(ALL TIMES ET)

9PM | LIFETIME
Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy – Neither representatives for Amanda Knox nor the family of murdered British student Meredith Kercher wanted this movie to be shown. But for those of us who still don’t know whether or not to believe Seattle exchange student Knox (played here by Heroes star Hayden Panettiere) is really guilty of Kercher’s murder, the flick is a good primer on the case that ended with the young American being convicted in Italy and sentenced to serve 26 years in an Italian prison. Following the movie, Lifetime airs a Beyond the Headlines special (11PM), with an update on Knox’s appeal, which is currently in the works.

8PM | ABC
The Bachelor – It’s hometown visit time, which includes a scary dad and Brad‘s admission that he just isn’t that into one of the women.

8PM | NAT GEO WILD – SERIES PREMIERE
Blue-Collar Dogs – Not only are they man’s (and woman’s) best friend, but this new documentary shows how doggies are sniffing out bombs as K-9 team assistants and helping save lives as “canine MDs” who assist people with diabetes, epilepsy and even cancer.

8PM | FOX
House – This could be really clever or really silly: House attends an elementary school career day, where a pair of fifth graders try to convince him that his selfishness is going to ruin his relationship with Cuddy.

8PM | ABC FAMILY
Pretty Little Liars – The girls play detective to try to figure out who killed Alison, while Aria uses the school play as a way to hang with Ezra.

8PM | TLC – 1ST SEASON FINALE
The Unpoppables – Back-to-back episodes find the New Balloon Art team fashioning a tropical paradise and a giant castle from colorful inflatables.

9:30PM | TLC – SERIES PREMIERE
Outrageous Kids Parties – You know those parents you make fun of, the ones who spend thousands, and sometimes tens of thousands of dollars, on their kids’ birthday bashes? Here’s a whole show about them, complete with footage of their gaudy soirees.

10PM | ABC
Castle – Heroes star Adrian Pasdar guests as a federal agent who’s brought into the investigation of a murdered cab driver who was involved in some major bad-doings.

10PM | NGC
Lincoln’s Secret Killer – We know he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, but a DNA test performed on a spot of blood from his clothing might prove that Abraham Lincoln was also inflicted with a rare form of cancer.

10PM | BRAVO – 3RD SEASON FINALE
Tabatha’s Salon Takeover – Tabatha wraps the season by revisiting salons from seasons one and two to see if they’re still benefitting from her help.

Worth flipping to during commercials:
– Super Grover 2.0 helps the Sesame Street gang all this week (Check local listings for time and channel, PBS);
– Robin Givens plays a government official who wants to lure Casey away with a new assignment on Chuck (8PM, NBC);
– Ted runs into the Captain on How I Met Your Mother (8PM, CBS);
– Ben and Kate have their first official date, which is officially interrupted by Larry and Connie on Mad Love (8:30PM, CBS);
– American Experience profiles Jimmy Carter, his presidency and his life since leaving the White House (9PM, PBS);
– Josh schedules a date with a nurse on Being Human (9PM, Syfy);
– Gabrielle Union hosts, Herbie Hancock and Jamie Foxx are among the honorees and Ne-Yo is among the performers on the fourth annual BET Honors (9PM, BET);
– On Cake Boss (9PM, TLC), Buddy bakes a giant cake for the Columbus Day parade in NYC;
– Jarek and Caleb chase a bank robber on The Chicago Code (9PM, Fox);
– Happy 18th Birthday, Eric! on Gossip Girl (9PM, The CW);
– Casey and Evan use a mock trial in class to unleash their real frustrations with each other on Greek (9PM, ABC Family);
– It’s a four-episode block of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia on Comedy Central (9PM);
– History Channel’s It’s Good to Be President special (9PM) explores how the President lives while in office;
– Dane Cook guests as Danny’s brother on Hawaii Five-O (10PM, CBS);
– Heavy (10PM, A&E) profiles a man and a woman who struggle with their 400-pound-plus weights;
– The contestants have to show their best celebrity impersonations on RuPaul’s Drag Race (10PM, Logo);
– On Shatner’s Raw Nerve (10PM, Bio), The Shat chats with Hollywood legend Carl Reiner.

