Midseason TV promises great comedy, drama, the line up

By April MacIntyre Jan 3, 2012, 3:26 GMT

Returning comedies "Eastbound & Down" will highlight HBO, as will "Portlandia" on IFC.

The Television Critics' Association Winter press tour fires up January 3 in Pasadena, California, and the landscape for TV is squarely midseason - a time when network TV regroups from fall's successes and failures.

NBC has a stone cold hit with "Smash" starring Debra Messing, a TV bluechip actress. The two episodes seen promise great things.  Fox's  "Alcatraz" and "Touch" promise to be interesting new efforts too. "Alcatraz" is a mystery from J.J. Abrams.

Returning comedies "Eastbound & Down" will highlight HBO, as will "Portlandia" on IFC.

"American Idol" is the big chip for Fox, but NBC has stolen some of its thunder with "The Voice," which will get a Season 2 launch right after the Super Bowl on Feb. 5.

Back also are comedy "30 Rock" (NBC), reality feel-good "Undercover Boss" (CBS) and hoofer competition "Dancing With the Stars" (ABC).

And on The CW, "One Tree Hill" is back for its final season. PBS kicks off Season 2 of "Downton Abbey," and HBO serves up David Milch's "Luck," a horse-racing drama starring Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman in his first TV series role.

FX brings the excellent "Justified" back for its third season on FX and after four episodes, you best not miss it.

"The Game" returns to BET, and "The Walking Dead" will resume the second season on AMC, hopefully with Merle and Lennie back in the cast.

Also watch for:

"Jane By Design": A quirky teen (Erica Dasher) with fashion sense lands a job at a hip fashion house. (9 p.m. Jan. 3, ABC Family).

"The Firm": A legal thriller that follows up on the book by John Grisham (9 p.m. Jan. 8, NBC).

"The Finder": A spinoff from "Bones" about a man (Geoff Stults) with a preternatural gift for locating people and things. (9 p.m. Jan. 12, Fox).

"Alcatraz": A suspense-thriller about the shocking reappearance of the prison's most notorious inmates, 50 years after they vanished. (8 p.m. Jan. 16, Fox).

"Lost Girl": A supernatural bisexual succubus (Anna Silk) embarks on a mission to unlock the secrets of her origin. (10 p.m. Jan. 16, Syfy).

"Touch": A widower (Kiefer Sutherland) discovers that his mute son is a genius with the ability to see things no one else can. (Special preview 9 p.m., Jan. 25; series debut March 19, Fox).

"Common Law": Two bickering cops (Michael Ealy and Warren Kole) enter couples therapy to save their partnership. (10 p.m. Jan. 26, USA).

"Spartacus: Vengeance": Liam McIntyre assumes the title role in the next chapter of the gladiator series. (10 p.m. Jan. 27, Starz) and Viva Bianca is back in fine form.

"Luck": Dustin Hoffman stars in a behind-the-track look at the world of horse racing. (9 p.m. Jan. 29, HBO).

"Smash": A fast paced look at the inner workings of a Broadway musical. (10 p.m. Feb. 6, NBC).

"The River": A mother and son go on a harrowing journey to find a wildlife expert who has vanished deep in the Amazon. (9 p.m. Feb. 7, ABC)

"GCB": The claws come out as a former high school mean girl (Leslie Bibb) returns to Dallas and reunites with old classmates. (10 p.m. March 4, ABC).

"Missing": The widow of a CIA agent (Ashley Judd) learns that her son has disappeared while studying abroad. (8 p.m. March 15, ABC). -

"Work It": Awful- avoid this one: A pair of unemployed men dress up as women to get jobs. (8:30 p.m., Jan. 3, ABC).

"House of Lies": Struggling with this one too: Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell lead a group of con artists who target corporate fat cats. (10 p.m. Jan. 8, Showtime).

"Are You There, Chelsea?": Not one of my picks: Laura Prepon ("That '70s Show") stars in a show based on the best-seller by talk-show host Chelsea Handler. (8:30 p.m. Jan. 11, NBC).

