Friday TV: House of Cards Premieres, Nikita, The Following Encore & More

News & Notes

Tonight, NBC has The 44th Annual NAACP Image Awards special.

Over on cable, Showtime has a Mumford & Sons: The Road to Red Rocks special, TLC has a Say Yes to the Dress: The Big Day special, Travel Channel has a Ghost Adventures special, and VH1 has a Best Super Concert Ever special.

The Netflix Original Series House of Cards premieres today. It stars Kevin Spacey as ruthless and cunning, Congressman Francis Underwood and Robyn Wright plays his wife Claire. They will stop at nothing to conquer everything. This wicked political drama penetrates the shadowy world of greed, sex, and corruption in modern D.C. Kate Mara (American Horror Story) and Corey Stoll (Midnight in Paris) costar in the first original series from David Fincher (The Social Network) and Beau Willimon (The Ides of March).

Prime Picks

Nikita (The CW): New. A rogue agent abducts his girlfriend. Michael sends Nikita and Owen out into the field to get her back and take down the agent.

The Following (FOX): Repeat. This past Monday’s episode, “Chapter Two,” replays.

Blue Bloods (CBS): New. Danny investigates the case of a man covered in rat bites that was thrown from a movie vehicle.

Solid Selections

Last Man Standing (ABC): New. Eve decides to join the junior ROTC. Runs 30 minutes.

The Carrie Diaries (The CW): Repeat. This past Monday’s episode, “Read Before Use,” replays.

Merlin (Syfy): New. The King of Camelot is cursed, but Arthur doesn’t take it seriously. Plays again later.

Other Option

• Portlandia (IFC): New. The Interim Mayor hopes to turn the job into a full-time job. Local coffee baristas create a manifesto. A repeat episode follows. Both play again later.

Sports Note

• ESPN has doubleheader NBA action with the Miami Heat at the Indiana Pacers followed by the Los Angeles Lakers at the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Late Night

• Being Human (Syfy): Repeat. This past Monday night’s episode, “The Teens They Are a Changin,” replays.
• Continuum (Syfy): Repeat. This past Monday night’s episode, “Wasting Time,” replays.
• Dallas (TNT): Repeats. The second season premiere episode, “Battle Lines,” and the second episode, “Venomous Creatures,” replay.
• Lost Girl (Syfy): Repeat. This past Monday night’s episode, “ConFaegion,” replays.
• Suits (USA Network): Repeat. Last night’s episode, “Zane vs. Zane,” replays.

Friday TV Marathons

Cold Case (ION): Has 11 episodes.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (USA Network): Five episodes today.
Good Times (TV One): Has 14 episodes early.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (USA Network): Seven episodes tonight.
Star Trek: The Next Generation (BBC America): Five episodes today.