The dawn of 2012 means it's time for TV to get back to work! But with schedules shifting all over the place to make room for new midseason series, it's difficult to keep track of when and where your favorite shows will air. That's why we're here. We've sorted through the mess of jumbled network press releases, cryptic announcements, and word-of-mouth to assemble this beast of a midseason schedule. You're welcome.
(Note: This should be used as a general guide. Schedules are subject to change, and they probably will.)
| SAT/SUN | MON | TUES | WED | THU | FRI |
SATURDAY
8PM - 9PM
FOX
Cops
Season 25 premieres 1/7 at 8pm
SUNDAY
7PM - 8PM
NBC
Dateline NBC
Returns 1/8 at 7pm
8PM - 9PM
ABC
Once Upon a Time
Season 1 returns 1/8 at 8pm
CBS
Undercover Boss
MIDSEASON ADDITION! Season 3 premieres 1/15 at 8pm; starting 2/17, the show moves to FridaysInstead of sitting back and taking money baths, CEOs of big corporations don disguises and work the jobs in their own company that they wouldn't wish on their worst Fortune 500 enemy.
FOX
The Simpsons
Season 23 returns with new episodes 1/8 at 8pm
The Cleveland Show
Season 3 returns with new episodes 1/8 at 8:30pm, then moves to its regular timeslot of 7:30pm beginning on 1/15
Napoleon Dynamite
NEW SERIES! Premieres 1/15 at 8:30pmNapoleon Dynamite and his wacky friends do all sorts of goofy things in Idaho in this animated ode to the hit indie movie. Jon Heder will reprise his role as Napoleon and provide the voice for the TV show.
NBC
Harry's Law
NEW TIME! Season 2 returns with new episodes 3/4 at 8pm
DISCOVERY
Frozen Planet
NEW SERIES! Premieres in the U.S. 3/18 at 8pm
HBO
Luck
NEW SERIES! Premieres 1/29 at 8pmThis horse-racing drama from David Milch and Michael Mann examines degenerate gamblers, corruption, and high-stakes business at a racetrack. It also features some of the most amazing horse-racing shots you'll ever see, unless you're a jockey. (HBO aired a preview of the pilot in December.)
9PM - 10PM
ABC
Desperate Housewives
Season 8 returns with new episodes 1/8 at 9pm
CBS
The Good Wife
Season 3 returns with new episodes 1/15 at 9pm
FOX
Family Guy
Season 10 returns with new episodes 1/8 at 9pm
American Dad
Season 7 returns with new episodes 1/8 at 9:30pm
Bob's Burgers
MIDSEASON ADDITION! Season 2 premieres 3/11 at 9:30pmWe're big fans of this 'toon about a family that runs a burger joint. H. Jon Benjamin, John Roberts, and Kristen Schaal provide voices.
NBC
Celebrity Apprentice
MIDSEASON ADDITION! Premieres 2/12 at 9pmThe next group of participating entre-lebrities includes Debbie Gibson, Clay Aiken, Tia Carrere, Lou Ferrigno, Arsenio Hall, George Takei, Cheryl Tiegs, and Penn Gillette.
AMC
The Walking Dead
Season 2 returns 2/12 at 9pm
PBS
Downton Abbey
Season 2 premieres 1/8 at 9pm
SHOWTIME
Shameless
MIDSEASON ADDITION! Season 2 premieres 1/8 at 9pm
10PM - 11PM
ABC
GCB
NEW SERIES! Premieres 3/4 at 10pmIf you're looking for a saucy new page-turner but you're too lazy to actually turn pages, this drama from the new home of catty television features Texas-sized "oohs," "ahhs," and "where did she get those pumps?" Plus Kristin Chenoweth!
CBS
CSI: Miami
Season 10 returns 1/8 at 10pm
AMC
Comic Men
NEW SERIES! Premieres 2/12 at 10pmThis docudrama, formerly known as Secret Stash, follows the goings-on at Kevin Smith's New Jersey comic-book store.
HBO
Angry Boys
NEW SERIES! Premieres 1/1 at 10pmThe latest from Summer Heights High creator Chris Lilley.
Eastbound & Down
MIDSEASON ADDITION! Season 3 premieres 2/19 at 10pmLife's Too Short
NEW SERIES! Premieres 2/19 at 10:30pm
SHOWTIME
House of Lies
NEW SERIES! Premieres 1/8 at 10pmCalifornication
MIDSEASON ADDITION! Season 5 premieres 1/8 at 10:30pm
| SAT/SUN | MON | TUES | WED | THU | FRI |
What will YOU be watching this midseason? Share your personal viewing schedule in the comments!




