What to Watch the Week of January 14: Law & Order: SVU’s Return, Plus the Emmys and Critics Choice Awards

It’s been eight long months, but the Law & Order and Chicago lineups are finally back with new episodes following the writers’ and actors’ strikes. SVU enters its 25th (!) season, while the baby of the Chicago series—that would be Chicago Med—turns nine.

Speaking of SVU—plus the OG, Law & Order, and Organized Crime—we have a preview of each show, below. Then read more about each episode in the highlights section for Thursday.

While you wait for the return of NBC’s signature programming, I highly recommend you tune in to tonight’s Critics Choice Awards, which are airing on The CW. It always scores fewer viewers than the Golden Globes and Emmys, but it’s actually the most heavily attended by actors from your favorite movies and TV shows. It’s also one of the most fun (yes, there’s booze, and yes, there’s lots of mingling at tables), and the fashion is brilliant. Plus, fan faves like Meg Ryan, Mandy Moore, Kaley Cuoco, Sandra Oh, and Margot Robbie will be presenting. I’ll be posting about it in real-time from inside the ballroom, so follow along here.

Then tomorrow night (Monday), it’s the 75th Annual Emmy Awards, which were originally scheduled for last September until the strikes interfered. (More on that below). It will be the first time a lot of the casts will see each other in person again—think The White Lotus season two—so you know it’s going to be an exciting night. We’ll have wall-to-wall coverage of all the viral moments, best fashion, and more, and I’ll be on the red carpet as well.

The newest installment of True Detective—with Jodie Foster in the lead role—also arrives this week, as well as a new prestige drama series from Showtime starring The Affair’s Ruth Wilson called The Woman in the Wall.

With that, I’ll see you back here next Sunday for the new season of The Bachelor, plus Sofia Vergara’s stunning turn in the crime thriller, Griselda.

Sunday, January 1429th Annual Critics Choice Awards (The CW): The most star-studded awards show (yes, even more so than the Globes) airs tonight and is hosted by Chelsea Handler. Historically, the Critics Choice Awards are also the most accurate predictor of who will get Oscar nominations. (Full disclosure: I’m a Critics Choice member).

In tonight’s ceremony, Harrison Ford will receive the Career Achievement Award, and America Ferrera will receive the SeeHer Award (presented by Margot Robbie) for her achievements in film and TV, especially after the success of Barbie. Speaking of the Greta Gerwig-directed film, it’s up for 18 awards tonight. For all the film nominations, click here, and for the TV nominations (which include The Morning Show, The Bear, Lessons in Chemistry, Love & Death and more), check out that list here.

Meanwhile, some of the presenters include Abigail Spencer, Angela Bassett, Awkwafina, Bella Ramsey, Jason Segel, Jenny Slate, Jessica Williams, John Krasinski, Kaley Cuoco, Ke Huy Quan, Mandy Moore, Meg Ryan, Natasha Lyonne, Oprah Winfrey, Sandra Oh, and more. 7 p.m. ET/PT, 6 p.m. CT

Reese Witherspoon, America Ferrera and Brie Larson will all be at tonight’s Critics Choice Awards.

Getty Images

True Detective: Night Country (HBO): After a four year hiatus, True Detective is back, this time with Jodie Foster as the lead. Here’s the official synopsis: “When the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska, the eight men who operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace. To solve the case, Detectives Liz Danvers (Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves, and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice.” 9 p.m. ET/PT, 8 p.m. CT and streaming on Max

The Lion King (ABC): Revisit Simba, Pumbaa, and “Hakuna Matata” as ABC broadcasts the iconic 1994 film. 9 p.m. ET/PT, 8 p.m. CT

Monday, January 15Access Hollywood (NBC; check local listings): I’ll be on with Kit Hoover and Mario Lopez to discuss who should win and who will win at tonight’s Emmy Awards. Find your station here.

The 75th Emmy Awards (Fox): Hosted by Anthony Anderson, the awards for the best in TV are finally handed out four months after they were originally scheduled to be broadcast (as a result of the writers’ and actors’ strikes). That means that when you see The Bear up for best comedy, it’s for season one, and not the most recent season. Same with The Crown, which is nominated for season five, and not the final season, which just premiered in November. It also means the cast of The White Lotus will reunite since they’re nominated for season two. Anyway, if you’re confused—and it’s understandable why you would be—check out the nominations here, which were announced last July, and I’ll see you on the red carpet (follow me at @jessicaradloff14 and at @glamourmag for more moments like the one below, from the 2022 Emmys red carpet). 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT/5 p.m. PT Live

Tuesday, January 16So Fetch: The Making of Mean Girls (and Why We’re Still So Obsessed With It): From the New York Times bestselling author of Seinfeldia comes the story of one of the most iconic teen comedies of all time: Mean Girls. Featuring exclusive interviews with the director, cast, and crew, the book by author Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is a must-have for fans. Pre-order here

June (Paramount+): The new documentary profiles music icon June Carter Cash, who was an icon in her own right. She opened for Elvis, appeared onscreen with Robert Duvall and Jane Seymour and co-wrote one of the most recognizable country songs of all time, “Ring of Fire.” The documentary features rare archival material along with sit-down interviews with her family, admirers and friends, including Dolly Parton, Reese Witherspoon, and Willie Nelson. Streaming

Wednesday, January 17Chicago Med (NBC): The new season premieres tonight. The episode—titled “Row Row Row Your Boat on a Rocky Sea”—centers on the entire team in the E.D. as they contend with a massive crash. Meanwhile, Dr. Charles has suspicions that he knows the new E.D. attending. And Dr. Archer has second thoughts the night before his kidney transplant. 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7 p.m. CT

(l-r) Steven Webber as Dr. Dean Archer, Oliver Platt as Dr. Daniel Charles in the season premiere of Chicago Med.

