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Spies, tweens and Stetsons: 8 TV shows to watch for this winter

Justified
Community
Downton Abbey
Bunheads
The Americans
The Carrie Diaries

January is a tricky time for TV. We’re suffering through the mid-season hiatuses of our primetime favorites, yet many cable offerings return in the new year, and 2013 already boasts a slew of programming to get you through the winter doldrums.

So before you spend January blowing through your entire Netflix queue, brush up on these mid-season TV arrivals.

Downton Abbey
January 6, PBS: 8 pm

After all the war and tragedy that befell season two of this UK import, it seems that happiness may be on the horizon for season three. But if we’ve learned anything from this period drama, the whole happiness thing doesn’t always work out. At season two’s end, Sybil settled with Chauffer Branson, Lavinnia became a non-issue, Anna had some brief wedded bliss with her Mistah Bates, and poor William is no longer. The cast has hinted that a wedding will take place, but will cousins Matthew and Mary be the ones walking down the aisle? Also, Free Bates.

Bunheads
January 7, ABC Family: 8 pm

This quirky comedy reeled us in with its offbeat first season. Penned by Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, this tale of a small-town dance studio is back for more, picking up just months after Sutton Foster’s Michelle left her Vegas showgirl gig to marry the ill-fated Hubble. With her status at the dance studio uncertain, will the witty banter go by the wayside? We think not.

Justified
January 8, FX: 9 pm

Timothy Olyphant is back for another season of perfectly tailored jeans and derailing vigilantes. When we left the cowboy hat-wearing U.S. Marshal, he and ex-wife Winona called it quits once again, Boyd Crowder is more or less behind all nefarious goings-on in Harlan, and Dickie Bennett is mad as hell. This season, Olyphant’s Raylan Givens tackles a 30-year-old cold case and a riddle that echoes all the way back to his boyhood and his father.

Girls
January 13, HBO: 8 pm

Lena Dunham’s polarizing comedy returns for a second season, with a whole new batch of first-world problems presenting themselves in the lives of Hannah, Marnie, Jessa and Shoshanna. When we left the twentysomethings, Adam was giving Hannah a dose of some serious real talk, Jessa hastily married guest star Chris O’Dowd, Marnie continued to be whiny and Shoshanna finally got some. Season two finds Hannah on her own, ready to meet a man who isn’t a total creep. Will she find him? Probably not. But it’s funnier that way.

The Carrie Diaries
January 14, The CW: 7 pm

This highly anticipated Sex and the City prequel series follows the life and times of Carrie Bradshaw at the tender age of 16 — bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and eager to start her life in the Big Apple. Now that Gossip Girl is no longer, look for Carrie to fill the sharply dressed void left by Blair, Serena and the gang.

The Americans
January 30, FX: 9 pm

Felicity is back! Keri Russell returns to TV in this drama set in the 1980s portraying one-half of a married couple of KGB spies posing as Americans. The parents of two get their world rocked when an FBI agent moves in next door, as they covertly collaborate with a network of spies and informants under their control. Complicating their relationship even further is Phillip's (Brothers and Sisters star Matthew Rhys) growing sense of affinity for America's values and way of life.

Community
February 7, NBC: 7 pm

The band of Greendale misfits returns for another semester, minus Chevy Chase, and under new creative direction. Will the new season promise as much cult fare as the previous? With a show that’s gone 8-bit, explored the darkest timelines and introduced us to Inspector Spacetime, it’s hard to say. Regardless of its seemingly doomed Friday night time slot, there are sure to be plenty of quirks in store for this NBC fave.

The Walking Dead
February 10, AMC: 8 pm

The Walking Dead finally kicked things up a notch in season three. And by the end of the show’s winter finale, the governor’s daughter and prisoner Oscar died at the siege on Woodbury, and brothers Daryl and Meryl Dixon were reunited but had to face off in a death match. With a ton of new characters, and fresh new alliances starting to form, the conclusion to last season’s cliffhanger is sure to bring more apocalyptic zombie doom. And, sans Lori, which is upsetting to no one.

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Scares for Days

9 top Dallas-area haunted houses to scare up Halloween frights in 2026

Photo courtesy of Dark Hour Haunted House

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Halloween has long been about way more than the day itself, with all sorts of spooky and not-so-scary events throughout October to get people in the mood for the season.

But haunted houses/attractions are what really bring out the spirit of the season, and the Dallas area has plenty of great options from which to choose.

