The chestnuts have roasted, the holiday decor boxed up until next year. As we settle in for hibernation season, cable and broadcast networks are layering our ably equipped man-, woman- and family-caves with a bevy of first quarter, midseason programming to keep us cozy. Here are some of the highlights.

“It’s no secret that cutting through the clutter is a great challenge these days,” Vernon Sanders, EVP of current programming at NBC Entertainment, tells Cynopsis. The network is betting big on Taken, the TV adaptation of the film trilogy that premieres February 27, and Powerless, a comedy about insurance adjusters navigating the havoc wreaked by superheroes in the Marvel Universe that bows February 2. Emerald City, based on the Land of Oz books, premieres January 6.

NBC also will continue to feed its spinoff engine with The Blacklist: Redemption, premiering February 23. Of the network’s current trend, Sanders says, “Sometimes it’s hard to find people who know how to deliver. And when we do, and they come to us and say, ‘We think we know how to do it again,’ we listen.”

For all new shows, Sanders notes buildup through the holiday season was a key part of the plan. “Where other networks may lean on repeats and some occasional holiday programming, we do a ton of originals and events throughout December,” he says, citing Hairspray Live and the America’s Got Talent Holiday Special. “All of them provide opportunities to get the word out about [new programming] to not only traditional NBC viewers but those who come to watch these TV events.”

CBS is taking a page from proven brand successes with two of its midseason entries – Training Day, launching February 2 and based on the feature film about a rookie cop paired with a corrupt veteran, and Superior Donuts, based on the play about a ‘60s radical who owns a rundown donut shop in Chicago. The net will also debut legal drama Doubt on February 15.

“People are looking for the new. They’ve come back for the new year and they want to see what’s fresh,” Stephen Hill, BET president of programming, tells Cynopsis. This year, viewers will find the network’s biggest-ever selection of new Q1 programming, strategically tied to both its top viewer draws and Black History Month in February. 

“We wanted to use the new seasons of Real Husbands of Hollywood (launched fall 2016) and Being Mary Jane (launching January 2017) to set the table for what BET is doing with original programming,” Hill says. Season 4 of Mary Jane launches January 10 and will serve as lead-in for new series The Quad, a look at life on campus at fictional Georgia A&M, one of the country’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which premieres January 31.

Coming up on HBO is comedy Crashing, whose pilot was directed by Judd Apatow (debut date: February 19), and book-based miniseries Big Little Lies, which stars Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley as mothers whose lives are turned upside down when a series of events results in a murder.

Other cablers are looking to appeal to viewers’ seasonal wishful thinking. “We love the winter,” says Kathleen Finch, Scripps Networks Interactive chief programming, content and brand officer. “People are hunkering down, the holidays are over. We look at it as a time to launch new things and get people excited.”

Scripps is implementing a dual-pronged winter premiere strategy. “Our audience loves to think about things they can do and places they can go. And in winter, what works is featuring warm-weather destinations,” Finch says. For HGTV, that means a “two- to three-hour stack” of new eps of series including Hawaii Life and Beachfront Bargain Hunt. Newbies include Home Town, featuring a young couple who renovate old Southern homes, coming in early March, and a new House Hunters spinoff with House Hunters: Outside the Box, coming in February.

Travel Channel will experience significant program expansion this winter, Finch notes, with new additions including Top Secret Beaches, debuting January 15 and a new batch of Mysteries at the Museum, including a White House special slated to premiere January 12.

For Food Network, “the warm weather doesn’t resonate quite as much for a food audience, so we have different ways of attracting audience – with new titles,” Finch says. Among the new crop are Cooks Vs. Cons spinoff Bakers Vs. Fakers, hosted by Buddy Valastro and debuting on January 25, Ginormous Food, debuting on January 6. HGTV will air a February 14 special about the bakery Fixer Upper star Joanna Gaines opened in Waco, TX.

Seasonal events rule year-round at Hallmark Channel, and Valentine’s Day is no exception. “Winters can be very long and by February we look to Valentine’s Day to talk romance, and the beginning of change of season,” Michelle Vicary, EVP, programming for Crown Media Family Networks, tells Cynopsis. This year the net is adding another original movie, Adrian Grenier- and Amy Smart starring Love At First Glance, on February 14 to anchor its Countdown to Valentine’s Day programming event.

