Returning television shows are met with anticipation

Coming off the heels of the Golden Globes last weekend, various television networks are announcing the return of some of their most anticipated shows. TV giants like ABC, the CW and Freeform are picking up right where they left off in current seasons while adding new shows to their programs. From child-bearing virgins to surgeons from Seattle to high school heartthrobs, viewers’ favorite characters will return to air this month.

Jane the Virgin – Jan. 23 (The CW)

Last year’s Golden Globe Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy TV Series Gina Rodriguez returns as Jane Villanueva in the satirical telenovela. Having been accidentally artificially inseminated by her boss, Rodriguez’s character juggles motherhood with her relationships, work and family values rooted in her Latina heritage and Catholic upbringing. The CW announced earlier this month that the show was renewed for a fourth season, meaning fans can continue to follow Jane’s drama-filled, heart-wrenching future.

Quantico – Jan. 23 (ABC)

While some say Priyanka Chopra sparkled at this year’s Golden Globes, others say she shined in her role as Alex Parrish on the drama thriller. An FBI recruit training at the Quantico headquarters in Virginia, Chopra’s character fights to clear her name from a terrorist attack she is linked to while saving the lives of others. 

Suits – Jan. 25 (USA)

This thriller follows college dropout Mike Ross, played by Patrick J. Adams, working at Pearson Hardman, one of the hottest law firms in Manhattan, while his boss Harvey Specter covers up the fact that he has no law degree.

Ross’ intelligence and eidetic memory guides him as he and his boss work on the firm’s cases together. While one of the recurring characters left the show in the middle of the sixth season, Suits will continue to surprise its audience with even more shocking twists.

Riverdale – Jan. 26 (The CW)

The CW is bringing the characters from the Archie comics to life in its newest mystery teen drama Riverdale, starring K. J. Apa as Archie Andrews, the show’s main heartthrob, with Cole Sprouse as his co-star. The plot pursues high schoolers in the wake of one of their classmates’ deaths, but the secrets revolving around his passing trouble this small, reserved town as danger lurks around every shadowy corner. The show’s premiere succeeds the 75th anniversary of the Archie Andrews character.

 

Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder – Jan. 26 (ABC)

Shondaland Productions has the ball rolling with the return of USC alumna and creator Shonda Rhimes’ three hit shows. Grey’s fans will catch up with Meredith Grey, played by Ellen Pompeo, and her fellow surgeons in the medical drama, which is still “one of the network’s longest running and most successful current scripted series,” according to Entertainment Weekly.

Kerry Washington returns as Olivia Pope, a former White House media consultant who opens up her own crisis-management firm in Scandal. However, Washington’s character only digs herself deeper into crisis as the season teaser calls for an explosive return to television after 252 days of being off the air.

Lastly, Emmy Award-winning actress Viola Davis completes the female-headed trio with How to Get Away with Murder, featuring Davis’ character as a criminal law professor who, alongside her students, involves herself in a progressive murder plot to try to accomplish the deed of the show’s title.

Despite the week-long delay of these airings due to ABC’s Presidential inauguration special, Rhimes’ productions will heighten viewers’ excitement with the shocking revelations each show promises to not hold back for much longer.

The Fosters  – Jan. 31  (Freeform)

Another drama set to return on air, The Fosters centers on a complex family dynamic of “a lesbian couple and their blend of biological, adoptive and foster children,” according to IMDB. The show exhibits many LGBTQ and racial themes, and its upcoming 100th episode in season five promises to be another focal point.

Switched at Birth – Jan. 31 (Freeform)

Like its fellow Freeform production The Fosters, Switched at Birth follows Bay Kennish and Daphne Vasquez, who were accidentally switched as infants in the hospital. As one lives with a wealthy family and the other is deaf and raised by a single, middle-class mother, the girls and their families struggle to live in harmony, but for the sake of family, continue to seek out a balance in this family drama.