I know Awkward & Suits were light summer shows, but, does that mean we have to wait another 5 months to watch 'em again??? Can anyone tell me if these are schedule to return any sooner? Thnx
Update:
MTV The Challenge: Battle Of The Exes(S22) | Ep. 1 | Love Is A Battlefield aired 1/25/12.
Was going to add Shark Tank also but small dick tony (couldn't resist) already added it. Gotta chill Tony; this may not be perfect but it's the best midseason '12 guide I've seen.
The season premiere of Shark Tank was 1/20, not 2/3 like reported above. Thankfully the episode is on hulu so check it out there if you missed it like me because of TV.com's error.
WHITE COLLAR!!
Mondays:
Hawaii Five-0
Being Human
Alcatraz
Wednesdays:
Face Off
Thursdays:
Bones
Person of Interest
Vampire Diaries
Project Runway
Fridays:
Supernatural
A Gifted Man
Fringe
Spartacus: Vengance
Grimm
Sundays
The Walking Dead
Once Upon a Time
Californication
Sunday: Amazing Race
Monday: Alcatraz (if it doesn't stink)
Tuesday: White Collar
Wednesday: Survivor
Thursday: Big Bang Theory
So, 4.5 hrs each week - I can live with that.
Mondays
HIMYM
Castle
Alcatraz
Tuesdays
Raising Hope
New Girl
Wednesdays
Modern Family
South Park
Thursdays
30 Rock
Parks and Rec
the Office
Up All Night
Community(once NBC moves the Firm to Wednesdays once "Happy Hour" flops)
the Big Bang Theory
Fridays
Fringe
Chuck
Supernatural
Grimm
Sundays
Game of Thrones
Walking Dead
the Simpsons
Family Guy(if I fall asleep)
I'm still lamenting the loss of Human Target, one of the classiest and fun shows to come along in forever. Why didn't you watch it, people, it was so great. I watched my final episode last night and we'll not see its equal in a long, long time...
Yay! My shows are coming back! Supernatural, Justified, Blue Bloods, CSI, and Being Human!
seems like i am waiting forever for bob's burgers!!
Once Upon A Time, Luck, The Good Wife, Shameless, Lost Girl (Canadian Show on it's second season but about to premiered on Syfy as an "original series"), House of Lies, Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl, The Lying Game, Being Human (the Syfy one not the British one), Switched At Birth, Glee, 90210, Jane By Design, Parenthood, Southland, Suburgatory, Modern Family, Revenge, The Vampire Diaries, Grey's Anatomy, The Secret Circle, Bones, Archer, Unsupervised, Nikita, Sparatacus.
Yes my DVR works over time.
And, finishing up wit Friday, weird. 4 shows at 9-- all broadcast -- worth checking out, and nothing interesting the rest of the night. Since I don't watch shows on-line, I still don't know about GRIMM and I stopped watching FRINGE midway through Season 1 -- maybe a big mistake. But CSI:NY is reliable usually good, rarely dull, with a "Silver Age" feel (American detectove and mystery books mostly from 1930-60) unique on current television.
And SUPERNATURAL shows that the highest quality can pop up anywhere, even in a sometimes silly fantasy show. But the solid care for the mythology created (compare the inanities of FLASH FORWARD and TERRA NOVA), the acting, the subtexts of family ("God as deadbeat dad" was one theme of season 5), and the simple care put is with the other three -- though if Bobby is really dead along with Castiel, it might be hard to hold it together -- one reason for the 'last season' rumors?moreless
Once Upon A Time, The Cleveland Show, Desperate Housewives The Walking Dead, Being Human, The River, New Girl, Ringer, Justified, Tosh.0, Are You There Chelsea?, Revenge, The Vampire Diaries, The Secret Circle, Rob, The Firm, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, Shark Tank, Fringe, Grimm, Supernatural, and definitely Spartacus: Vengeance!
Thursdays aren't so good. PERSON OF INTEREST is another one my wife watches and I hate. THE FINDER might be good, if it doesn't depend too much on BONES -- which I might get caught up on one of these years, migh have been one I unfairly ignored, like the opening years of NCIS.
THE MENTALIST is between very good and near great -- the acting is the reason for the higher rating, the occasionally pure old pulp magazine plots are why I hold back.
Might check out THE FIRM, but with not high expectations.
Three shows that revived themselves and one true great. A dood night, with CRIMINAL MINDS and SVU (both definitions of 'uneven') havng a new breath of life. If they just avoided their personal 'formulas' more. But still never unenjoyable. CSI is back among the 'near-greats' with Danson, a truly first-rate character, quirky but solid under the quirkiness. If we weren't losing Marg...
