What to Watch This Weekend: The Premieres of Banshee, Glee, Comedy Bang! Bang!, Shameless, and Looking, and the 2015 Golden Globes
What to watch on Friday, January 9...
SEASON 6 PREMIERE, 8pm & 9pm, Fox
Glee
After striking out in the TV biz, Rachel returns to Lima to lick her wounds in "Loser Like Me." But she discovers a new mission in life after learning that Sue has eliminated all arts from McKinley high. Then "Homecoming" sees Puck, Quinn, Santana, Mercedes, Brittany, Artie, and Tina returning as well, just in case you were wondering if we should take that episode title literally.
8pm, ABC
Last Man Standing
"Helen Potts" reunites Tim Allen with his longtime sitcom wife Patricia Richardson, but their relationship this time around is far less cordial. Richardson plays the titular new neighbor, who irritates Mike to no end with her love of—wait for it—power tools and home improvement projects.
8:30pm, ABC
Cristela
ABC's flashback to its early-'90s glory days continues with Roseanne Barr as "Veronica," Trent's wife, who makes Cristela a tempting job offer at her own law firm. Meanwhile, Henry and Isabella disagree about candy-sale philosophies for a school fundraiser.
8:30pm, Disney
Girl Meets World
In "Girl Meets Game Night," Riley invites her friends to join the family's monthly tradition—much to Cory's consternation.
9pm, PBS
Great Performances
A performance documentary chronicles the November 2013 American Voices festival, hosted by Renée Fleming at the Kennedy Center. Among the chanteurs and chanteuses spotlighted are Alison Krauss, Ben Folds, Sara Bareilles, Sutton Foster, and many more.
9pm, CBS
Hawaii Five-0
Kono and Chin go undercover in the world of black-market art in "Ua'aihue (Stolen)," probing the murder of a tourist who unwittingly possessed a stolen Van Gogh. Elsewhere, McGarrett asks Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto to train Kamekona for a shrimp cook-off against Sam Choy.
SEASON 3 PREMIERE, 10pm, Cinemax
Banshee
Lucas tries to rope Job into a heist in "The Fire Trials," while Carrie manages the fallout from her revelation. Elsewhere, Chayton Littlestone foments vengeful passions among the Kinaho.
SEASON 4 PREMIERE, 11pm, IFC
Comedy Bang! Bang!
Ty Burrell is the guest in the season opener, which also sees craft-services worker Fabrice Fabrice laying down some spoken-word poetry.
LATE-NITE:
– Don Cheadle, Kate Bosworth, and Lecrae on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, 11:35pm, NBC
– Jeff Goldblum, Michael Somerville, and Nicole Atkins on Late Show with David Letterman, 11:35pm, CBS
– Penn & Teller and guest host Drew Carey on The Late Late Show, 12:37am, CBS
WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING TONIGHT?
What to watch on Saturday, January 10...
9pm, Discovery
Mythbusters
Adam and Jamie test scenarios drawn from The Simpsons, with the help of cherry bombs, wrecking balls, and showrunner Al Jean.
SEASON 1 FINALE, 9pm, Starz
The Missing
New evidence offers new hope of learning the truth about Oliver's disappearance in "Till Death."
10pm, TNT
Transporter: The Series
After Inspector Tarconi goes after a sinister smuggler, Frank helps him escape the wrath of a cadre of corrupt officers in "Euphro." Then they must turn their attentions back to the criminal in question, whose latest shipment of fake medicine could endanger countless kids.
SEASON 2 FINALE, 10:30pm, Cartoon Network
Black Dynamite
Black Dynamite is gripped by hallucinations of a world utterly reliant on Black Dynamite in "The Wizard of Watts, or, Oz Ain't Got S&@; on the Wiz." So… basically this world?
WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING TONIGHT?
What to watch on Sunday, January 11...
8pm, ABC
Galavant
"Two Balls" sends the gang to Sid's hometown, where he may have fudged his resume to the locals. Meanwhile, King Richard throws a gala to boost Valencia's spirits. Then in "Comedy Gold," Galavant, Isabella, and Sid must overcome their quarreling to defeat some pirates.
