Why (and How) ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Is Still a Huge Hit

Debbie Allen was out in Los Angeles recently when a group of excited teens approached her. “They wanted to tell me how much they loved my character and the show,” says the actress, who plays Grey’s Anatomy’s formidable Dr. Catherine Avery and serves as one of its directors and executive producers.

It’s a rare accomplishment for a TV series to make it to 14 seasons and 300-plus episodes. It’s even rarer when a show not only retains its longtime viewers—11 million and counting—but adds new fans, particularly those in the coveted 18–49 demographic that keep ad dollars flowing. (Grey’s is ABC’s No. 2 show in this demo.)

Also in this issue:

• The Wonder Years: David Bianculli cheers the classic’s 30th anniversary.
• Mom: Allison Janney and Anna Faris celebrate 100 episodes of their critically-acclaimed CBS comedy.
• Planet Earth: Blue Planet II: How did they do that? Fun facts from the eye-popping series.
• Plus: Super Bowl preview, The Good Place season finale, Ann Curry returns to TV, hot scoop from winter press tour, John Dickerson joins CBS This Morning and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.

2018 Preview: ‘Trading Spaces’ is Back This Spring! Plus, More Shows We Can’t Wait to See

For a show that’s all about major overhauls, Trading Spaces will be remarkably unchanged when it makes its much-anticipated return to TLC later this year. That becomes abundantly clear just moments into the first episode of the revived series (the original aired from 2000 to 2008). Wondrously upbeat host Paige Davis is imploring two sets of neighbors—clad in hokey red and blue team shirts—to swap keys to their homes. The same earwormy theme music scores the exchange. Then Davis utters that familiar phrase: “Are you ready to trade spaces?”

Also in this issue:

• 2018 Preview: Netflix reboots Lost in Space; The CW welcomes new hero Black Lightning; Hayley Atwell stars in a new adaptation of Howards End; Alan Cumming solves crime on Instinct and many, many more!
• The Fallout Continues: Robin Wright takes over on House of Cards, Mario Batali’s been axed from The Chew and more network responses to the latest wave of allegations and misconduct.
• What the Heck is Net Neutrality?: Burning Questions on what the new rules mean for you.
• Plus: the top 50 series of 2017, Tyra Banks returns to America’s Next Top Model, celebrating Breaking Bad‘s 10th anniversary, and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.

Can They Solve the Biggest Mystery of Their Lives? ‘The X-Files’ Returns With Season 11

It’s a calm October day in Vancouver, but things are about to get wild on the set of The X-Files. In a particularly tense scene filming today, skeptical federal agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is explaining her hunch about a hard-to-crack case to partner Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), the iconic “I Want to Believe” poster hanging behind him. She suggests investigating a key location for a vital clue. Duchovny takes a long pause, goes off script and exclaims, “OMG!”

Fans are going to have the same reaction when the groundbreaking sci-fi series returns for Season 11. Expect deadly doppelgängers, a twisted exploration of potential life after death and the resolution to a shocking cliffhanger. When we last left off, Mulder was near death thanks to a widespread contagion that threatened humankind. The immune Scully quickly developed a vaccine, but it wasn’t enough to save her deteriorating partner. Could using stem cells from William, the son she gave up for adoption 14 years earlier, be the key to curing Mulder? And will they find out before that apparent UFO hovering above gets to them?

Also in this issue:

• Matt Roush’s Golden Globe Predictions: Our senior critic on his top picks, the close calls and more.
• Law & Order: SVU: Pals Brooke Shields and Mariska Hargitay on finally getting to work together and what goes down in SVU‘s midseason premiere.
• Better Late Than Never: Henry Winkler and William Shatner expose their taste buds — and their bodies! — to new experiences in Season 2.
• MacGyver: Crazy explosions and wild stunts make for an exciting day on the set of CBS’s action hit.
• Plus: New section “Stuff We Love,” the greatest moments of the Golden Globes, celebrating the 70th anniversary of Howdy Doody and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.

Cheers & Jeers: The Best and Worst Things in TV This Year!

2017 brought some of the best and worst TV moments yet, and we’re dissecting everything! Here’s what we celebrated and what we shook our heads at.

Cheers to Game of Thrones for not playing around. Winter finally came and brought with it a risky, frisky seventh season that nixed snoozy plots (goodbye, Dorne!) and needless secondary characters (see ya, Dickon Tarly) to make room for more action of the battle, bedroom and fire-breathing variety (Emilia Clarke).

Also in this issue:

• Morning Show Meltdown: TV news faces a crisis as Charlie Rose and Matt Lauer are fired for inappropriate behavior.
• In Memoriam: Ed Asner remembers his former costar Mary Tyler Moore. Plus: tributes to David Cassidy and Jim Nabors.
• Gunpowder: Move over, Jon Snow! Kit Harington returns to HBO with a thrilling historical series.
• Man Among Cheetahs: Wildlife filmmaker Bob Poole follows a family of big cats.
• The Roush Review Top 10 of 2017: Senior Critic Matt Roush names his faves of the year from The Handmaid’s Tale to Downward Dog.
• Plus: Inside the Downton Abbey exhibit, a chat with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend‘s choreographer, celebrating the anniversary of an underrated Beatles special and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.