This is the kind of Sunday you wait for; the week when so many favorite shows return and a couple of promising new ones start. It’s the kind of Sunday that tries men’s DVRs, or at least gathers up shows to watch at your leisure the rest of the week.
First off, there’s no doubting “Game of Thrones” (HBO, 9 p.m.), back for its fourth season. With so many plots unfolding simultaneously across Westeros, it takes a whole episode to remind you where everybody was. But a wedding is impending, another army continues to roll, two travelers continue their journey, and a call to warning goes to the guards across the wall. Plus, those dragons are getting darn big and a little feisty (and a bit rebellious?) in their adolescence.
Watch tonight to bask in the return; but do not fail to watch next week’s episode when things really begin to happen.
Accompanying the bigger than ever “Thrones” is funnier than ever third season of “Veep” (HBO, 10:30 p.m.), in which Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ brash Selina Meyers is solidifying plans for a presidential run, setting the stage for a fast-moving season. As staffers vie for campaign jobs, Jonas gets an interesting new gig that’s a good reflection of the D.C. power shift.
In between comes the new “Silicon Valley” (HBO, 10 p.m.), a show that blends the best of Mike Judge’s droll and observant work observing both nerds (in “Beavis and Butt-head”) and workplace culture (“Office Space”). Set in the odd world of startups, hoodies and money, it boasts a great cast and a deserving lampoon of the code writing fantasyland and its deluded leaders. [Here’s a feature I wrote about the series for the Washington Post].
Also new tonight in place of “The Walking Dead” is the unusual series “Turn” (AMC, 9 p.m.), about the use of spies in the American Revolutionary War. It’s the second series this year for such a setting, after “Sleepy Hollow.” Based on the book “Washington’s Spies” by Alexander Rose, it stars Jamie Bell as a farmer in British occupied Long Island who helps Washington’s troops and begins the nation’s first spy ring. So far there’s ‘s no “Talking Turn” to follow it with discussion.
On network TV, Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan host the 49th “Academy of Country Music Awards” (CBS, 8 p.m.) from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, featuring performances from Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Toby Keith, Shakira, George Strait, Keith Urban, the Band Perry, Florida Georgia Line, Dierks Bently and Sheryl Crow and Lady Antebellum with Stevie Nicks, among others.
Another music special, the 14th “Celebration of Gospel” (BET, 8 p.m.), hosted by Taraji P. Henson, features performances that include India.Arie, Charlie Wilson, SWV, Yolanda Adams, Kem, Tasha Cobbs, Erica Campbell, Donnie McClurkin, Hezekia Walker, Eddie Levert and “American Idol” winner Candice Glover.
Here’s your women’s NCAA basketball final four: Maryland vs. Notre Dame (ESPN, 6:30 p.m.) and Connecticut vs. Stamford (ESPN, 9 p.m.).
Drought, storms, fire and a big UN report inspire the news special “Ann Curry Reports: Our Year of Extremes — Did Climate Change Just Hit Home?” (NBC, 7 p.m.).
The 1953 “Mogambo” (TCM, 8 p.m.) was a remake of the 1932 “Red Dust” (TCM, 10 p.m.).
The season’s first Sunday baseball includes Yankees at Toronto (MLB, 1 p.m.) and San Francisco at Los Angeles Dodgers (ESPN2, 8:05 p.m.).
NBA action includes New York at Miami (ABC,1 p.m.), Lakers at Clippers (ABC, 3:30 p.m.), Atlanta at Indiana (NBA, 6 p.m.) and Oklahoma City at Phoenix (NBA, 9 p.m.).
In hockey, it’s St. Louis at Chicago (NBC, noon) and Buffalo at Philadelphia (NBC Sports, 7:30 p.m.).
Sunday Talk
ABC: Sen. Claire McCaskill, Rep. John Carter, retired Gen. Peter Chiarelli, Newt Gingrich. CBS: Rep. Mike McCaul, White House Senior Adviser Dan Pfeiffer. NBC: Shaun McCutheon, retired Admiral Michael Mullen, former Sen. John E. Sununu, former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. CNN: Reps. Nancy Pelosi, Mike Rogers, Dutch Ruppersberger, Tulsi Gabbard and Tim Murphy.