8pm, NBC
The 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards
For the third straight year, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler emcee Hollywood's fourth-most prestigious and second-drunkest gala. George Clooney will also be on hand to receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
8pm & 9pm, TNT
The Librarians
When a bunch of hyper-competitive high schoolers begin sabotaging one another with witchcraft, the Librarians must step in before disaster strikes in "And the Rule of Three." Then in "And the Heart of Darkness," the team goes mano-a-mano (mano-a-casa?) against a haunted house.
8pm, Fox
The Simpsons
The Judd Apatow-penned "Bart's New Friend" finds the eldest Simpson child bonding with Homer… who has been hypnotized into believing he too is an adolescent boy.
8:30pm, Fox
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
The gang decides to collect on Jake's many outstanding I.O.U.s in "Payback." In slightly easier efforts, Amy and Capt. Holt put their heads together on the Brooklyn Broiler case.
SEASON 5 PREMIERE, 9pm, Showtime
Shameless
Fiona has a new job and a new crush object—her boss (Dermot Mulroney)—as "Milk of the Gods" picks up the action on the South Side. Elsewhere, Lip kisses college goodbye in favor of a demolition job, Kevin tends to the kids while Veronica works at the Alibi, Ian helps Svetlana take care of her baby, and Frank draws back the curtain on his top-secret project.
SEASON 4 PREMIERE, 9pm, HBO
Girls
Hannah bids adieu to the Big Apple before commencing her writers' workshop in "Iowa." Meanwhile, Shoshanna is irritated by her parents, Jessa butts heads with Beedie's daughter, and Marnie performs jazz for brunch patrons, which I'm pretty sure violates all of the Geneva Conventions. Like, all of them.
9pm, PBS
Downton Abbey
Rose plans to sneak a radio into the house—no mean feat, because in those days the average radio was, no kidding, 17 feet tall and 31 feet wide and weighed roughly a dozen stone (also they measured weight in something called "stone"). In less technological pursuits, Sarah tutors Daisy, Anna helps Mary acquire an embarrassing item, and an art historian arrives.
SERIES PREMIERE, 9:30pm, HBO
Togetherness
Mark Duplass, Melanie Lynskey, and Amanda Peet star in this comedy from the Duplass brothers, about a married couple who open their doors to some new housemates. "Family Day" begins the series with Brett lending support to his down-on-his-luck pal Alex, while Michelle welcomes a visit from her older sister Tina.
9:30pm, Fox
Bob's Burgers
Teddy's home-brewed beer becomes the newest (secret) addition to the restaurant's menu in "Speakeasy Rider." Meanwhile, the kids feel the need, the need for speed, so they sign up for a go-kart league.
10pm ET, CBS
The Good Wife
Alicia and Prady square off in "The Debate," while Peter and city officials ready Chicago for a possible riot. Is that riot threat sparked by the presence of debate moderator Chris Matthews? Because that would strike me as a downright sensible response. (Programming note: the episode is scheduled to air in its usual 9pm timeslot in the Pacific Time Zone and points west.)
SEASON 2 PREMIERE, 10pm, HBO
Looking
Patrick, Agustín, and Dom decamp for Lynn's cabin on the Russian River as "Looking for the Promised Land" kicks off the show's sophomore season. While Patrick contemplates his future, Dom tries to uncover details about Lynn's past.
10pm, ABC
Revenge
David looks to wipe the red from his ledger with Victoria in "Madness." Meanwhile, Emily and Nolan go a-schemin'.
SEASON 4 PREMIERE, 10pm, Showtime
House of Lies
Marty has big ambitions for Kaan and Associates in "At the End of the Day, Reality Wins." Meanwhile, a pregnant Jeannie learns where she stands with the company and the Pod ditches a client in hopes of greener pastures.
SEASON 4 PREMIERE, 10:30pm, Showtime
Episodes
Matt receives worrisome financial news, Carol angles for control of the network, and Sean and Beverly's lives in London are disrupted when Hollywood wants them to make six more episodes of Pucks!.
WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING TONIGHT?
And now, let's all vote to crown the What to Watch Tonight Episode Title of the Week!