And the late-night line-up:
– Conan (11PM, TBS): Ed Helms and Carmelo Anthony;
– The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11PM, Comedy Central): Lisa Ling;
– The Colbert Report (11:30PM, Comedy Central): Eugene Jarecki;
– The Late Show with David Letterman (11:35PM, CBS): Adele, Donald Rumsfeld and Cobie Smulders;
– The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (11:35PM, NBC): Armie Hammer, Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb;
– Lopez Tonight (Midnight, TBS): Kate Gosselin;
– Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05AM, ABC): Matthew Perry (REPEAT);
– Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35AM, NBC): Samuel L. Jackson;
– The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:37AM, CBS): Wolf Blitzer and Sara Rue;
– Last Call with Carson Daly (1:35AM, NBC): Rich Eisen.

• No Comments
• Filed in Chuck, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Late Night, TV Picks
• Tags: Amanda Knox Lifetime movie, Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy, Blue-Collar Dogs, Castle, House, Lincoln's Secret Killer, Outrageous Kids Parties, Pretty Little Liars, Tabatha's Salon Takeover, The Bachelor, The Unpoppables

Here’s what Willis, and everyone else in TV land, will be talking about in the week ahead …

1. Justified Returns!
And it’s still one of the best dramas on TV. When we meet up with Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (the Emmy-worthy Timothy Olyphant) in season two (Wednesday, 10PM, FX), he’s trying to juggle a new relationship with his ex-wife (Natalie Zea), while taking on a family of moonshiners led by plotting mama Mags Bennett (Dexter and The Riches‘ Margo Martindale) and also trying to keep tabs on his frienemy Boyd Crowder (Walt Goggins, ditto the Emmy-worthiness), who’s in a dark place after the death of his daddy in last season’s finale.

2. Another Friends-ly Return to Primetime
The good news: Two of our most favorite primetime fellas, Friends star Matthew Perry and Lost alum Jorge Garcia, return to the tube this week with the premiere of Perry’s ABC sitcom Mr. Sunshine (Wednesday, 9:30PM). The bad news: Though both actors have considerable comedy skills, the show, at least the pilot, offers few laughs. Perry plays the manager of a Los Angeles sports arena (The Sunshine Center), who begins to realize he has made very few personal connections as he hits his forties. The series could have been a more straight-comedy version of Men of a Certain Age, but it doesn’t match that show’s humor or heart. Here’s hoping it gets better in subsequent episodes, because otherwise, viewers are just going to be thinking how much they’re missing that other Friends alum, Courteney Cox in Cougar Town, whose show is being temporarily pre-empted for Sunshine.

3. Parks and Recreation, Ron and Tammy
Also back for a second round this week: Megan Mullally, as the on-screen ex-wife of Parks and Recreation‘s Ron Swanson, played by Mullally’s real-life hubby, Nick Offerman. In “Ron & Tammy: Part Two” (Thursday, 9:30PM, NBC), Tom (Aziz Ansari) takes revenge on Ron for dating Tom’s ex-wife by setting up his own date with Tammy (Mullally). Let the fur, or rather bits of Ron’s trademark moustache, fly.

4. 53rd Annual Grammy Awards
Sure, no one really cares much about who wins these things anymore, except for the record companies who can slap “Grammy Winner” on the CD cases (not that anyone’s really buying CDs anymore …), but the Grammys (Sunday, 8PM ET, CBS) are still worth a drive-by viewing, just on the off chance that something interesting happens. Eminem leads all nominees with 10, Bruno Mars is runner-up with seven, and Jay-Z, Lady Gaga and Lady Antebellum each have six nods, and both Eminem and Gaga are amongst the performers on the show. Cee Lo Green will also perform (a fam-friendly version, of course) of “Forget You”; The Biebs, Usher and the Karate Kid, er, Jaden Smith, perform together; so do Mick Jagger and Raphael Saadiq; and so do Rihanna and Drake. And speaking of Rihanna, not only will she and ex-BF Chris Brown both be in attendance, but they’re competing against each other for the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration award.