NBC/George Burns Jr.

Chicago Fire (NBC): Chicago Fire is back. In “Barely Gone,” Firehouse 51 is forced to share its space with Firehouse 17. Kidd and Herrmann fight over Ritter. Speaking of Kidd, an arson case tests her and Severide’s relationship. Meanwhile, Firehouse 51 says goodbye to one of its own. 9 p.m. ET/PT, 8 p.m. CT

Chicago P.D. (NBC): The evening concludes with the season premiere of Chicago P.D. In “Unpacking,” Upton finds her approach to policing is at odds with the team’s mental health clinician when she shadows a crisis prevention team. As a result, it causes personal anguish for her, but Voight stands by her side. 10 p.m. ET/PT, 9 p.m. CT

Wild Cards (The CW): Vanessa Morgan (Riverdale) and Giacomo Gianniotti (Grey’s Anatomy) star in this crime-solving procedural with a comedic twist about a sardonic cop and a spirited, clever con woman. Here’s the official synopsis: “Cole Ellis (Gianniotti) is a demoted detective who has begrudgingly spent the last year on the maritime unit, while Max Mitchell (Morgan) has been living a transient life, elaborately scamming everyone she meets. But while arrested and being held at the station, Max ends up helping Ellis solve a local crime. The two are offered the opportunity to redeem themselves—Ellis needs to get back to his detective post and Max needs to stay out of jail. The catch? They have to work together, each using their unique skills to solve crimes. For Ellis, that means hard-boiled shoe leather police work; for Max, it means accents, disguises, schemes and generally befriending everyone in sight, while driving Ellis absolutely nuts. The two will have to learn what it means to trust another person and maybe actually become partners.” 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7 p.m. CT

Thursday, January 18Law & Order (NBC): The season premiere commences. Titled “Freedom of Expression,” the line between free speech and hate speech is examined after a murder occurs on campus. 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7 p.m. CT

Law & Order: SVU (NBC): The adventures of Olivia Benson continues with the season premiere, titled “Tunnel Blind.” According to the official logline, the squad celebrates the birth of Rollins and Carisi’s child, but at the same time, another child goes missing in broad daylight. 9 p.m. ET/PT, 8 p.m. CT

Law & Order: Organized Crime (NBC): The night concludes with the new season of Law & Order: Organized Crime. In “Memory Lane,” Stabler must deal with sudden changes at work and home after returning from a dangerous undercover assignment. Meanwhile, Bell hires an advisor whose AI technology program could revolutionize police investigation, and Jet and Reyes struggle with Whelan’s absence. 10 p.m. ET/PT, 9 p.m. CT

Friday, January 19The End We Start From (Paramount’s Republic Pictures): Jodie Comer and Benedict Cumberbatch star in this film about a young family turned about when an environmental crisis sees London submerged by flood waters. It’s based on the best-selling novel by Megan Hunter. In theaters

The Woman in the Wall (Showtime): The series (which also aired on the BBC) centers on Lorna Brady (The Affair’s Ruth Wilson), a woman from a fictional small Irish town who wakes one morning to find a corpse in her house. Lorna has no idea who the dead woman is or if she, herself, might be responsible for the apparent murder. Detective Colman Akande (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande’s Daryl McCormack) comes aboard and starts investigating Lorna, but also for a crime seemingly unrelated to the body she has discovered in her house. Streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime, and airing on Showtime on January 21

Love on the Spectrum (Netflix): Season two of the profoundly impactful docu-reality series about people on the autism spectrum looking for love, premieres today. Streaming

Saturday, January 20Dying in Plain Sight (Lifetime): According the official synopsis, Dying in Plain Sight is inspired by true events, and “tells the story of overweight high school student Morgan Cruz and her mother Kim, who both harbor dark secrets that lead to devastating circumstances. When Kim leaves her cheating husband, she becomes so focused on ‘clean eating’ that she doesn’t notice Morgan has stopped eating altogether. While Morgan receives positive validation for her changing body, privately she begins to experience the terrible side effects of her disorder. Morgan’s cries for help seem to fall on deaf ears until she’s hospitalized for life-threatening malnutrition, leading Kim to finally realize how her own disordered eating was a terrible influence on Morgan, pushing her to the brink of death.” 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT

Jessica Radloff is the Glamour senior West Coast editor and author of the NYT best-selling book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series.