Premiere dates for all new and returning shows
All shows with announced premiere dates are listed below. First-year series and new specials are marked with a 
symbol. All times ET/PT.
Calendar last updated April 8, 2013.
April premieres
| Show | Network | Type | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| MON / April 1 | |||
| The Gossip Game |
VH1 | Reality | 9p |
| Kickin' It | Disney XD | Comedy | 8:30p |
| Kristen Schaal: Live at the Fillmore |
Comedy Central | Special | Midnight |
| The Real Housewives of Orange County | Bravo | Reality | 8p |
| TUE / April 2 | |||
| 19 Kids & Counting | TLC | Reality | 9p |
| WED / April 3 | |||
| Best Ink | Oxygen | Reality competition | 10p |
| Forever Young |
TV Land | Reality | 10p |
 |
|||
 How to Live with Your Parents(For the Rest of Your Life) Watch trailer |
 |
Comedy | 9:30p |
| Sarah Chalke (Scrubs, Cougar Town) stars as a recently divorced single mom who moves back in with her eccentric parents, played by Elizabeth Perkins (Weeds) and Brad Garrett (the former Everybody Loves Raymond co-star who returns to TV for the first time since 'Til Death); Stephanie Hunt (Friday Night Lights) also stars. Critics didn't particularly love the pilot, and ABC only committed to 13 episodes (after delaying the premiere from January to April). | |||
| My Crazy Obsession | TLC | Reality | 10p |
| Pot Cops |
Discovery | Reality | 9p |
| Rogue Watch trailers |
DirecTV | Drama | 9p |
| Thandie Newton stars as an undercover detective who gets a little too close to the crime boss she's investigating in this DirecTV original series. | |||
| Spies of Warsaw Watch trailer |
BBC America | Miniseries | 9p |
| David Tennant (Doctor Who) and Janet Montgomery (Made in Jersey) star in this four-episode drama based on Alan Furst's espionage novel set just before World War II. The miniseries concludes April 10 at 9p. | |||
| THU / April 4 | |||
| America's Worst Tattoos |
TLC | Reality | 9p |
| Casino Confidential |
TLC | Reality | 8p |
 |
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| Hannibal NBC trailer International trailer |
 |
Drama | 10p |
| Thomas Harris' series of Hannibal Lecter novels (the source for films such as Silence of the Lambs) comes to TV in a new drama series from Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller. Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) plays a younger version of the iconic Dr. Hannibal Lecter, while Hugh Dancy stars as an FBI profiler who consults with the good doctor on his toughest cases but doesn't yet know that Lecter himself is a criminal. Laurence Fishburne will co-star as an FBI boss, and Gillian Anderson (in her first series TV role since The X-Files) will recur as Lecter's therapist. Also in the cast are Scott Thompson (The Kids in the Hall), Caroline Dhavernas (Wonderfalls), and Gina Torres (Suits), while Eddie Izzard, Molly Shannon, and Anna Chlumsky (Veep) are slated to guest on the show, which is slated for 13 episodes this season. | |||
| Men at Work | TBS | Comedy | 10p |
| NY Ink | TLC | Reality | 10p |
| Tabatha Takes Over | Bravo | Reality | 10p |
| FRI / April 5 | |||
| Vegas |  |
Drama | 9p |
| The freshman drama returns after a two-month hiatus on a new day and time. | |||
 |
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| VICE Watch trailer |
 |
Documentary | 11p |
| The folks at the news/culture magazine VICE are no strangers to filmmaking, having produced short (and even feature-length) documentaries as well as a short-lived MTV series, The VICE Guide to Everything. Hosted by magazine co-founder Shane Smith and produced by Bill Maher (with newsman Fareed Zakaria serving as consultant), their new eponymous showcase will travel the world in search of provocative, weird, or underreported stories, spending time with Somali pirates, Filipino assassins, Senegalese martial artists, and a Satanic dentist. Of course, you'll really just be watching to see Dennis Rodman and the Harlem Globetrotters visit North Korea. | |||
| SAT / April 6 | |||
| Battledogs |
Syfy | Movie | 9p |
| Dennis Haysbert and Kate Vernon star. | |||
| My Cat From Hell | Animal Planet | Reality | 8p |
| SUN / April 7 | |||
| 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards | |
Special/Live event | 8p |
| Chopped All-Stars | Food Network | Reality competition | 9p |
| Gabriel Iglesias: Aloha Fluffy |
Comedy Central | Special | 9p |
 |
|||
| Mad Men Watch trailer |
 |
Drama | 9p |