And ROYAL PAINS is just unique and incredible, the only show capable of challenging NCIS for the top spot. The whole 'cinematogrphic feel' that started from the first episode, solid acting from everybody, and likable, complex, non-cliched characters. Major work, thank goodness for DVRs.
Tuesday pins to NCIS, not merely the best show currently on, but easily among the top 5 ever. It understands that tv is about character first of all, and has created the best ensemble since ST:TNG, but with much realer and tougher writing.
Since the spin-off is awful, 9:00 is RINGER for my wife, free time for me.
10:: has BODY OF PROOF -- a major show that didn't find its audience, but I hope still will before the axe comes down and UNFORGETTABLE, which is just at the borderline of 'watchable.' Dull cast backing Montgomery, and the 'remembering bit' is getting tired, but can't quite give up on it.
WHITE COLLAR will be a must as well, also in the 'near-great' category but at the bottom, just above 'very good.'
Your 9-10 Fri picture needs updating. Stella (Melina Kanakaredes) hasn't been on CSI:NY for a couple years!
Hate the Bones hiatus thing! Why can't Fox launch their new show without disrupting Bones? arg!
I would list what I'll be watching but with my Roku apps I can watch pretty much everything. Makes Thursdays much less stressful since I like Bones, Person Of Interest, Grey's Anatomy & Vampire Diaries which are all on at the same time! Other nights don't have so many conflicts of interest for me. I got to catch up of Grey's & Vampire Diaries thanks to my Roku, now I'm up to date on all of them and I can watch them all every week. I just watch one on Thurs night and watch the rest over the next couple days! Makes me a happy Granny!moreless
Now for Monday: I can't watch HOUSE any longer, but my wife will.
ALCATRAZ and TOUCH seem worth checking out. No high hopes for either, but might get lucky. Meanwhile HART OF DIXIE isn;t 'must-see' but is definitely worth watching and keeps getting better.
CASTLE remains at the top of the 'near great' category (other years would have been 'best on the air, but there's a lof f great stuff on.) with THE CLOSER and RIZZOLI (and MEMPHIS BEAT would have made this list if it survived.)
Okay, 'one day at a time. Saturdays, well, Sports for my wife -- baseball for me, she likes them all -- and catching up on old movies downloaded from TCM
Sunday: HARRY'S LAW (Maybe they'll get back to the first season's grittiness instead of just running yet another Kelley quirky legal show.)
GOOD WIFE (One of the 'Big Four' that are not just great shows for now, but near the top of an all-time list compiled by someone who actually watched Gleason on the Dumont network. The others? NCIS, ROYAL PAINS and SUPERNATURAL -- each of whixh understand what tv is capable of and use that knowledge.)
GCB -- Gotta check out a show based on a book with the original title "Good Christian Bitches"
Sunday
leverage couple episode left
undercover boss
fairly legal
Mondays
wwe raw
hart of dixie (must see tv)
house
2 broke girls (must see tv)
hawaii five-0
Tuesdays
NCIS
unforgettable (must see tv)
body of proof
Wednesday
royal pains
Thursdays
bone
person of interest (must see tv)
grey's anatomy
the finder 1/12 new
missing 03/15 new
Fridays
CSI NY
chuck
a gifted man
Looking forward to
The Walking Dead
Spartacus
Supernatural
- Mondays: Pretty Little Liars, The Lying Game, 2 Broke Girls and Two and a Half Men
- Tuesdays: Last Man Standing, Justified and Ringer
- Wednesdays: N/A
- Thursdays: The Vampire Diaries, The Secret Circle, The Big Bang Theory and Up All Night
- Fridays: Nikita, Fringe, Star Wars: The Clone Wars
First, I'm so glad Fringe is back.
New stuff I'll be watching:
Are You There, Chelsea
Smash
Alcatraz
House of Lies
Luck
I'll give Napoleon Dynamite a try.
I'm looking forward to:
The Walking Dead
Justified
Portlandia
30 Rock
Project Runway (Mondo was robbed)
And many more...
I promise I'll watch Chuck's finale.
I promise I will NOT be watching ROB.
I'm going to use iShivi's format.
