5 returning shows to watch this spring
Get ready for nostalgia, Russian spies, robots, dystopia and walking holidays. But not all at once.
Springtime is quickly becoming one of the most crowded seasons for your favourite shows. And while there is a host of new entries fighting for your attention, some old favourites are returning too, some after many, many years.
Whether you’re looking for the comfortingly familiar, the unsettling future or the final season of a classic, we’ve picked five returning shows that are most worth your time.
Roseanne (ABC) March 27 (Tuesdays, 8 p.m.)
They’re back. Revivals and reboots are the biggest trend in TV right now, and ABC is pulling out all the stops for the return of the Conners, more than 20 years after “Roseanne” signed off the air in 1997. The new season — with most of the original cast,
including Roseanne Barr, John Goodman, Sara Gilbert and Laurie Metcalf — gets close to capturing the spirit of the original, even if it feels a little frozen in time.
But if you’re a fan of the original, there’s nothing quite like seeing the Conner family gather for dinner a few more times.
The Americans (FX) March 28 (Wednesdays, 10 p.m.)
What will Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth (Keri Russell) do in the end? After five seasons and many, many wigs, the couple has to make a decision about their fates as the superb Russian-spy thriller calls it quits. The show jumps ahead three years to 1987, as tensions on the world stage and within the family heighten, especially after daughter Paige (Holly Taylor) gets in on the family business.
Jersey Shore Family Vacation (MTV)
April 5 (Thursdays, 8 p.m.)
Move aside, Floribama Shore. Nearly a decade after introducing guidos, grenades and GTL (Gym, Tan, Laundry) into the pop-culture lexicon, the original party animals of Seaside Heights, N.J., are back to wreak havoc — only this time, they’re heading to Miami with their spouses and children in tow. Fans shouldn’t hold their breath for an awkward reunion between exes Sammi ‘Sweetheart’ Giancola and Ronnie Ortiz-Magro since Giancola is sitting this one out, but they can expect no shortage of beer bongs and baby diapers in this realityshow guilty pleasure, which has already been renewed for a second season.
Westworld (HBO) April 22 (Sundays, 9 p.m.)
New worlds literally await in the highly anticipated second season of HBO’s mind-bending sci-fi drama, which will introduce more theme parks beyond the Old West setting where humans can act out their darkest desires with robots. Like the cable network’s other hit series, “Game of Thrones,” details about new episodes are shrouded in mystery. But the latest trailer teased the return of Ed Harris’ nefarious Man in Black, as well as fan favourites Maeve (Thandie Newton) and Dolores (Evan Rachel Woods), sentient androids who showed stunning acts of free will in the brutal season 1 finale.
The Handmaid’s Tale (Bravo)
April 29 (Sundays)
Blessed be the second season. The Emmy-winning drama returns with a batch of harrowing new episodes focused on Offred’s (Elisabeth Moss) pregnancy and her fight to free her future child from the dystopian nightmare of Gilead. Moss’s former West Wing co-star Bradley Whitford joins the cast as a member of the totalitarian government.