| What do we know about the upcoming sixth (and penultimate) season of AMC's hit drama? Thanks to famously secretive series creator Matthew Weiner, not much. The season kicks off with a two-hour premiere (note that the series shifts back to its normal 10p slot the following week) that finds Jon Hamm's Don Draper on vacation in Hawaii with wife Megan (Jessica Paré) after what could be another significant time jump since the end of last season. Meanwhile, Betty (January Jones) will have a bigger role than she did last year, Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) will still be a regular even if she's no longer at SCDP, and Hamm and co-star John Slattery will each step behind the camera to direct episodes as they did last season. Later in 2013, Weiner himself will make his feature film directorial debut with the road trip comedy You Are Here. | |||
| River Monsters | Animal Planet | Reality | 9p |
| MON / April 8 | |||
| 50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus |
|
Movie/Documentary | 9p |
| T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle | VH1 | Reality | 10p |
| TUE / April 9 | |||
| Find Me My Man |
Oxygen | Reality/Dating | 9p |
| The Kandi Factory |
Bravo | Reality | 10p |
| Ladies Man: A MADE Movie |
MTV | Movie | 9p |
| WED / April 10 | |||
| Deep South Paranormal |
Syfy | Reality | 10p |
| Toy Hunter | Travel | Reality | 9p |
| THU / April 11 | |||
| The Graham Norton Show | BBC America | Talk | 10p |
| The Moment |
USA | Reality | 10p |
| Former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner gives ordinary people a chance to live out their lifelong dreams (but only if those dreams include being on a cable reality show). | |||
| FRI / April 12 | |||
 |
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| Da Vinci's Demons Watch trailer |
Starz | Drama | 10p |
| David S. Goyer, the screenwriter for such films as Batman Begins, Dark City, and the upcoming Man of Steel, is the creator of this new eight-episode historical fantasy series, a co-production between Starz and the BBC. English actor Tom Riley stars as the brilliant but troubled Leonardo Da Vinci, who, at the age of 25, begins to "invent the future" amidst the shifting politics of Florence. Expect storylines involving religion, cults, and swordfighting. Note that the series moves to its regular 9p timeslot beginning April 19. | |||
| Sinbad |
Syfy | Drama | 10p |
| Newcomer Elliot Knight stars alongside Lost's Naveen Andrews in this 12-episode British production that recounts the legend of the Middle Eastern sailor hero. | |||
| SAT / April 13 | |||
| Bet on Your Baby |
|
Game show | 8p |
| Parents attempt to predict the behavior of their toddlers in order to win $50,000 toward college tuition (which should cover about half a semester). | |||
| Iyanla: Fix My Life | OWN | Reality | 9p |
| Life With La Toya |
OWN | Reality | 10:30p |
| Louis CK: Oh My God Watch trailer |
|
Comedy | 10p |
| New stand-up special (filmed at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix) is the comedian's fourth for HBO. | |||
| Stalkers |
Lifetime | Movie | 8p |
| Stars Drea de Matteo and Mena Suvari. | |||
| SUN / April 14 | |||
| The '80s: The Decade That Made Us |
Nat Geo | Miniseries/Documentary | 9p |
| Six-hour miniseries (which continues on April 15 and April 16) is narrated by Rob Lowe. | |||
| The Borgias Watch trailer |  |
Drama | 10p |
| MTV Movie Awards | MTV | Special/Live event | 9p |
 |
|||
| Nurse Jackie Watch trailer |
|
Comedy/Drama | 9p |
| Morris Chestnut and Betty Gilpin join the cast for season 5, which finds Jackie (Edie Falco) adjusting to life as a divorced recovering addict. Bobby Cannavale, one of last season's highlights, is no longer a regular, though he will show up for at least one episode. Former Dexter showrunner Clyde Phillips takes over for departed creators Liz Brixius and Linda Wallem. | |||
 |
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| Veep Trailer #1 Trailer #2 |
|
Comedy | 10p |
| Julia Louis-Dreyfus returns as Vice President Selina Meyer in the 10-episode second season of HBO's political satire from Armando Iannucci (The Thick of It). Joining returning cast members (including Anna Chlumsky, Tony Hale, and Matt Walsh) this season are Kevin Dunn (Luck) and Gary Cole (Entourage). | |||
| MON / April 15 | |||
| Burger Land |
Travel | Travel/Food | 10p |
 |
|||
| Defiance Watch trailer |
Syfy | Sci-fi | 9p |
