The Walking Dead (AMC, Sunday 9:00 p.m.) — After the gut punch at the end of the mid-season finale, the survivors are surely going to be bowed as they try to keep on moving. Are they going to follow the course of the comic and head toward Washington? Will their fellow survivors continue to pose as great a risk as the walkers? Will another character from the core cast die? We’re finally going to get some answers in the mid-season premiere, hopefully.
Better Call Saul (AMC, Sunday 10:00 p.m.) — At long last, the gritty origin story of Saul Goodman is ready to be told in the first part of a two-night premiere. Expectations are incomparably high for this spinoff, but hopefully Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan don’t overreach and instead give us a slowburn that gets the very best out of Bob Odenkirk and this character now that he’s the main attraction.
Constantine (NBC, Friday 8:00 p.m.) — An “ancient evil” has infested a hospital and Zed is worried that the source of her visions may not be what she thought it was.
Grimm (NBC, Friday 9:00 p.m.) — A Wesen-hired bounty hunter is stacking bodies, yo.
12 Monkeys (Syfy, Friday 9:00 p.m.) — This episode is called “Atari,” I seriously doubt it has anything to do with the early days of video gaming, but I’m not ready to let the crushing weight of logic crush even the slightest embers of hope that I have that I am wrong.
Black Sails (Starz, Saturday 9:00 p.m.) — Flint returns to Nassau. A steel drum celebration is enjoyed by all.
Austin City Limits (PBS, Saturday 9:00 p.m.) — The Austin episode of Sonic Highways was one of the best and now we get a chance to see The Foo Fighters play the iconic rock series.
Game Of Thrones: A Day in the Life (HBO, Sunday 7:30 p.m.) — We’re still a couple of months away from the return of Game of Thrones, but at least we’ve got this behind-the-scenes special to tide us over.
The Grammy Awards (CBS, Sunday 8:00 p.m.) — LL Cool J hosts the years biggest celebration of music and closeups of Taylor Swift dancing in the audience. Billy Ocean is not expected to perform despite the fact that we are now in the 30th anniversary year of the momentous pairing of Ocean, Michael Douglas, Danny Devito, and Kathleen Turner in the “When the Going gets Tough, the Tough get Going” video. Shameful.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO, Sunday 11:00 p.m.) — It feels like the first season just ended, but that doesn’t mean that the world isn’t in desperate need of Oliver’s mix of comedy and amateur journalism. Watch it live or wait a few hours for 80% of it to be on YouTube.
LATE NIGHT GUESTS: Andy Kindler on Letterman; Ed Sheeran joins John Mayer on The Late Late Show; and Jennifer Lopez and Anthony Mackie on Fallon.