Jenni Rivera biopic series Dolores, La Jenn Que Yo Conoci premieres on Univision on January 15, followed by the premiere of Blue Demon, a series about Mexican luchador Alejendro Munoz. Talent competition Pequenos Gigantes USA bows in February.

Telemundo is stepping into the new year with kid-centric variety show Siempre Ninos on January 8; Mexican-originating Nino Santo, inspired by the story of El Nino Fidencio, one of Mexico’s most recognized healers, on January 8; and romantic comedy La Fan on January 17. Sister net NBC Universo will unleash the network debut of FX series Sons of Anarchy, to which it acquired US cable rights from Twentieth Television, en espanol on January 17.

Speaking of FX, the network on February 8 will launch Legion, a new series with roots in the X-Men franchise and the first co-production between Fox and Marvel TV, on February 8. Freeform just launched supernatural drama Beyond on January 2, and The CW offers a subversive take on Archie, Jughead and crew on Riverdale, starting January 26 after the return of Supernatural.

AMC’s The Walking Dead will return for an eight-ep season 7 part deux on February 12, the same date Starz brings back a second season of anthology series The Missing. AMC returns drama Humans on February 13, while A&E will open the door to the fifth and final season of Bates Motel on a TBA date in February. USA is bringing back the second season of Colony on January 12, season 6.5 of Suits on January 25 and fifth season of Chrisley Knows Best on February 12. IFC launched season 7 of Portlandia today, and Discovery is back with its true crime entry, Killing Fields; season 2 debuted January 3.

TV One brought back its longest-running series, Unsung, January 4 for a 10th season. After being canceled by ABC, Nashville will make its CMT debut today. The seventh and final season of Comedy Central’s Workaholics launches January 11, the same day Girlfriends Guide to Divorce returns to Bravo for season 3 and the new season of Full Frontal With Samantha Bee heads to a new night on TBS. TBS on February 21 will bring back comedy The Detour for a second season featuring guests Samantha Bee and John Oliver, The CW offers up season 4 of The 100 on February 1, and Syfy is bringing back Face Off for an all-star season 11 on January 24, while The Expanse returns for season 2 on February 1.

PBS music series Soundstage returns January 7 with a six-episode winter season featuring Bad Company, Regina Spektor, Blondie and more through February. Lifetime brought back Little Women: Atlanta yesterday with The Rap Game and Bring It On! on tap for January 13. Freeform’s  “Funday” weekend of fave films January 21-22 is followed  by the winter premieres of The Fosters and Switched at Birth, resuming January 31.

And it’s all in the (larger-than-life) family for two UP shows: Bringing Up Bates is back for season 5 tonight, while season 2 of Growing Up McGhee kicks off January 12.

The 23rd annual SAG Awards will get a double shot, airing on both TNT and TBS on January 29, the same date Fox features the Miss Universe pageant. The 29th edition of Premio Lo Nuestro a la Música Latina airs on February 23, on Univision, and IFC will air the Independent Spirit Awards on February 25. Rounding out the winter tour, Jimmy Kimmel will host the 89^th annual Academy Awards, airing February 26 on ABC.

And because what would an awards show be without the fanfare, E! has Live from the Red Carpet specials ready to go for the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Grammys and Oscars, plus day-after Fashion Police eps around those awards events as well as a NY Fashion week episode, on February 17.

The new year is also heralding its share of event-driven TV. Leading up to inauguration day, History will air Transition of Power: The Presidency on January 8; the net will also premiere The 44th President: In His Own Words, President Barack Obama’s first-hand account of his time in office on January 15. GSN game show/social experiment Divided premieres January 19, the day before the inauguration, along with the season 4 return of Idiotest. Fox will field Super Bowl LI on February 5, and for those who prefer a softer tumble, Animal Planet returns with the Puppy Bowl the same day.

In other words – something for everyone. Happy 2017!

Cathy

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