| This ambitious new sci-fi series from Rockne S. O'Bannon (Farscape) is set in a post-apocalyptic future St. Louis after a lengthy war on Earth between humans and a consortium of invading alien races known collectively as the Votans has completely transformed the surface of the planet. Dexter's Julie Benz will star alongside Grant Bowler (True Blood), Mia Kirshner, and Fionnula Flanagan. What makes it ambitious (other than a budget in excess of $100 million and five years of development time) is that Defiance is not just a television show; launching concurrently (on April 2nd) will be a MMO videogame that takes place in the same world (albeit in the ruins of San Francisco, rather than St. Louis), with storylines potentially crossing over from one to the other in the future. There are plenty of Battlestar Galactica/Caprica alumni behind the scenes of the TV portion, including producers Michael Taylor and Kevin Murphy and producer/director Michael Nankin. | |||
| Eve of Destruction |
Reelz | Miniseries | 8p |
| Four-hour miniseries concludes Tuesday 4/16 at 8p. | |||
| James May's Man Lab | BBC America | Reality | 10p |
| Oh Sit! |  |
Game show | 8p |
| Scam City |
Science | Reality | 10p |
| TUE / April 16 | |||
| American Hoggers | A&E | Reality | 10p |
| Awkward. Watch trailer | MTV | Comedy | 10p |
| Tonight's season 3 premiere includes back-to-back episodes. Anthony Michael Hall joins the cast. | |||
| Deadliest Catch | Discovery | Reality | 9p |
| Don't Be Tardy... | Bravo | Reality | 9p |
| Storage Wars | A&E | Reality | 9p |
| Who Gets the Last Laugh? |
TBS | Comedy | 10p |
| Comedians ranging from Tom Green to Andy Dick attempt to out-prank each other. | |||
| WED / April 17 | |||
| Locked Up Abroad | Nat Geo | Reality | 9p |
| Off Pitch |
VH1 | Reality | 10p |
| THU / April 18 | |||
| Gigolos | |
Reality | 11p |
| Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington |
|
Movie/Documentary | 8p |
| Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell |
Adult Swim | Comedy | Midnight |
| New live-action workplace comedy set in hell. | |||
| FRI / April 19 | |||
 |
|||
| Hemlock Grove Watch trailer |
 |
Horror/Drama | n/a |
| Netflix's latest original series is a spooky thriller that finds horror director Eli Roth adapting the novel of the same name by Brian McGreevy. Hemlock Grove is set in a run-down Pennsylvania steel town where a 17-year-old girl has just been murdered, an event that ulimately exposes the town's secrets—and if you think that setup sounds a bit like Twin Peaks, Roth agrees with you (though expect more supernatural monsters and much less humor than in David Lynch's trailblazing series). Famke Janssen, Dougray Scott, and Bill Skarsgard star. In what has quickly become Netflix standard operating procedure, all 13 episodes will be available for streaming at once. | |||
| SAT / April 20 | |||
| After All These Years |
Hallmark Movie | Movie | 9p |
| Call Me Crazy: A Five Film |
Lifetime | Movie | 8p |
| Jim Norton: Please Be Offended |
Comedy Central | Special | 12:30a |
 |
|||
| Mary and Martha Watch trailer |
|
Movie | 8p |
| Hilary Swank and Brenda Blethyn star as mothers who bond in Africa—and become activists—after losing children to malaria in this HBO original movie. Phillip Noyce (The Quiet American, Salt) directs from a script by Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral), and James Woods, Sam Claflin, and Frank Grillo also star. | |||
| Raising Whitley |
OWN | Reality | 10p |
| Spoiled Rotten Pets |
Nat Geo Wild | Reality | 9p |
| SUN / April 21 | |||
| All The President's Men Revisited |
Discovery | Special | 8p |
| The Bletchley Circle |
 |
Miniseries | 10p |
| Four women who worked as codebreakers during WWII reunite a decade later to help solve a series of murders in this three-part drama set in 1950s London. | |||
| Dog and Beth: On the Hunt |
CMT | Reality | 8p |
| Guntucky |
CMT | Reality | 9p |
| Ice Cold Gold |
Animal Planet | Reality | 10p |
| I'm Married to a ... |
VH1 | Reality | 9p |
| Lovestruck: The Musical |
ABC Family | Movie | 8p |
| Married to Jonas | E! | Reality | 10:30p |
| Remember Sunday |
|
Movie | 9p |
| What Would Ryan Lochte Do? |
E! | Reality | 10p |
| MON / April 22 | |||
| Rectify |
Sundance | Drama | 10p |
| A wrongly convicted prisoner is set free after two decades on death row in this six-episode series produced by Breaking Bad's Mark Johnson and Melissa Bernstein. | |||
| TUE / April 23 | |||
| Backyard Oil |
Discovery | Reality | 10p |
| The Getaway |