Sundays:
Once Upon a Time
Desperate Housewives
Pan Am
Mondays:
Pretty Little Liars
Wednesdays:
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Thursdays:
The Vampire Diaries (if I remember)
The Secret Circle (if I remember)
Fridays:
Supernatural (if I remember)
Grimm (if I remember)
Sundays:
Once Upon a Time
Desperate Housewives
Pan Am (DVR)
Mondays:
Pretty Little Liars
The Lying Game
Hart of Dixie (DVR)
SMASH
Tuesdays:
Switched at Birth
Last Man Standing
Glee
The River
New Girl
Ringer
Wednesdays:
Suburgatory
Modern Family
Revenge
American Idol (MAYBE)
Thursdays:
The Vampire Diaries (must-see TV)
The Secret Circle (must-see TV)
Person of Interest
Fridays:
Nikita
A Gifted Man
Supernatural
Grimm
Wow. The season just went from bad to worse. Looking forward to Alcatraz and Castle's return. Still favor Supernatural over Fringe. Other than that, guess I'll go read a book.
Mondays:
Pretty Little Liars
How I Met Your Mother
Alcatraz
Touch
Smash
Tuesdays:
Glee
Switched at Birth
Ringer
New Girl
Raising Hope
Parenthood
Southland
Justified
White Collar
The River (wasn't going to check this out...heard good stuff about it)
Wednesday:
Modern Family
Happy Endings
Revenge
Cougar Town (If it comes back)
Thursday:
Community (If it comes back)
Parks & Recreation
The Big Bang Theory
The Vampire Diaries
Up All Night
Person of Interest
Archer
Unsupervised
Friday:
Chuck
Nikita
Fringe
Grimm
Saturday:
Doctor Who (Just caught up to this show...think it airs on Saturdays?)
Sunday:
The Walking Dead
Hell On Wheels
Once Upon a Time
Shameless
Treme
Californication
House of Lies
Luck
Mad Men
Game of Thrones
Harry's Law
Other: Awake, Apt 23.
Harsh midseason. Only Fox can schedule 2 shows for the same timeslot, poor Bob's Burgers (a show I waited 2 hours in line to see the Comic-Con panel of, only to not make it in the door).
Anyway, very little to get excited about for this midseason, and some of these "shows" are the laziest junk ever. Howie Mandel's show making flashmobs, a 2-years-out-of-date trend, and it's on Fox? Hi, welcome to CANCELED.
As someone already said it ... What about "Awake" ?
@MarieKila Awake is not actually on NBC's midseason schedule. If the network gives the show a premiere date in the near future, we'll add it!
californication (guilty pleasure for sure) and comic men looks good, but that's mainly because i'm a huge kevin smith fan (rewatched clerks for the 12th time!). and fear not community fans, because you can still see alison brie once mad men returns
Nitpick: Californication airs at 10:30p not 10:00p
@kpk001 Nitpick sustained! I've fixed the error.
Thanks. Guide (and fix) are appreciated.
Does anyone know when Homeland's coming back?
@ChristyannaOh The show will likely return in the fall.
That is so cruel. It's too long to wait with such a big cliffhanger. That goes double for Dexter.
Please stop bringing shows back for JUST ONE EPISODE and then going on hiatus again (such as Pretty Little Liars last fall and Bones this month)!
Where's awake???
@pe Awake is not actually on NBC's midseason schedule. If the network gives the show a premiere date in the near future, we'll add it!
where's Community????!!!!
I am pretty invested in the shows I watch now and I watch a lot of shows.
Sunday: Once Upon A Time
Monday: HIMYM, 2BG, Mike and Molly, Hawaii Five-0, Pretty Little Liars
Tuesday: NCIS and NCIS LA
Hey, TV.com staff. Did you forget about Bones? Or did you leave it out because it has a late return? I didn't see anything past March in this list, so I'm thinking that if it returns in April or sometime thereafter, you probably consider it returning for the summer schedule. Just throwing out thoughts here. It would be fantastic if you could let us know.
Also, same thing for Awake? I'm really looking forward to that show.
@elthandiel A little bit of both! I've added a Bones entry to Thursday that will hopefully help clarify, but basically the show is coming back for a single new episode next Thursday, 1/12. It's called "The Crack in the Code" and it's being billed as the midseason finale. (The episode also serves as the lead-in to Bones spin-off The Finder, which premieres that same night.) After that, Bones goes away and American Idol results episodes take its place. So far, Fox has only announced that Bones "will return with all-new episodes in the spring"--we don't have an exact date yet.
As for Awake, @DraicKin5 is correct: Though we're all dying to see it, NBC has yet to actually schedule the show. Stupid NBC.
Thank you very much for the Bones info J, I really appreciate it; definitely helps clarify.
As for Awake, I'd hope we get a premiere date sometime soon, but the lack of info could be a good thing. I mean, maybe NBC is trying to make sure they get it right.(?) I'm really invested in the hope that Awake will be great.
NBC didn't give any date for Awake !