Midseason television preview

After a mostly disappointing fall season, TV suits are meeting with TV critics, including Lisa de Moraes, to plug their next wave of shows. Here’s a look at what they’re talking up — and some familiar shows that have undergone major changes.

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1600 Penn

Josh Gad, of "Book of Mormon" fame, is creator/executive producer/star of "1600 Penn." He plays, Skip, the bumbling first son to POTUS, Bill Pullman, and FLOTUS, Jenna Elfman.

NBC / JORDIN ALTHAUS/NBC

Deception

What's a cop to do when her former best friend is found dead? Joanna (Meagan Good) decides to work her way back into the family and investigate her friend's death.

NBC / J.R. MANKOFF/NBC

Do No Harm

Dr. Jason Cole/Ian Price (Steven Pasquale) brings Jekyll and Hyde drama to the hospital in "Do No Harm."

NBC / PATRICK HARBRON/NBC

The Following

Kevin Bacon comes to TV as Ryan Hardy, a former FBI agent who's back to help find the serial killer he stopped years ago and his entourage of cult followers.

Michael Lavine / AP

Golden Boy

Not to be confused with CBS's "Blue Bloods," CBS's "Golden Boy" is the series about the rise of an ambitious cop (Theo James, left) who becomes the youngest police commissioner in the history of New York City.

David M. Russell / CBS

How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life)

"How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life)" is the guide to living with zany parents as a single mom and dealing with the longest name of any comedy series ever. It stars Sarah Chalke.

Carin Baer / ABC

Red Widow

"Red Widow" is slang for an ABC drama featuring a woman who finds out her dead husband owed the mob and now she must pay the debt.

Sergei Bachlakov / ABC

Zero Hour

Clocks are ticking as Hank (Anthony Edwards), a conspiracy theory magazine publisher, must use his knowledge to find his abducted wife, Laila (Jacinda Barrett).

Phillippe Bosse / ABC

30 Rock

Say goodbye to Liz Lemon in the final episodes of "30 Rock."

Ali Goldstein / AP

American Idol

Finally we get to see all the drama unfold between dueling divas Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj and the new man in the middle, Keith Urban.

Michael Becker / AP

Community

"Community" is back, for real this time, but Chevy Chase is leaving.

NBC / JORDIN ALTHAUS/NBC

Cougar Town

The show moves from broadcast to cable. Will hilarity ensue now that they've been unshackled from broadcast TV content restrictions?

Michael Yarish / TBS

Dallas

Larry Hagman appears in the first episodes in the second season, and his real-life death is worked into the storyline. His J.R. Ewing's shooting storyline had earned "Dallas" historic ratings years ago.

Zade Rosenthal / AP

Downton Abbey

Shirley MacLaine comes to "Downton Abbey."

Nick Briggs / AP

Smash

A good chunk of first season cast is gone, and second season features Jennifer Hudson, Jesse L. Martin, Liza Minelli and Sean Hayes, to name a few.

Will Hart / AP

The Voice

Does Blake Shelton have an ear for this season's winner? He and Adam Levine will be up against Usher and Shakira this time around.

Trae Patton / AP

Up All Night

Cue the canned laughter. Reagan (Christina Applegate) and Chris (Will Arnett) will be shot in front of a studio audience for the midseason reboot.

Trae Patton / NBC

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

ANNAPOLIS MD: MAY 24
The Class of 2013 culminates their commissioning ceremony with the hat toss, a traditional ending to the ceremony, originated at the Naval Academy in 1912. The 'hat toss' has since become a symbolic and visual end to the four-year program. Photographed at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland on May 24, 2013.
(Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

They tossed their caps in Annapolis

The 2013 Class of the U.S. Naval Academy holds its graduation and commissioning ceremonies.

