Winter TV Preview: Premiere Dates for 20 Shows Starring Latinos!

As the fall TV season comes to an end, I thought I’d be a good friend and prepare you for what’s coming up on TV this winter (from January to May).

Whether you know it or not, many of your favorite shows will be going on hiatus in December. Some shows, like ABC’s alien invasion drama V and FOX’s Glee, will be taking a prolonged hiatus lasting (gasp!) nearly 4 months (Insane, I know). Other shows, like the CW hit The Vampire Diaries, will return to television next winter after a 2 month break.  Most shows, though, will only be taking a few weeks off during over the holidays, returning in early January. Here's a quick guide showing exactly when new episodes of your favorite shows will air. Let's get through this hiatus madness together, shall we?

CW:

Thursday, Jan. 14

The Vampire Diaries, 8 p.m. (CW): The CW’s #1 show aired its last new episode of 2009 in mid-November, and sadly we won't be getting any new episodes in December (bummer!). The good news is that the show will return on Jan. 14 after a two-month hiatus, and so will Mexican star Michael Trevino, who plays rich kid and star athlete Tyler Lockwood. If the show follows what happens in the L.J. Smith book series on which it's based, then Tyler will probably be turning into a werewolf, ala Taylor Lautner in Twilight, sometime in the near future—lets hope that happens in 2010!

ABC Family:

Monday, Jan. 4

The Secret Life of the American Teenager, 8 p.m. (ABC Family):
My favorite young actress, Francia Raisa (who’s part Honduran and part-Mexicana), returns as Adrian Lee, a “friendly” teenager whom all the boys love!

Monday, Jan. 4

Make It or Break It, 9 p.m. (ABC Family): Following a successful first season, this cute, true-to-life series about a group of teen gymnasts who strive to make it big, returns for a second season. Among the returning characters is Olympic hopeful Kaylie Cruz (played by Miami native Josie Loren).

CBS:

Tuesday, Jan. 5

NCIS, 8 p.m.
(CBS): NCIS, which follows a team of special agents who travel the globe to investigate all crimes with Navy or Marine Corps ties, isn’t just any police procedural show. It’s the #1 police procedural on television! Chilean actress Cote de Pablo, who stars as Israeli weapons expert Ziva David on the show, isn’t just any actress. She’s the female lead of the #1 show on television! 

Monday, Jan. 11

CSI: Miami, 10 p.m.
(CBS): Cuban actor Eddie Cibrian continues to disappoint as Jesse Cardoza—Adam Rodriguez’s less interesting replacement—when the show returns for the second half of its 8th season.

FOX:

Tuesday, Jan. 12

American Idol, 8 p.m. (FOX): The show that launched the careers of Latin stars like David Archuleta, Jayson Castro and most recently Allison Iraheta, returns on Jan. 12 at its regularly scheduled time. I’m betting season 9 will bring us some hot new Latino contestants—maybe even that winner we’ve long been waiting for!  

Sunday, Jan. 17

24, 9 p.m.
(FOX): Puerto Rican actor Freddie Prinze Jr. joins the hit real-time drama as Davis Cole, a Marine who idolizes Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) and heads up the resurrected CTU Field Ops Division. If you saw Freddie play an FBI agent in the popcorn flick, Head Over Heels, then you know he’s going to be great in this role!

Sunday, Jan. 31:

The Cleveland Show, 8:30 p.m.
(FOX): Puerto Rican actress Reagan Gomez-Preston lends her voice to this successful Family Guy spinoff.

Tuesday, April 13


Glee, 9 p.m. (FOX): After a 4 month-long hiatus (yes, you read that correctly), Glee returns to FOX at a new night and time. Puerto Rican actress Naya Rivera will also be back as bitchy cheerleader Santana Lopez. (Note: It was smart for FOX to pair the musical Glee up with their #1 reality singing competition and there’s no doubt that the show will benefit from Idol’s monstrous audience. There’s only one problem: ABC has decided to air the final season of their hit show Lost on Tuesdays at 9 p.m, which may leave Glee singing the ratings blues.

Premiere Date TBD: Lie To Me, which was just given the green-light for a full season, returns in late spring with Monica Raymund as Ria Torres, a deception expert who studies body language and can spot a lie from a mile away. 

ABC:

Premiere Date TBD: V, ABC’s hit alien invasion drama starring Brazilian Morena Baccarin and Lourdes Benedcto,  will return in March after a 4-month-long hiatus.

Thursday, Jan. 14


Grey's Anatomy, 9 p.m.
(ABC): Look for things to continue to get hot and heavy between Sara Ramirez’s Callie Torres and her co-worker Arizona Robins (Jessica Capshaw) when the hit medical drama continues its sixth season after the holidays.

Tuesday, Feb. 2

Lost, 9 p.m. (ABC): The survivors of a plane crash continue to live together on a remote island when the show returns for its 6th and final season.

NBC:

Sunday, Jan. 10

Chuck, 9 p.m. (CBS): Joshua Gomez is back as Morgan Grimes, the awkward sidekick to Zacahry Levi’s Chuck, a twenty-something-year-old computer geek who inadverdently downloads government secrets into his brain.

Thursday, Jan. 14

Parks and Recreation, 8:30 p.m. (NBC): Comedian Aubrey Plaza (Funny People) will be back as April, Amy Poheler's slothful, lazy college intern. 

Thursday, Feb. 4


The Office, 9 p.m. (NBC): Oscar Nunez returns to Dunder Mifflin as everyone's favorite grumpy gay accountant. 

Premiere Date TBD: Trauma, starring The George Lopez Show alum Aimee Garcia, returns with new episodes shortly after the Winter Olympics.

TBS:

Tuesday, Jan. 12

Southland, 10 p.m. (TNT): Dumped by NBC and rescued by TBS, this chilling, realistic drama about horrific crimes in L.A. returns with Kevin Alejandro as Det. Nate Moretta! Woo hoo! 

Lifetime:

Thursday, Jan. 14

Project Runway, 10 p.m. (Lifetime): Nina Garcia returns as one of the judges of TV’s #1 fashion design reality competition.

USA:

Tuesday, Jan. 19

White Collar, 10 p.m. (USA): The stylish crime procedural about the unlikely partnership of a con artist and an FBI agent returns with Natalie Morales as undercover agent Lauren Cruz.

What shows are you looking forward to the most? Drop me a comment like it's hot!