Fork Yeah! All the TV returning & premiering this January
January still hits like a post-holiday comedown, yet 2018 opened with a packed slate of returning favorites and fresh arrivals that kept living rooms locked in. The calendar that month mixed long-running network staples with early streaming experiments, and the lineup offered something for every mood from procedural comfort to prestige drama. Many of those titles went on to shape later seasons, awards conversations, and even the way viewers discovered shows outside traditional broadcast windows.
January 3
The Blacklist
The Blacklist returned with the ninth episode of its fifth season. The series ultimately stretched across ten seasons before wrapping in 2023, building an intricate web of criminal alliances and Red Reddington’s ever-shifting motives.
Catfish: The TV Show
Catfish: The TV Show came back for season seven on MTV. Nev and Max kept chasing digital deceptions at a time when catfishing had already moved from niche warning to everyday slang.
January 4
The Good Place
The Good Place launched its second season. The afterlife comedy would run four seasons total and finish in 2020, leaving behind a rare sitcom that turned moral philosophy into appointment viewing.
Grown-ish
The highly anticipated spinoff show from Black-ish executive producer Kenya Barris follows teenager Zoey Johnson (Yara Shahidi) as she traverses the complex path of college and adulthood. The show from Freeform promises to take a contemporary look at issues facing the students and administrators of higher education.
The X-Files
The X-Files entered its eleventh season on Fox. Mulder and Scully’s final run added a handful of mythology episodes and a last batch of stand-alones before the long-running franchise closed its network chapter.
January 7
Star Trek: Discovery
Star Trek: Discovery reached its tenth episode on CBS All Access. The series later moved exclusively to Paramount+, where it completed its five-season arc and expanded the franchise’s timeline with new characters and darker stakes.
Ghosted
Starring the hilarious duo of Adam Scott (Step Brothers) and Craig Robinson (Pineapple Express), season one of the paranormal comedy will be returning to Fox, where our hapless leads Max and Leroy will no doubt run afoul of plenty more ghosts, ghouls, and sexy succubi.
The Chi
The Chi continued its first season on Showtime. The South Side coming-of-age drama has since built multiple seasons around intersecting lives and systemic pressures in Chicago.
Family Guy
Family Guy delivered the latest batch of its sixteenth season on Fox. The animated series kept its rapid-fire cutaways and boundary-pushing gags intact through the winter stretch.
January 8
The Good Doctor
The Good Doctor returned with the second half of its first season on ABC. The medical drama found a steady audience and later ran for six seasons centered on its autistic savant surgeon.
January 9
Schitt’s Creek
Schitt’s Creek opened its fourth season on CBC. The series would finish in 2020 after six seasons and sweep the Emmys with a historic clean sweep in the comedy categories.
The Mayor
Young rapper Courtney Rose (Brandon Micheal Hall) unintentionally becomes the mayor of his hometown after running for office. ABC’s newest sitcom will return with episode 10 of its first season.
This Is Us
This Is Us picked up its second season on NBC. The family drama would run six seasons overall and close in 2022 after mapping decades of Pearson milestones and heartbreaks.
January 10
Great News
Smart, ambitious news producer Katie Wendelson (Briga Heelan) deals with the everyday struggles of her career – with the added struggle of working with her mom. We’ll see more of her predicament when episode 10 of the sitcom’s second season brings the show back.
The Magicians
The Magicians premiered its third season on Syfy. Based on the best-selling books by Lev Grossman, this show about a university that specializes in magic will be conjuring up its third season premiere on Syfy.
Happy!
Happy! returned for the remainder of its first season on Syfy. Christopher Meloni’s hitman and his imaginary blue horse kept delivering the show’s signature mix of violence and cartoon logic.
Alone Together
Alone Together debuted on Freeform. The half-hour comedy tracked a tight platonic friendship navigating rent, jobs, and dating in Los Angeles.
January 12
Disjointed
Disjointed launched its second season on Netflix. Kathy Bates (Misery) returned as the owner of a cannabis dispensary surrounded by three high “budtenders,” extending the workplace comedy’s run of weed-industry satire.
January 14
Divorce
Divorce returned for its second season on HBO. The first season of HBO’s caustic comedy series left audiences with plenty to chew on and the second season looks to be just as biting. Starring Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City) and Thomas Haden Church (Tombstone) in standouts performances, the show is a realistic yet painful look at relationships.
Crashing
Crashing opened its second season on HBO. Pete Holmes’ comedy series about a stand-up comedian who re-evaluates his life after discovering his wife’s infidelity returns to HBO for season two.
January 16
Bob’s Burgers
Bob’s Burgers moved deeper into its eighth season on Fox. The Belcher family kept serving up musical numbers and kitchen chaos without missing a beat.