5. Pop Art
Behold what’s sure to be the next occureality (that’s reality shows focusing on a specific occupation, of course) trend: balloon art. Monday’s premiere of TLC’s The Unpoppables (8PM) kicks it off, as viewers meet the team from New Balloon Art, a company that fashions thousands of balloons into wearable dresses, sit-on-able couches and fantastic sculptures of everything from real humans to the Eiffel Tower.

6. Turn Off the Friday Night Lights
Sad, but true: after five seasons, it’s game over for Friday Night Lights, which airs its series finale on DirecTV’s 101 Network on Wednesday (9PM). Expect to shed plenty of tears, as the finale, set at Christmas, brings back old faces to Dillon and is said to include at least one major plot twist. For those of us non-DirecTV-ers, NBC will begin airing the show’s final season on April 15.

7. The Jersey Shore BREAK Up
As in, during Ronnie and Sammi‘s latest Jersey Shore split, coming on this week’s episode (Thursday, 10PM, MTV), Ron Ron gets so angry that he trashes some of her stuff. The preview also includes a shot of Sammi getting into a town car and supposedly leaving Seaside Heights, which would be for the best, since this tempestuous two has become as tiresome as that couple we all knew in college, the one that broke up at least once a week.

8. Saturday Night Live … with a Censor Button?
Comedian Russell Brand makes his first appearance as Saturday Night Live host this week (Saturday, 11:30PM, NBC), which should make NBC censors nervous. And, it’s a double bill of bad boys: Chris Brown is the musical guest.

9. NeNe vs. Kim, Round (I’ve Lost Count)
The Real Housewives of Atlanta season three reunion (part one) airs Sunday (10PM, Bravo), and the main event is yet again a smackdown between NeNe Leakes and Kim Zolciak. Thank goodness NeNe is bouncing back with Celebrity Apprentice next month … a chance to get her NeNe mojo back.

• No Comments
• Filed in Award shows, Justified, Real Housewives, Saturday Night Live, Whatchoo Talkin' 'Bout Willis?
• Tags: Friday Night Lights series finale, Grammys, Jersey Shore Ronnie and Sammi, Justified season 2, Matthew Perry Mr. Sunshine, Parks and Recreation, Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion, Saturday Night Live Russell Brand, The Unpoppables

(ALL TIMES ET)

8PM | TLC – SERIES PREMIERE
The Unpoppables – Yes, it’s a show about balloon people, but not the clowns who make balloon dogs at kiddie birthday parties. Katie, Addi and Brian, the artists – and they are most definitely artists – of New Balloon Art, travel around the country fashioning spectacular balloon sculptures for events big and even bigger. Giant balloon Eiffel Towers, wearable balloon dresses and balloon sofas you can actually sit on are just a few of their most impressive works. In fact, the New Balloon Art crew’s handiwork is so compelling, I’d bet the other cable networks already have copycat series in the works.

Check local listings for time and channel | PBS KIDS GO! – 3RD SEASON PREMIERE
The Electric Company – Hey, you guuuuuys! The redo of the iconic kiddie series returns for its third season with a continuing emphasis on educating the 6-9-year-old set on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), via cool music videos, animation and celeb guests like Alan Cumming, Sherrod Small, Jenny Slate and Good Charlotte brothers Benji and Joel Madden.

8PM | NBC
Chuck – John Larroquette returns as Agent Roan Montgomery, who requires Chuck, Sarah and Casey’s assistance in Morocco. Meanwhile, back in Burbank, Morgan frets about meeting Alex’s mom, while Mama Bartowski (guest star Linda Hamilton) gets reacquainted with her fam.

8PM | FOX
House – Cuddy’s mom (guest star Candice Bergen) is admitted to the hospital, but guess who she doesn’t want treating her? Yep, House.