"Rob": Rob Schneider is a newlywed dealing with his wife's tight-knit Mexican-American family. (8:30 p.m. Jan. 12, CBS).

"Napoleon Dynamite": An animated farce based on the film. (8:30 p.m. Jan. 15, Fox).

"Unsupervised": Funny: The animated exploits of two best friends trying to navigate teen life. (10:30 p.m. Jan. 19, FX).

"Key & Peele": A sketch comedy series featuring Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele. (10:30 p.m. Jan. 31, Comedy Central).

"I Want My Pants Back": Friends adjust to post-college life in Brooklyn. (11 p.m. Feb. 2, MTV).

"Life's Too Short": A slow moving celebrity-studded faux reality series from Ricky Gervais. (10:30 p.m. Feb. 19, HBO).

"Celebrity Wife Swap": Gary Busey alert: Somewhat famous people exchange significant others and house rules. (9 p.m., Jan. 3, ABC).

"Gator Boys": Two brave guys capture and move alligators in Florida. (9 p.m. Jan. 8, Animal Planet).

"Caged": Aspiring MMA fighters duke it out in Louisiana. (10 p.m. Jan. 9, MTV).

"Shipping Wars": Interesting one: Heavy-duty movers battle for the chance to transport the "unshippable." (9 p.m. Jan. 10, A&E)

"24 Hour Catwalk": Alexa Chung hosts a fast-paced fashion design challenge. (10 p.m. Jan. 10, Lifetime).

"Remodeled": Industry veteran Paul Fisher sets out on a mission to create a major network of smaller modeling agencies. (9 p.m. Jan. 17, The CW).

"Fashion Star": Elle Macpherson hosts a competition featuring wannabe designers. (9 p.m. March 13, NBC).

The premiere dates and times for notable returning series:

Jan. 2 "Pretty Little Liars" (8 p.m., ABC Family) "The Bachelor" (8 p.m., ABC) "The Lying Game" (9 p.m., ABC Family)

Jan. 3 "Switched at Birth" (8 p.m., ABC Family) -

Jan. 5 "Project Runway: All-Stars" (9 p.m., Lifetime) "Jersey Shore" (10 p.m., MTV)

Jan. 8 "Downton Abbey" (9 p.m., PBS) "Shameless" (9 p.m., Showtime) "Californication" (10:30 p.m., Showtime) -

Jan. 9 "Portlandia" (10 p.m., IFC) -

Jan. 10 "The Game" (10 p.m., BET) "Let's Stay Together" (11 p.m., BET) -

Jan. 11 "One Tree Hill" (8 p.m., The CW) "American Restoration" (10 p.m., History) "Face Off" (10 p.m., Syfy)

Jan. 12 "30 Rock" (8 p.m., NBC)

Jan. 13 "Kitchen Nightmares" (8 p.m., Fox) -

Jan. 15 "Undercover Boss" (8 p.m., CBS) -

Jan. 16 "Being Human" (9 p.m., Syfy). -

Jan. 17 "Justified" (10 p.m., FX) "Southland" (10 p.m., TNT) "White Collar" (10 p.m., USA) -

Jan. 18 "American Idol" (8 p.m., Fox) "Royal Pains" (10 p.m., USA) -

Jan. 19 "Archer" (10 p.m., FX) -

Jan. 20 "Shark Tank" (8 p.m., ABC) -

Jan. 30 "RuPaul's Drag Race" (9 p.m., Logo) -

Jan. 31 "Tosh.0" (10 p.m., Comedy Central)

Feb. 3 "Who Do You Think You Are?" (8 p.m., NBC) -

Feb. 5 "The Voice" (post-Super Bowl, NBC) -

Feb. 12 "The Walking Dead" (9, AMC) "Celebrity Apprentice" (9 p.m., NBC) -

Feb. 19 "The Amazing Race" (8 p.m., CBS) "Eastbound & Down" (10 p.m., HBO) -

March 6 "Breaking In" (8:30 p.m., Fox)

March 11 "Bob's Burgers" (8:30 p.m., Fox)

March 14 "South Park" (10 p.m., Comedy Central)

March 19 "Dancing With the Stars" (8 p.m., ABC)