Black Lightning
Black Lightning premiered its first season on The CW. The CW’s TV adaptation of the DC superhero follows Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams), a man who returns to vigilantism after a decade away from heroics.
January 17
Riverdale
Riverdale resumed its second season on The CW. Season 2 returned in January 2018; series ran seven seasons through 2023, keeping the town’s murder-mystery engine running long after the Black Hood reveal.
The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story premiered on FX. The much anticipated second instalment of Ryan Murphy’s award-winning limited series will be premiering on FX. If it’s anything as great as The People v. OJ Simpson, then you’ll want to be watching it as soon as it arrives.
Corporate
Corporate debuted on Comedy Central. The dark workplace satire followed two junior executives navigating layoffs, branding disasters, and soul-crushing meetings at a faceless conglomerate.
The Path
The Path opened its third season on Hulu. Season three of the cult-centric family drama premieres of Hulu, with stars Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) and Hugh Dancy (Hannibal) both making a return.
Dynasty
Dynasty returned with new episodes on The CW. The glossy reboot kept the Carrington-Colby fortune wars alive with fresh cast members and amplified camp.
Portlandia
Portlandia launched its eighth season on IFC. Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein will be bringing back some of the city’s most beloved characters, and some new members, when season eight premieres on IFC.
Britannia
Britannia premiered on Sky Atlantic. The anarchic period drama dropped viewers into Roman-occupied Britain, complete with druids, warriors, and shifting power plays.
January 19
High Maintenance
High Maintenance began its second season on HBO. Based on Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair’s web series about a bike-riding, weed delivery guy with an eclectic Brooklyn base, season two of the show will be premiering on HBO.
Grace and Frankie
Grace and Frankie returned for its fourth season on Netflix. The dynamic best friends and business partners might be over their gay husbands leaving them for one another, but life looks to be just as bothersome as ever. But also, just as fun. Especially as Lisa Kudrow (Friends) will be featuring as a guest star when season four returns to Netflix.
January 21
Counterpart
Counterpart premiered on Starz. Starring Academy-Award winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash), this American spy thriller looks exceptionally thrilling. So you’ll definitely want to catch the premiere on Starz.
January 22
The Alienist
The Alienist debuted on TNT. Based on Caleb Carr’s novel, TNT’s thriller about a serial killer in 1896 responsible for murdering boy prostitutes, is one you’ll also want to catch the premiere episode of.
January 23
Mosaic
Mosaic arrived on HBO. Steven Soderbergh’s murder mystery let viewers choose their path through the story via a companion app, an early experiment in interactive prestige television.
Baskets
Baskets opened its third season on HBO. Season three of HBO’s dark comedy-drama will see Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover) resuming his tragi-comic role as the clownish black sheep of his family.
The Detour
The Detour returned for its third season on TBS. The Detour kept the family road-trip formula rolling with fresh disasters at every stop.
January 24
Waco
Waco premiered on the Paramount Network. Starring Michael Shannon (Take Shelter) and Taylor Kitsch (Lone Survivor), this dramatization of story of the violent raid on a small religious community near Waco, and the 52-day standoff that followed, will premiere on the Paramount Network.
January 26
One Day At A Time
One Day At A Time launched its second season on Netflix. A reimagining of the Norman Lear classic, the second season of Netflix’s Cuban-American comedy drama will be welcomed by every fan who binge-watched the first.
Jane The Virgin
Jane The Virgin continued its fourth season on The CW. The telenovela-style comedy kept its meta narration and romantic entanglements humming through the winter months.
Legacy and Cultural Impact
Several titles from the January 2018 slate became long-term reference points. The Good Place and Schitt’s Creek earned critical acclaim and major awards recognition after their midseason returns. Riverdale and Dynasty helped steer teen drama trends toward heightened mystery and glossy reboot energy. Grace and Frankie stood out as a streaming landmark for stories centered on older adults, proving audiences would follow characters well past midlife crises.
Streaming vs. Broadcast Shifts in 2018
The month’s schedule already reflected the widening split between traditional networks and emerging streamers. Netflix and Hulu hosted multiple premieres, signaling early expansion for on-demand viewing. Counterpart and Mosaic tested premium cable and interactive formats, hinting at the hybrid models that would dominate later years.
Shows That Didn't Return or Were Canceled
Not every series listed in January 2018 found long-term footing. Ghosted, The Mayor, Great News, and Alone Together ended after limited runs. Corporate and The Detour each wrapped after a handful of seasons, illustrating how quickly even buzzy comedies could disappear once the initial order cycle concluded.
Where to Watch the Original Seasons Today
Many of the shows featured that month remain easy to revisit. Early seasons of titles like The Good Place, Schitt’s Creek, and Grace and Frankie sit on Netflix or Hulu. Star Trek: Discovery moved fully to Paramount+, while several network entries cycle through Paramount+ or free ad-supported platforms depending on licensing windows.