PITTSBURGH, PA - MAY 19: Mark Melancon #35 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches in the eighth inning against the Houston Astros during the game on May 19, 2013 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pirates defeated the Astros 1-0. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

MLB power rankings

Barry Svrluga assesses the best teams in Major League Baseball through Thursday.

epa03714567 A Thai Buddhist family take an offering of lotus flowers to pay respects to a giant Buddha surrounded by more than 1,000 smaller Buddha statues at a Buddhism Park, on Vesak or Visakha Bucha day, in Nakhon Nayok, north of Bangkok, Thailand, 24 May 2013. Buddhist devotees throughout the world offer blessings at temples to mark one of the holiest days in Buddhism, commemorating the birth, enlightenment and the death of Buddha. EPA/BARBARA WALTON

Photos of the day

Buddhist Wesak festival, prisoners-of-war reunion, bridge collapse, world’s largest Lego model and more.

SILVER SPRING MD: MAY 18
from left to right, Bodybuilders Jorge Villatoro, Sidney Bumbrey, Eric Holmes and Ron Coleman show off their most muscular poses for the judges at the 2013 Musclemania - Capital Tournament of Champions Contest held at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center in Silver Spring, Maryland on May 18, 2013.
(Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Flexing their muscles

Dozens of bodybuilders came out to Silver Spring to compete in the 2013 Musclemania Capital Tournament of Champions.

epa03714543 US actress Carmen Electra arrives for the Life Ball gala, at the airport Schwechat, in Vienna, Austria, 24 May 2013. The 21th Life Ball, an annual fundraising charity event for HIV and Aids projects, takes place at the Vienna City-Hall on 25 May 2013. EPA/HERBERT NEUBAUER

Eye on entertainment

Carmen Electra, Barbara Eden, Sharon Stone, Goldie Hawn, Jaden Smith and more.

MOORE, OK - MAY 24: A 'For Sale' sign hangs in a tree in a storm ravaged neighborhood on May 24, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. The tornado of EF5 strength and two miles wide touched down May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Assessing tornado damage in Oklahoma

Amid great destruction, residents of the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore begin to assess the severity of the twister that hit Monday.

WASHINGTON DC: MAY 22
Contestant Travis Rumans, 31 dances with his beloved glow sticks for talent at Penn Social in Washington, DC on May 22, 2013. The contestants help raise over $15,000 for the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The Mr. DC pageant is a fundraising event to benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
The qualifications for the Mr. District of Columbia finalists is that they must live, work and attend school in the District of Columbia between the ages of 21-30 who are unmarried, intelligent, and dapper in a suit.
(Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Mr. D.C. Pageant contestants compete for charity

Contestants in the Mr. D.C. Pageant, a fundraising event, helped raise more than $15,000 for the Children’s National Medical Center.

A Burrowing owl tries to perch on a protective rope in a public park in Cooper City, Fla. Monday, May 20, 2013 as rain falls. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Animal views

Fun and fascinating creatures around the world.

Back to Previous Gallery

Nielson becomes a Twitter follower

The Twitter haters are losing the war.

At 'Downton Abbey' braves its own fiscal cliff

“Downton Abbey,” that phenomenally successful British drama series about a very specific sort of people enduring what amounts to the modern era’s original first-world problems, is back on PBS’s “Masterpiece Classic” Sunday night for a third season. It is greeted with huzzahs, which are deserved, but it is also met with the law of diminishing returns.

At last, it’s Jimmy vs. Jay vs. Dave

Ten years after ABC began making trouble when it tried to pinch late-night stars from CBS and NBC to replace “Nightline,” the network will finally move homegrown talent Jimmy Kimmel into the time slot Tuesday.

‘Deception’: An exhaustive murder mystery

At this point in the TV season, deciding which shows to watch is all about logistics.

What else is on? A guide to new shows, documentaries, series, and specials

Reality shows, documentaries, miniseries, specials — there’s no shortage of new programming in the 2013 midseason. Here’s a guide:

Full mid-season broadcast lineup

8 p.m.

TV series returning mid-season

Premiere dates for prime-time shows returning in mid-season:

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