Esquire | Travel | 10p |
| Anthony Bourdain-produced travelogue follows celebrities (including Joel McHale, Aziz Ansari, Aisha Tyler, and Eve) on their vacations. | |||
| Girl Code |
MTV | Comedy | 10:30p |
| Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life |
MTV | Reality | 11p |
| Knife Fight |
Esquire | Reality competition | 9p |
| New cooking competition is hosted by former Top Chef winner Ilan Hall; judges include Eric Wareheim. | |||
| THU / April 25 | |||
| Giving You the Business |
Food Network | Reality competition | 10p |
| FRI / April 26 | |||
| Al Madrigal: Why is the Rabbit Crying? |
Comedy Central | Special | 11p |
| SAT / April 27 | |||
| Stonados |
Syfy | Movie | 9p |
| Boulder tornadoes! | |||
| MON / April 29 | |||
| Betsey + Lulu |
Style | Reality | 8p |
 |
|||
| The Big C Watch trailer |
|
Comedy/Drama | 10p |
| The canceled cancer dramedy shifts to an hourlong format for its final four episodes, which will conclude the story of Cathy Jamison (Laura Linney). Structured like a miniseries (complete with its own subtitle, Hereafter), The Big C's final hours will emphasize drama over comedy, and will provide answers to last season's cliffhanger ending in addition to providing a satisfying ending to the series. Kathy Najimy guests. | |||
| Red, White & New |
Travel | Reality | 10p |
| Resale Royalty |
Style | Reality | 9p |
| Warehouse 13 | Syfy | Sci-fi/Drama | 10p |
| Ten new episodes (picking up where the midseason cliffhanger left off) wrap up season 4, which sees Polly Walker (Caprica) and Kelly Hu (The Scorpion King) guesting in multiple episodes apiece, joining returning guest stars Kate Mulgrew and Jaime Murray. | |||
| TUE / April 30 | |||
| Airport 24/7: Miami | Travel | Reality | 9p |
| Inside Amy Schumer |
Comedy Central | Comedy | 10p |
| The comic's new show blend sketches, stand-up, and person-on-the-street segments. | |||
| Weird or What? |
Syfy | Reality | 9p |
| William Shatner hosts. | |||
May premieres
| Show | Network | Type | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| WED / May 1 | |||
| The Big Brain Theory: Pure Genius |
Discovery | Reality competition | 10p |
 |
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| Family Tools |
|
Comedy | 8:30p |
| ABC's delayed new sitcom is based on the BBC series White Van Man, which was briefly a hit before quickly tanking in its second season. The American version (which changes the van color to red to show just how different it is) finds star Kyle Bornheimer (Perfect Couples) taking over the family handyman business from his father (J.K. Simmons) even though everyone expects him to fail. Just 10 episodes were ordered, and Simmons has already landed a role in another pilot, so don't expect this one to last long. | |||
| Mythbusters | Discovery | Reality | tbd |
| THU / May 2 | |||
| The Show with Vinny |
MTV | Talk | 10p |
| Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous |
MTV | Comedy | 10:30p |
| FRI / May 3 | |||
 |
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| Maron Watch trailer |
IFC | Comedy | 10p |
| Stand-up comedian Marc Maron has revitalized his career with his podcast WTF, which, over the past four years, has become the go-to place for fellow comedians to discuss their craft. (More accurately, the go-to place is Maron's garage, where the podcast is taped.) His new 10-episode IFC show builds on that podcast, surrounding interview segments with scripted scenes in which Maron plays a character based on himself. Judd Hirsch and Andy Kindler co-star as Maron's father and best friend, respectively, while folks like Aubrey Plaza, Adam Scott, Denis Leary, Dave Foley, Mark Duplass, Bobcat Goldthwait, and Illeana Douglas will make guest appearances throughout the season. | |||
| Merlin | Syfy | Drama/Fantasy | 10p |
| Final five episodes, concluding with the series finale on May 31. | |||
| SAT / May 4 | |||
| Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story | Hallmark | Movie | 9p |
| MON / May 6 | |||
| Newlyweds: The First Year |
Bravo | Reality | 10p |
| Rihanna 777 |
 |
Special | 8p |
| WED / May 8 | |||
| Million Dollar Listing New York | Bravo | Reality | 10p |
| THU / May 9 | |||
| Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell |  |
Talk | 11p |
| FRI / May 10 | |||
| Bob Saget: That's What I'm Talkin' About |
|
Special | 10p |
| SAT / May 11 | |||
| Beverly Lewis' The Confession |
Hallmark | Movie | 9p |
| TUE / May 14 | |||
| Constitution USA with Peter Sagal |
