Winter television show premieres

By Pat Quinn

Football fans will need something to watch after Sunday’s game. Fortunately, February is a good month for shows.

Prepare for the return of dramas, musical talent show and late -night television.

“The Walking Dead”

Although it is beyond cold, television heats back up with the “The Walking Dead.”

The show returns halfway through its fifth season. One miraculous thing about this zombie drama is its depiction of the story.

“The Walking Dead” was originally a comic that fans loved. When the show got started, it was on the right track but decided to go in a different direction. This was not necessarily a bad thing. Characters like Daryl joined the show, which added tremendous success. Anyone can die and anything can happen at this point in the zombie apocalypse series.

“The Tonight Show”

The most anticipated television event other than the Olympics is Jimmy Fallon hosting “The Tonight Show.”

After about 4,600 episodes and 21 years of hosting the show, Jay Leno passes the torch to Fallon. The SNL star has done a couple movies but has been hosting “Late Night” since 2009.

“Hannibal”

This horrific, thrilling drama continues to build in intensity as its second season begins.

What started out as nail-biting film “Silence of the Lambs” has been recreated for TV. The characters were drawn from the prequel “Red Dragon.”

Now, Dr. Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham suck in viewers as Graham claims he’s under arrest for Hannibal Lecter’s murders.

“The Voice”

Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, CeeLo Green and Christina Aguilera start off the show’s sixth season with host Carson Daly.

The music-based talent show couldn’t be in a stronger position, as the show had an average viewership of 11.8 million while the “The X Factor” had an average viewership of 6.7 million.