Published in the February 2013 issue

[1] The Following

Although it starts with a familiar cliché — a guy comes out of retirement to catch the escaped criminal (played by James Purefoy) only he could put behind bars in the first place — The Following quickly redeems itself with its cinematic quality (Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson is helming the show) and, well, Kevin Bacon. As a former FBI agent, Bacon plays a man who must have learned law enforcement from episodes of The Wire. He's an alcoholic, violently angry, and prone to sleeping with the wrong women — in this case, the wife of the serial killer he's hunting.

Mondays at 9:00 P.M. on Fox, starting January 21.

[2] House of Cards

In Netflix's second attempt at original drama (the first, Lilyhammer, starring Steven Van Zandt, was predominantly boring — nothing but jowls and muttering), Kevin Spacey is a manipulative, unlikable, and perfectly caricatured politician who, after being screwed over by a new administration he helped put into power, becomes hell-bent on finding a new route to the top. It's ruthless and entertaining, good enough even to get you to overlook Spacey's ridiculous ploy of engaging the camera to narrate. And you'll only occasionally need to hit pause to unravel all the complicated subterfuge.

On Netflix February 1.

[3] Kroll Show

If you like Nick Kroll's characters — obnoxious, hard-to-look-at drag queens and assholes — not much could make you happier than a half hour of skits from a guy still making The League one of the funniest shows on TV. If you don't like those characters, which is entirely reasonable, watch for hilarious and offensive sketches like "Wheels, Ontario," about an able-bodied Canadian teen politely trying to find his way in a new school for wheelchair-bound students.

Wednesdays at 10:30 P.M. on Comedy Central.

[4] The Americans

Two Russian spies (Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys) try to pass as an average American couple by maintaining a 15-year sham marriage, replete with two wholesome children, as a cover for a KGB operation. Set during the cold war, the show is mercifully light on Eastern Promises — style accents and heavy on period details: Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight" plays in the couple's '77 Oldsmobile as they drive to dispose of a body. Maybe it's the success of Homeland, or just Russell's undying charm, but it won't take much more than a couple episodes to have you pulling for the Russians.

Wednesdays at 10:00 P.M. on FX.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io