Each of the nine venues below offers up lots of frights for anyone who can handle it.

Galleria Dallas presents The BooMont Hotel
The BooMont Hotel at Galleria Dallas has been upgraded with two brand-new rooms, more square footage, bigger thrills, and different ways to explore the hotel. New for 2026 is a ghost pool that will have visitors diving into the deep end of the unexplained, a haunted mirror maze that will force them to find themselves before finding the exit, and a master key scavenger hunt with 13 stops. The event is open daily through November 1.

Six Flags Over Texas presents Fright Fest
Fright Fest at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington features haunted mazes, outdoor scare zones, multiple live shows, and Halloween-themed food and beverages to celebrate the fall season. The haunted attractions are inspired by immersive nightmares and iconic horror franchises, including Doc Varnum’s Hybrid Hell Pit, The Conjuring Universe, The Strangers: No Escape, SAW: Legacy of Terror, EverSmile Industries, and Terror at the Polynesian Palm. Fright Fest will be open on select dates through November 1.

Dark Hour Haunted House
Dark Hour Haunted House in Plano is one of the Dallas-Fort Worth’s most immersive haunted attractions, where elaborate theatrical sets, terrifying creatures, state-of-the-art effects, and unexpected scares are around every corner. The 2026 season features more animatronics than ever before, the all-new Medusa’s Lair and Strega Chamber, and an ever-growing goblin horde taking over the labyrinth. It will be open on select dates through November 13.

J&F House of Terror
J&F House of Terror in Garland is a haunted house maze torn down and built up every year, so it is never the same. Official details about the attraction are scarce on their website, but they claim the "haunt is very scary" and "has jump scares and something hiding in each corner." Located within Firewheel Town Center, it is open on select dates through November 1.

Scarborough's Hollow: A Fall Fantasy Festival
While the majority of the Fall Fantasy Festival at Scarborough's Hollow in Waxahachie is family-friendly, with a pumpkin garden, games, photo ops, light displays, and a fun house, they also have a trio of haunted attractions for those who like to be scared. They include Blackthorn Castle Haunted House, Secrets of Rottingwood Cemetery, and Raptus and Krane's Mythical Monster Museum. The festival will be open every Saturday through October 31, plus Sunday, November 1.

Haunted Shadows Lake Trail
This haunted attraction in The Colony has the distinction of being one of the only outdoor haunts in the area. The trail is a little over a mile in length, taking visitors on a self-guided journey through the woods and weeds along the shore of Lake Lewisville. There is no guide — only a trail. Through the dark, scary woods. The wind rustling through the trees. The snap of a twig from a footstep. The moon shining off the lake. The shadows that provide refuge for some unseen horror. Haunted Shadows is open on select dates through October 31.

Cucuy Nights
Cucuy Nights is one of the newest haunted houses in the Dallas area, having opened in 2025 at a location in Garland and moving to Dallas proper this year. It is is an immersive maze-style haunted attraction rooted in Latino and indigenous mythology. Visitors will step into total darkness, thick practical fog, and rooms filled with culturally iconic characters drawn from living folklore. Located at 423 Singleton Blvd., it will be open on Fridays and Saturdays through October 31.

Junkyard Haunted House
The Junkyard Haunted House is a unique haunted house made out of junk locally picked up by the JunkGuysDFW. The family business takes the time to build a new and different haunted house every year. Imagine rusted machinery groaning in the darkness, flickering lights revealing glimpses of horrifying creatures, and the chilling feeling that you're not alone. It will be open on select dates through October 31.

Junkyard Haunted House at City Park
Junkyard Haunted House is collaborating with the Dallas Parks Department to provide the city with a haunted house experience at City Park. Visitors can enjoy a sprawling haunt stretched across 21 acres, a journey through seven distinct, fear-inducing haunted houses. It will be open on select dates through October 31.

The Parker House
The Parker House in Denton features two main attractions: The Haunted Walkthrough at The Parker House, in which guests are engulfed in the murderous mayhem in which Mary Parker subjected her victims; and Outbreak, where guests can take an interactive ride around the property in specially equipped attack vehicles with a mission to defeat zombies and save the world from chaos. There is also Mary's Not-So-Scary Trick-or-Treat event on October 14 and 21, a tamer version of the normal haunted house. It will be open on select days through November 1.

holidays halloween haunted house fairs-festivals