(This is an updated version, adding several CW shows)
After waiting semi-patiently for three months, TV viewers have a logical question:
Now that the strikes have ended, when will the real season start? The answer varies; it will be:
— Quite soon. Two comedies (one is shown here) arrive Dec. 23; 11 more shows arrive in the first week of January.
— Really late. Another 12 shows – led by the eternal “Grey’s Anatomy” – wait until March.
— Or somewhere in between. You could think of the Super Bowl, on Feb. 11, as the turning point.
CBS will have one show (Justin Hartley’s “Tracker”) debut after the game and virtually everything else – 15 shows – arrive in the next week. That’s through Feb. 18, the night ABC launches its “American Idol” season and one other show.
It will be a big week, but everything else is scattered. There will be at least 31 shows (especially reality shows and comedies) arriving before the Super Bowl and 16 more (strong on dramas) after that week.
Here’s a chronological list, covering the five big commercial broadcast networks and the Sunday dramas on PBS. It doesn’t include the cable or streaming networks, which have had a steady pipeline.
This includes new shows, season-openers and shows returning from winter breaks, but not ones that never stopped. It’s all subject to change and several shows haven’t yet been scheduled.
BEFORE THE SUPER BOWL
— Dec. 23: “Extended Family” debut, NBC. Opener is about 8 p.m. ET, after football; then 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays, starting Jan. 2. Jon Cryer (shown here, left) navigates life with his ex-wife and her new guy.
— Dec. 23: “Night Court” season-opener, NBC. Opener is 8:30 p.m.; then 8 p.m. Tuesdays, starting Jan. 2.
— Dec. 30: “I Am …” debut, CW, 8-10 p.m. Saturdays. Biographies, starting with Burt Reynolds.
— Jan. 1: “America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League” debut, NBC; 8 p.m. Mondays.
— Jan. 2: “Celebrity Name That Tune” return from winter break, Fox; 8 p.m. Tuesdays.
— Jan. 2: “The Floor” debut, Fox; 9 p.m. Tuesdays. Game show hosted by Rob Lowe.
— Jan. 2: “Only Murders in the Building,” the Emmy-nominated cable show, moves its first season to ABC; 8-10 p.m., for four Tuesdays.
— Jan. 3: “I Can See Your Voice” season-opener, Fox; 8 p.m. Wednesdays.
— Jan. 3: “We Are Family” debut, Fox; 9 p.m. Wednesdays. Panel tries to guess whom the singer is related to.
— Jan. 7: “Grimsburg” debut, Fox; 8 p.m. Sundays, then moves to 9:30 p.m., starting Jan. 28. It;s an animated show, with Jon Hamm as a detective.
— Jan. 7: “The Great North” season-opener, Fox, 9:30 p.m. Sundays, then moving to 9 p.m. on Jan. 28.
— Jan. 7: “Miss Scarlet and the Duke” and “All Creatures Great and Small” season-openers, PBS; 8 and 9 p.m. Sundays.
— Jan. 7: “Funny Woman” debut, PBS; 10 p.m. Sundays. A beauty queen heads to London, hoping to break into show business.
— Jan. 7: “Sunday Night Movies” opener, CW; 8-10 p.m. Sundays. Starts with “The Weddihg Planner” (2001).
— Jan. 9: “La Brea” season-opener, NBC; 9 p.m. Tuesdays,.
— Jan. 9: “Found” returns for season’s final two episodes, NBC; 10 p.m. Tuesdays.
— Jan. 11: “Children Ruin Everything” return, 9:30 p.m., CW.
— Jan. 17: “Chicago” shows (“Med,” “Fire,” “P.D.”) season-openers, NBC; 8, 9, 10 p.m. Wednesdays.
— Jan. 17: “Wild Cards” debut, CW; 8 p.m. Wednesdays. Canadian drama pairing a police detective and a female scam artist.
— Jan. 17: “Family Law” season-opener, CW; 9 p.m. Wednesdays.
— Jan. 18: “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” NBC; 8, 9 and 10 p.m. Thursdays.
— Jan. 19: “Transplant” returns from winter break, NBC; 8 p.m. Fridays.
— Jan. 22: “The Bachelor” season-opener, ABC; 8-10 p.m. Mondays.
