By Gail Pennington, St. Louis Post-Dispatch –
Television roared back in the new year, with premieres and season premieres starting New Year’s Day and continuing into spring. Here’s a partial list of what’s new and what’s back.
“Angry Boys”
10 p.m. Sundays on HBO (premiered Sunday) — Australian comic Chris Lilley (“Summer Heights High”) plays six characters (including teenage twins, their grandmother and a black rapper — in blackface), in a 12-episode series that will appeal to fans of creative chaos.
“Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-off”
9 p.m. Sundays on Food Network (premiered Sunday) — Want to see D-list (if that) “celebs” cook competitively? Didn’t think so. Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri are hosts of an unbearable new series in which Cheech Marin, Lou Diamond Phillips, Taylor Dayne, Summer Sanders and others try to win money for charity.
“Oprah’s Next Chapter”
9 p.m. Sundays on OWN (premiered Sunday) — One of the problems with Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network? Not enough Oprah. In “Next Chapter,” Winfrey interviews celebrities and newsmakers (first up was Steven Tyler), getting out of a studio and traveling to meet them, with elements of the popular “Behind the Scenes” series retained.
“The Bachelor”
8 p.m. Mondays on ABC (premiered Monday) — Ben Flajnik, rejected by the most recent “Bachelorette,” gets another chance to find a dream girl. The unappealing choice of Flajnik makes it easy to say no to this season.
“Celebrity Wife Swap”
10 p.m. Mondays on ABC (premiered Monday) — Carnie Wilson and Tracey Gold moved into each other’s house in the first episode of this celebrity take on the old life-swap series. Wilson is messy; Gold a neat freak. Hilarity ensued.
“It’s a Brad, Brad World”
10 p.m. Mondays on Bravo (premiered Monday) — Stylist Brad Goreski, who was lots of fans’ favorite part of “The Rachel Zoe Project,” gets his own series.
“The Biggest Loser”
8 p.m. Tuesdays on NBC (premiered Tuesday) — Pairs enter the game together, then are split up, for the new season.
“Work It”
8:30 p.m. Tuesdays on ABC (premiered Tuesday) — In one of the worst sitcoms of this or any recent season, two men (Ben Koldyke and Amaury Nolasco) are forced to dress as women because, as we all know, women get the good jobs in the “mancession.” The jokes are stupid, crude, insulting and — worse — not funny.
“Jane by Design”
10 p.m. Tuesdays on ABC Family (premiered Tuesday) — In a new “Devil Wears Prada”-ish dramedy, high school girl Jane (Erica Dasher) gets a job as an assistant to a high-powered fashion editor (Andie MacDowell). It’s all a comedy of errors as Jane tries to keep the job (her bosses don’t know she’s in high school) and go to school (where nobody knows about the job).
“Project Runway All Stars”
9 p.m. Thursdays on Lifetime (premiered Thursday) — The new season features returnees who didn’t win.
“24-Hour Catwalk”
10 p.m. Thursday on Lifetime (premiered Thursday, then 9 p.m. Tuesdays) — Four designers get just 24 hours to create collections and stage a runway show in a new competition series with model Alexa Chung as host.
“The Firm”
Preview 9 p.m. Sunday on NBC; then 10 p.m. Thursdays — Josh Lucas and Molly Parker star in a sequel (set 10 years later) to the John Grisham legal thriller.
“House of Lies”
10 p.m. Sundays beginning Sunday on Showtime. (“Californication” returns at 10:30 p.m.) — Kristen Bell and Don Cheadle head the cast of a dark comedy about management consultants.
“Are You There, Chelsea?”
8:30 p.m. Wednesdays beginning Jan. 11 on NBC (“Whitney” moves to 8 p.m.) — Chelsea Handler stars in a sitcom based on her book “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Chelsea.”
“Rob”
8:30 p.m. Thursdays beginning Jan. 12 on CBS — Rob Schneider marries into a Latino family headed by Cheech Marin in another candidate for worst sitcom of the season.
“The Finder”
9 p.m. Thursdays beginning Jan. 12 on Fox — A new procedural from Hart Hanson that was introduced on “Bones.”
“Napoleon Dynamite”
8:30 p.m. Sundays beginning Jan. 15 on Fox — An animated comedy spins off the popular movie.
“The Revolution”
2 p.m. weekdays beginning Jan. 16 on ABC — Replacing “One Life To Live,” this daytime series takes on health and weight loss.
“Alcatraz”
9 p.m. Tuesdays on Fox (two-hour premiere at 8 p.m. Jan. 16) — Prisoners who vanished from the notorious prison begin reappearing in a thriller from J.J. Abrams’ shop. Sam Neill, Sara Jones and Jorge Garcia (“Lost”) star.
“Lost Girl”
10 p.m. Mondays beginning Jan. 16 on Syfy — Anna Silk is a succubus (a sexual seductress) in a Canadian series.
“Unsupervised”
10:30 p.m. Thursdays beginning Jan. 19 on FX. (“Archer” returns at 10 p.m.) — A new animated comedy comes from the “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” team.
“Luck’
9 p.m. Sundays beginning Jan. 29 on HBO — Dustin Hoffman stars in the David Milch horse-racing series, previewed in December.
