NBC
The “Saturday Night Live” Weekend Update correspondent and sketch comedy artist gets his very own talk show, on right after Fallon.
FEB. 27
Scandal, ABC
Who will get their teeth pulled out with a pair of pliers next? The cray-cray Shonda Rhimes blockbuster returns for a shortened second-half of the season due to star Kerry Washington’s pregnancy.
MARCH 2
The Oscars, ABC
We’re calling it: 12 Years a Slave, Cate Blanchett, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jared Leto and Lupita Nyong’o.