|
Miniseries/Documentary | 8p |
| Four-hour series will air back-to-back episodes tonight and on May 21st on most PBS stations. | |||
| So You Think You Can Dance | |
Reality competition | 8p |
| WED / May 15 | |||
| Does Someone Have to Go? |
|
Reality | 9p |
| Reality series asks employees of struggling companies whether their coworkers should be fired (you know, for fun). Special sneak preview tonight; series begins in its normal Thursday 8p timeslot on May 23 | |||
| SAT / May 18 | |||
| 28th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony |
|
Special | 9p |
| SUN / May 19 | |||
| North America |
Discovery | Miniseries/Documentary | 9p |
| MON / May 20 | |||
| American Masters: Mel Brooks |
|
Special/Documentary | 9p |
| The Goodwin Games |
|
Comedy | 8:30p |
| This comedy about feuding siblings who compete to win their late father's inheritance comes from the producers of How I Met Your Mother and stars Scott Foley, Becki Newton, T.J. Miller, and Kat Foster. Fox seems to have little confidence in the series, slashing its order form 13 episodes to 7 and delaying it to summer. | |||
| Motive |
|
Drama | 10p |
| Crime drama shifts to Thursdays at 9p beginning 5/23. | |||
| WED / May 22 | |||
| MasterChef | |
Reality competition | 8p |
| THU / May 23 | |||
| Rookie Blue | |
Drama | 10p |
| SUN / May 26 | |||
 |
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| Arrested Development |
|
Comedy | n/a |
| Certainly our most anticipated TV arrival this spring, Netflix's revival of the critically acclaimed comedy Arrested Development will feature 15 new episodes (up from the originally planned 10), all available for streaming immediately. Each episode will focus on a single character (only Jason Bateman appears in every episode), and can be watched in any order; all of them set up a story for an eventual Arrested Development movie, though that hasn't been greenlit yet. The entire cast returns (with Michael Cera pulling double duty as a member of the writing staff), along with returning guests like Martin Mull, Judy Greer, Liza Minnelli, Ben Stiller, Carl Weathers, and Andy Richter and newcomers such as John Slattery, Kristen Wiig, and Seth Rogen. | |||
| Behind the Candelabra |
|
Movie | 9p |
| Steven Soderbergh's Liberace biopic stars Michael Douglas and Matt Damon. | |||
| MON / May 27 | |||
| The Bachelorette | |
Reality competition | 8p |
| Ring of Fire |
Lifetime | Movie | 8p |
| Biopic about June Carter Cash stars Jewel, Frances Conroy, John Doe and Matt Ross. | |||
| TUE / May 28 | |||
| Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition | |
Reality | 8p |
| Never Do This at Home |
Spike | Reality | 11p |
| WED / May 29 | |||
| The American Baking Competition |
|
Reality competition | 8p |
| What Would You Do? | |
Reality | 10p |
TBD
| Show | Network | Type | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Family Tree Watch trailer |
|
Comedy | tbd May |
| Writer-director Christopher Guest takes his patented improvisational mockumentary formula (best seen in films ranging from Best in Show to Waiting for Guffman) to HBO for a new comedy series. Family Tree stars Chris O'Dowd (Bridesmaids) alongside many of Guest's usual collaborators, including Michael McKean, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr., Jim Piddock (who also writes), and Fred Willard (plus Guest himself). O'Dowd plays a recently unemployed man who uses his new free time to investigate his family roots after receiving a mysterious package from an aunt he didn't know he had. | |||
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| Parts Unknown Watch trailer |
CNN | Travel/Food | tbd April |
| With the news business proving to be a surprisingly tough nut for CNN to crack, the cable network is diversifying into—what else—the reality show business this spring. On tap for April are documentary series from Morgan Spurlock (Inside Man) and Ridley Scott (Crimes of the Century), but the network's biggest coup has been stealing Anthony Bourdain away from the Travel Channel. Bourdain's Parts Unknown will follow the formula established by the chef-turned-author-turned-world traveler on his long-running No Reservations program (with that show's crew also making the jump to CNN), though CNN's greater resources will allow Bourdain to venture into even more remote and unsafe areas of the globe, including Libya and Detroit. | |||
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