— Jan. 22: “TMZ Investigates” debut, Fox; 8 p.m. Mondays. After pop-culture specials in the past, the show gets a weekly slot.
— Jan. 22: “America’s Most Wanted” return to broadcast TV, Fox; 9 p.m. Mondays.
— Jan. 22: A “20/20” spin-off debut, focusing on love crimes, ABC, 10 p.m. Mondays.
— Jan. 28: “Next Level Chef” season-opener, Fox; about 10 p.m. ET (after football), then 8 p.m. Thursdays, Feb. 1.
— Jan. 29: “The Irrational” returns for season’s final four episodes, NBC; 10 p.m. Mondays.
— Feb. 1: “Farmer Wants a Wife” season-opener, Fox; 9 p.m. Thursdays.
— Feb. 7: “The Conners,” “Not Dead Yet”,” Abbott Elementary” and “Judge Steve Harvey” season-openers, ABC; 8, 8:30, 9 and 10 p.m. Wednesdays.
SUPER BOWL WEEK
— Feb. 11: “Tracker” debut, CBS, about 10 or 10:30 p.m. ET (after the Super Bowl); then 9 p.m. Sundays. Also, the first two episodes rerun at 10 p.m. Thursdays, Feb. 15 and 22. Fresh from “This is Us,” Justin Hartlety plays a master at finding people.
— Feb. 12: “Bob (Hearts) Abishola” opener of final season, CBS; 8:30 p.m. Mondays.
— Feb. 12: “The Neighborhood,” “NCIS” and “NCIS: Hawaii” season-openers, CBS; 8, 9 and 10 p.m. Mondays.
— Feb. 13: “FBI,” “FBI International” and “FBI: Most Wanted” season-openers, CBS; 8, 9 and 10 p.m. Tuesdays.
— Feb. 15: “Young Sheldon” start of final season, CBS; 8 p.m. Thursdays.
— Feb. 15: “Ghosts” and “So Help Me Todd” season-openers, CBS; 8:30 and 9 p.m. Thursdays.
— Feb. 16: “SWAT” and “Fire Country” season-openers, CBS; 8 and 9 p.m. Fridays.
— Feb. 16: “Blue Bloods” opener of final season, which concludes in the fall, CBS; 10 p.m. Fridays.
— Feb. 18: “American Idol,” ABC; 8-10 p.m. Sundays.
— Feb. 18: “The Equalizer” and “CSI Vegas” season-openers, CBS; 8 and 10 p.m. Sundays.
— Feb. 18: “What Would You Do?” season-opener, ABC; 10 p.m. Sundays
AFTERWARD
— Feb. 20: “Crime Nation” debut, CW; 8-10 p.m. Tuesdays. True-crime stories.
— Feb. 26: “The Voice” season-opener, NBC; opener is 8-9:30 p.m., then 8-10 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays.
— Feb. 26: “Deal or No Deal Island” debut, NBC, 9:30 p.m. for opener, then 10 p.m. Mondays; variation on previous game show.
— Feb. 28: “Survivor” begins a new edition, CBS; first two weeks are two-hour, then 90-minutes.
— Feb. 29: “Elsbeth” debut, CBS; 10 p.m. Thursdays. A quirky “Good Wife” and “Good Fight” character gets her own show.
— March 4: “So You Think You Can Dance” season-opener, Fox; 8 p.m. Mondays.
— March 5: “The Cleaning Lady” season-opener, Fox; 8 p.m. Tuesdays.
— March 5 “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” season-opener, Fox; 9 p.m. Tuesdays.
— March 6: “The Masked Singer” new edition, Fox; 8 p.m. Wednesdays.
— March 6: “Animal Control,” Fox. 9 p.m. Wednesdays,
— March 6: “Family Guy” return from winter break, Fox; 9:30 p.m. Sundays.
— March 13: “The Amazing Race,” CBS; 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays.
— March 14: “9-1-1,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Station 19” season-openers, ABC; 8, 9 and 10 p.m. Thursdays.
— March 17: “Call the Midwife” season-opener, PBS; 8 p.m. Sundays.
— March 17: “Lolly” debut, PBS; 9 p.m. Sundays. Helena Bonham Carter plays real-life British soap star Noele Gordon, in a story by Russell Davies, who created the “Doctor Who” revival and spin-offs.