8PM | CBS
How I Met Your Mother – Zoey sets Ted up on a date with her cousin (guest star Katy Perry), which only serves to make him realize he’s got a thing for Zoey.

9PM | TLC
Cake Boss – In back-to-back episodes, Buddy and the Carlo’s crew make a shark cake, a giant hot air balloon cake and work with four adorable junior bakers from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

9PM | FOX – SERIES PREMIERE
The Chicago Code – From The Shield creator Shawn Ryan, this cop drama stars Jennifer Beals as new Chicago police superintendent Teresa Colvin, who recruits her former partner, Jarek Wysocki (Brotherhood‘s Jason Clarke), to help her with her new corruption task force. Her first target: city alderman Ronin Gibbons (Delroy Lindo).

9PM | THE CW
Gossip Girl – Enjoy Chuck Bass while you can, especially now that his portrayer, Ed Westwick, is making noise about leaving the show.

9PM | ABC FAMILY
Greek – The college drama’s getting all controversial in its final season, as one of the characters investigates the morning-after pill the morning after her unplanned Homecoming hook up.

9PM | HBO
Reagan – Documentarian Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight and Freakonomics) profiles President Ronald Reagan (who would have celebrated his 100th birthday on Feb. 6), including interviews with his family, friends and political colleagues, footage from his Hollywood days and rare photos from his pre-political days

Worth flipping to during commercials:
– The King’s Speech Best Actor Oscar nominee (and I’m betting, winner) Colin Firth is in the hot seat on Inside the Actors Studio (7PM, Bravo)
– On 90210 (8PM, The CW), Teddy finds out who’s blackmailing him, while Navid finds out the truth about Adrianna;
– Emily and Paige duke it out for a swim team anchor spot on Pretty Little Liars (8PM, ABC Family);
– On Being Human (9PM, Syfy), Josh makes friends with another werewolf who doesn’t like vampires;
– Four episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (9PM, Comedy Central) includes the gem “Dennis and Dee Get a New Dad,” with 7th Heaven dad Stephen Collins as the twins’ real papa;
– In the “How to Build a Beating Heart” installment of Explorer (10PM, NGC), we learn how “tissue engineering” has allowed scientists to build replacement body parts, like skin, muscles and even major organs.
– The team has to protect the lone witness in a murder case, lest she become the next victim, on Hawaii Five-O (10PM, CBS);
– It’s the series premiere of Lizard Lick Towing (10PM, truTV), the All Worked Up spin-off that follows repo man Ron Shirley and his North Carolina crew;
– On Skins (10PM, MTV), Cadie gets out of the hospital, but she’s far from well;
– And Tabs tries to revamp a children’s hair salon in California on Tabatha’s Salon Takeover (10PM, Bravo).

And the late-night line-up:
– Conan (11PM, TBS): Nick Swardson, Jeff Bridges and Far East Movement;
– The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11PM, Comedy Central): James Franco (REPEAT);
– The Colbert Report (11:30PM, Comedy Central): Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother author Amy Chua (REPEAT);
– The Late Show with David Letterman (11:35PM, CBS): Martin Lawrence and Steel Magnolia;
– The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (11:35PM, NBC): Mark Wahlberg, Paula Abdul and James Blunt;
– Lopez Tonight (Midnight, TBS): Jamie Foxx;
– Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05AM, ABC): Amy Sedaris, Nelly and Dr. Phil;
– Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35AM, NBC): Brooke Shields, Alex Pettyfer, Gail Simmons and And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead;
– The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:37AM, CBS): Dominic Monaghan, Gabrielle Union and Kurt Metzger;
– Last Call with Carson Daly (1:35AM, NBC): Holt McCallany, Interpol and Plan B.

• No Comments
• Filed in Late Night, TV Picks
• Tags: Cake Boss, Chuck, Gossip Girl, Greek, House, How I Met Your Mother, How I Met Your Mother Katy Perry, Reagan documentary, The Chicago Code, The Electric Company, The Unpoppables