If you’re anything like me, then you probably have at least one TV show that you’ve been eagerly anticipating the return of. However, with the new model of streaming services, it may be years between seasons of a show — to the point where you may have forgotten what occurred in the previous season. While we are still eagerly anticipating the returns of The Last of Us and Stranger Things, several shows are making their returns this winter! Here are a few that I am incredibly excited about and think you should keep an eye out for.
*At the time of publishing, some of these shows may have already started airing their latest season. Don’t let this deter you from watching, it just means that you’ve got a few episodes to binge!
- Harley Quinn, Season Five – Jan. 16
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The Harley Quinn TV show is genuinely my favorite thing that DC Comics has produced lately, and not just because Harley Quinn is my favorite DC Comics character (to the point that I’ve written an article denouncing the romanticization of her relationship with the Joker). Harley Quinn shows off the titular character as her own woman, making a name for herself as an independent villain in Gotham separate from the Clown Prince of Crime. The show also has what I think is an amazing representation of an LGBTQ+ relationship, focusing on Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy’s friendship that later develops into a really sweet romantic relationship. I love the representation in Harley and Ivy’s relationship and the fact that Harley has been completely separated from the Joker romantically. I can’t wait for Season five to premiere, which also promises the arrival of several iconic DC Comics characters such as Red X, Brainiac, and Enchantress.
Harley Quinn is housed on HBO Max and releases episodes weekly on Thursdays. - XO, Kitty, Season Two – Jan. 16
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After experiencing massive success in 2023, XO, Kitty was quickly renewed for Season two, and fans finally have a date for this romantic TV show. Following Kitty Song-Covey of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before fame, this show explores her adventures in South Korea (romantic and otherwise). Season one ended on a massive cliffhanger, with Kitty facing questions about her sexuality and love life, so fans everywhere are clamoring to know who Kitty will end up with. The show is premiering on Netflix on January 16 with the whole season available to binge at once!
The show is premiers on Netflix on Jan. 16 with the whole season available to binge at once! - RuPaul’s Drag Race, Season 17 – Jan. 3
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Start your engines and may the best drag queen win! RuPaul Charles’s iconic competition show RuPaul’s Drag Race returns on Jan. 3 for their 17th Season with 14 new queens vying for the crown. The season promises amazing celebrity judges such as Quinta Brunson, Sam Smith, and Tracee Ellis Ross. Rate-A-Queen will also return, a segment where the queens in the competition vote for who they believe belongs in the bottom two. The show also teases a return challenge, which would give eliminated queens an opportunity to fight for a spot back in the competition. With the return of RuPaul’s Drag Race also means the return of RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked!, which I highly recommend watching as well because it shows you the backstage drama that will carry over into the next week.
RuPaul’s Drag Race premieres on MTV at 8 p.m. on Fridays, with episodes of Untucked! premiering right after each Drag Race episode. - Yellowjackets, Season 3 – Feb. 14
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If you haven’t seen Yellowjackets, you need to. Seriously. Yellowjackets is a psychological survival thriller produced by Showtime and it is addictive. I binged both seasons in about a month and was desperate to know more about the Yellowjackets and how they survived the wilderness. Be warned: Yellowjackets is incredibly dark. It focuses on a girls soccer team in two timelines, one highlighting the team in 1996 as they fight to survive a plane crash and 19 months in the Canadian wilderness and another set in the present day following the survivors of those 19 months and how they cope with their actions from when they were younger. The show has a stellar cast, featuring the talent of actresses like Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, and Samantha Hanratty, and has a gripping storyline that will leave you hungry for more. A must-see, for sure.
Yellowjackets returns for Season three on Paramount+ and Showtime and will be premiering two episodes on Feb. 14 with one episode coming out in each of the following weeks. - The Bachelor Season 29 – Jan. 27
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If you’re part of Bachelor Nation, then this is a date you probably already know, but I’m here to tell you anyway. Season 29 of The Bachelor premieres on Jan. 27, and this season’s Bachelor is Grant Ellis. Grant made his first appearance in Bachelor Nation on Jenn Tran’s season of The Bachelorette (Season 21). He was confirmed to be the next bachelor immediately following his elimination from Jenn’s season right before hometowns, meaning that the women competing for his heart this season know in advance that he is the one they are falling in love with. This was a huge issue with Jenn’s season of The Bachelorette, as the men in her season didn’t know they were competing for Jenn’s heart. This meant that, unfortunately, a lot of them weren’t in it for Jenn. Hopefully, with this fixed, we’ll see a lot of women who are eager to fall in love with Grant and not just to be on TV.
Grant’s season of The Bachelor premieres on Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC. - Survivor, Season 48 – Feb. 29
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I’ll admit, I’ve fallen off with my Survivor viewership lately. I used to watch every episode, but the past two seasons I’ve had to skip due to just being too busy to add Survivor to my extensive list of shows. The episodes are typically an hour or longer, and falling behind made it hard to catch up. I am determined to get back into Survivor with Season 48, however. Season 48 will feature 18 castaways whose identities are not yet known at the time of publication, but there have been plenty of rumors on social media. If those rumors prove correct, this will be one of the oldest casts of Survivor, with only three castaways being under the age of 30. Survivor is returning to the Fiji Islands where it has been shot for the past 14 seasons.
The first episode of Season 48 of Survivor premieres at 8 p.m. on ABC with episodes coming out weekly.