3 TV Shows That'll Heat Up Your Weekend

The first weeks of a new year promise a chance to wipe the slate clean, focus on your goals, or even take some time for yourself after a busy holiday season. But January can also be a bit boring, frankly — especially if the cold weather is keeping you indoors and there’s nothing to watch on TV.

With many shows still on midseason break and others not due to premiere until closer to the end of the month, it’s slim pickings. So recently, I’ve found myself revisiting older shows and catching up on current series, searching for something with melodrama, fights, and intrigue — and the three recommendations I’m sharing this week have that in spades.

These shows offer all the meme-able moments, gasp-worthy bombshells, and plot-defying twists you’ll need to make it through the winter doldrums.

Something New: The Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City

If you’re a newbie to the Real Housewives universe, there’s no better way to start than with Salt Lake City. Each season is so packed with drama, high-profile scandals, and memorable one-liners that it won’t take long for you to see why the franchise has such a fervent fanbase.

The series, which just wrapped its fourth installment, follows six wealthy Utah women, most of whom are current or former Mormons, as they navigate their family life, careers, and most importantly, their rocky friendships with each other.

Big personalities and major fashion statements are featured in every Housewives franchise, but they’re taken to the next level on Salt Lake City. Watching the women clutch their LV totes as they react to the latest bombshell... reality television doesn’t get better.

How to watch: RHOSLC is streaming on Peacock.

Something Old: Gossip Girl

If you’re caught up with RHOSLC, you might know why this teen soap has been on my mind (no spoilers!). But Housewives fan or no, a Gossip Girl rewatch is in order.

As the titular narrator says in almost every episode, the series follows “the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite” — that is, the drama that plays out between the ultra-wealthy students at a private high school — which is made public in real time by an anonymous blogger (an inspiration for Deuxmoi, no doubt).

Gossip Girl delivered some of the late aughts’ biggest pop culture moments over its six-season run, and still causing a stir 13 years after its finale. (Fans can’t forget Serena Van Woodsen just casually tossing her cell phone in the trash.) While the 2021 reboot had its moments, it never quite achieved the original’s chaotic energy.

How to watch: Gossip Girl is available on Max.

Something Out Of The Blue: Alias

For those who love the idea of undercover moles, but prefer mysteries set in the world of espionage, you can’t go wrong with Alias — the early 2000s espionage series launched Jennifer Garner’s career for a reason.

Garner is bad*ss as double agent Sydney Bristowe, regularly switching identities (all those wigs!) and taking down bad guys, all while dealing with her own family drama. But while you might come for Garner, it’s the will-they-won’t-they tension between Sydney and her CIA colleague Vaughn (Michael Vartan) that’ll compel you to marathon all five seasons.

How to watch: Alias is available to stream on Disney+ and Freevee via Prime Video.