There’s a real grab-bag of viewing in the week ahead, with opportunities for binge-watching as well as some quirky choices to sample.
(all times eastern)
Sunday
The Walking Dead – 9pm to 10:31 on AMC
The fifth season finale is preceded by a full day marathon of the entire fifth season starting at 6am. The Talking Dead season finale follows at 10:31 to 11:30.
Outlander marathon – noon to midnight on Showcase
The first eight episodes of this historical time-travel series set up the second half of the first season, which begins next Sunday at 10pm. Caitriona Balfe stars are Second World War nurse Claire Beauchamp Randall, who finds herself transported back to 1743 Scotland, where she finds herself amid a civil war alongside highland warrior Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan).
Killing Jesus – 8pm to 11pm on The National Geographic Channel
The book by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard is adapted for television, chronicling the life and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, starring Haaz Sleiman as Jesus and Kelsey Grammer as King Herod.
Call The Midwife – 8pm on PBS
Season 4 begins in 1960 as nurse Barbara Gilbert (Charlotte Ritchie) arrives at Nonnatus House and struggles to make a good first impression.
Mr. Selfridge – 9pm to 11pm on PBS
Jeremy Piven returns as department store magnate Harry Selfridge just as a personal tragedy strikes the household in 1918, while the men returning from war to the loading dock find themselves at odds with the women who were ‘holding down the fort’ in their absence.
iHeart Radio Music Awards – 8pm to 11pm on NBC
The second annual awards show honouring the most popular music from the past year, live from The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
House of Lies – 10pm to 11pm on The Movie Network
Season four comes to an end with a double-episode season finale. It’s a turning point of Marty at K&A, plus a turning point in Jeannie’s life as she gives birth.
Monday
Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber – 10pm to midnight on Comedy
Viewer discretion is definitely advised, as Hannibal Buress, Jeffrey Ross, Martha Stewart, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris D’Elia, Natasha Leggero and Pete Davidson are among those who skewer the Bieb. Although these roasts are traditionally “no holds barred”, the producers did decide to take out some Paul Walker jokes that some felt crossed the line.
Tuesday
The Dovekeepers Part one of two (9pm to 11pm on CBS and Global)
If you’ve wondered what Cote de Pablo has been up to since leaving NCIS, she stars in this historical drama based on Alice Hoffman’s book about the Siege of Masada, and four extraordinary women whose lives intersect in a fight for survival. (Part two airs on CBS on Wednesday from 9pm to 11pm and on Global on Saturday from 8pm to 10pm.)
Weird Loners – 9:30 on Fox and City
Becki Newton (Ugly Betty) stars as one of four relationship-phobic people who share an apartment in Queens, New York. This single-camera comedy hopes to be a good companion piece with New Girl…for the next six weeks, anyway.
Finding Carter – 10pm on MTV Canada
Back for a second season, this teen drama follows a young woman who is reunited with her biological family after discovering that the woman she thought was her mother actually kidnapped her when she was three. Kathryn Precott, Cynthia Watrous and Alexis Denisof star. (if you want to catch up on season one, it starts at 10am and runs all day right up to the second season premiere.
Wednesday
General Hospital 52nd anniversary – 2pm on ABC and City
This special anniversary show answers the mystery of what caused Luke Spencer’s psychotic break (which had him attempting to kill his family and friends earlier this year). The show features recreations of scenes from the first episode in 1963, with current cast members Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth Webber), Jason Thompson (Patrick Drake) and Ryan Carnes (Lucas Jones) stepping into the roles originally played Emily McLaughlin, John Beradino and Roy Thinnes. Rebecca will portray Nurse Jessie Brewer. Jason will be Dr. Steve Hardy and Ryan Carnes assumes the role of Dr. Phil Brewer.
Thursday
Olympus – 9pm on Superchannel
Tom York, Sonya Cassidy and Matt Frewer star in this action drama set in the world of the Gods of Olympus. There will be 13 episodes in this first season.
Lip Sync Battle – 10pm and 10:30 (two episodes) on Spike
You can call this a spinoff of the viral videos from The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (as well as Late Night with Jimmy Fallon). LL Cool J and Chrissy Teigen headline this battle of the lip-synchers, with Fallon himself taking on Dwayne Johnson in the first half-hour and Oscar co-winners Common and John Legend going head to head in the second.
Friday
Derek Finale – on Netflix
If you’re a fan of Ricky Gervais’s Derek, the one-hour special finale is finally released on Netflix (after airing in the U.K. in December). This wrap-up of the misadventures of Derek, Kevin and Hannah was not very well received by critics, but—as is always the case with Ricky Gervais projects—fans can’t resist checking it out for themselves and making up their own minds.
The Red Road – 9pm on Sundance
Martin Henderson is back for another six-episode second season as police officer Harold Jensen, who is dealing with the daily struggles of his career at work and a mentally unstable wife at home. Jason Mamoa stars as his Native American partner, Phillip Kopus, who divides his time and loyalties between his job in law enforcement and his life with the Ramapough Mountain People, a tribe that lives in the border area between New York and New Jersey. Although the show is set in the fictional New Jersey town of Walpole, it is actually filmed in the Atlanta area.
The Grace Helbig Show – 10:30 on E!
She’s developed a reputation online, and now she’s bringing that sensibility to traditional TV. She’s starting off small, with one half-hour on Friday nights, but one can’t help but wonder whether E! hopes they have the next Chelsea Handler here.
