Simon Cowell Returns as America’s Got Talent’s Newest Judge

After a nearly three-year absence from American television, Simon Cowell is making his grand comeback as a judge on NBC’s America’s Got Talent—and he admits he is having more fun than ever. “Sometimes when I watch those American Idol clips, I do actually think I was just miserable!” Cowell says of the iconic show that introduced Americans to honest and blunt (and sometimes rude) judging style. “I felt I was almost becoming a parody of myself, and it was embarrassing. Now I find the bad acts just funny. I’m still the same person, but you’ll see me liking a lot more people.”

Also in this issue:

• Fall Sneak Peek: See what the broadcasts networks have in store for next season. Hint: big stars, time-travelling and a live-action re-imagining of the characters of Archie Comics.

• The Bachelorette: Superfans Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg reveal why they love the emotional train wreck reality franchise.

• Law & Order: SVU: A visit to the set as the venerable drama wraps up its 17th season.

• Roots: The story behind History’s recreation of the legendary miniseries.

• Bloodline: Netflix’s dysfunctional Rayburn family returns for Season 2.

• Maya & Marty: Maya Rudolph and Martin Short talk about their instant chemistry and what to expect from their new NBC variety show.

• So You Think You Can Dance: A behind-the-scenes look at the pint-size twists for Season 13.

• Wayward Pines: Fox’s twisty thriller gets even more twisted in its second season.

• The Dresser: British icons Ian McKellen and Anthony Hopkins talk about their incredible careers and their epic team-up in the wickedly juicy Starz movie.

• Plus: The Flash, Rosewood, American Ninja Warrior, Mistresses, Days of Our Lives and more.

Farewell Agent DiNozzo: Michael Weatherly Says Goodbye to NCIS

It’s the end of an era on NCIS. After 13 seasons playing boisterous, unpredictable man-child of an agent Tony DiNozzo, Michael Weatherly is signing off the venerable CBS drama. His exit has been a long time in the making. It’s something, says Weatherly, he began thinking about seriously two and a half years ago, in Season 11, after the departure of Cote de Pablo, who played his verbal sparring partner and love interest, Ziva. “Their great dynamic, the badinage and sparring and flirting between those two characters and how they would swing from siblings to near lovers and back to buddies,” he says, “that was gone, and then I got to the point where I felt I’d stayed at the party for too long. I would look around the room and other people were really in sync and having fun. The show was a huge success, but I just suddenly realized that I probably had other things that I should be doing. And then the wanderlust set in. I directed a documentary. I have a production company. And I wanted to spend time with my family.”

Also in this issue:

• Jane the Virgin: Jane and Michael finally head to the alter in the season finale. Will the show need a new title for Season 3?!

• The Voice‘s Adam Levine: The Maroon 5 frontman on why he still loves sitting in those red rock chairs.

• Preacher: All hell is about to break loose in AMC’s dark new supernatural series.

• black-ish: The Good Times roll in the second season finale’s homage to a ’70s sitcom classic.

• All the Way: Breaking Bad‘s Bryan Cranston bring his Tony-winning portrayal of Lyndon Baines Johnson to HBO

• Person of Interest: Our report from the set of the CBS cyber thriller, which finally returns for its final season.

• Bones: A guided tour of the Jeffersonian’s creepy and cool lab.

• Plus: Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, New Girl, Once Upon a Time, Gotham, The 100, Royal Pains, The Bold and the Beautiful and more.

Why America Loves Blue Bloods

Sunday dinner with the Reagan family is about to get more heated than usual. No, Blue Bloods viewers shouldn’t expect swearing or punching, but the CBS drama’s sixth-season finale features a volatile case involving police brutality against minorities that tests the familial civility during the weekly meal at the stately Brooklyn home of NYPD Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck). Those family dinners, a hallmark of each episode, are a big reason for Blue Bloods’ ongoing popularity: In its sixth season, the show has won every Friday-night ratings race it’s been in, averaging 10.5 million viewers who watch live. “Legal and police cases drive the episodes,” says executive producer Kevin Wade, “but we’re careful to choose stories where there’s a built-in dilemma for our characters, and they consult one another as to whether justice is in fact black or white.”

Also in this issue:

• Finale Preview: Scoop on fan favorite shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Arrow, Empire, Scandal, Castle, Chicago Fire and more.

• The Good Wife: Julianna Margulies says goodbye to her Emmy-winning role

• Grace and Frankie: TV veterans Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston talk about their ageless comedic turns on the Netflix comedy

• Will These Shows Be Saved?: A look at the network series that have yet to be renewed. Is time running out?

• Plus: Houdini & Doyle, The Last Man on Earth, The Girlfriend Experience and more.

Game of Thrones Season 6: Sex, Secrets, Revenge and the Bloodiest Battles Yet

Welcome back to Westeros. Game of Thrones returns Sunday, April 24 with it’s most ambitious season yet. “The scale is a lot grander than anything we’ve done,” says executive producer Dan Weiss (at more than $10 million, the per-episode budget was reportedly the highest ever). “There are all kinds of violent struggles. Everybody is struggling with everybody else.” And this time, fans of George R.R. Martin’s bestselling novels don’t have a road map to the plot of the HBO series, which has now gone beyond the books. But the producers have been preparing for this challenge. “It wasn’t like, ‘We’re past the books now. What the hell do we do?’” executive producer David Benioff says. “We’ve been talking about where we’re heading for a long time. Specifics have to be fleshed out, but we know where the series ends. We know the landmarks.” We hit the set for all the scoop on what’s next for the Lannisters, Daenerys Targaryen and the surviving Starks.

Also in this issue:

• The Catch: Mireille Enos and Peter Krause dish on their red-hot roles in Shonda Rhimes’ sexy new thriller.

• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Break out the—ahem—pinot noir! Ellie Kemper’s preternaturally optimistic doomsday-cult survivor is back for Season 2 of the Netflix comedy.

• The Big Bang Theory: The gang of geniuses continue to grow up, but how will a baby affect TV’s No. 1 sitcom?

• Anna Chlumsky: The Veep scene stealer talks about her unlikely return to TV and her breakout role on HBO’s political satire.

• 12 Monkeys: Syfy’s twisty time-traveling saga returns with the clock ticking down to a catastrophic global plague.

• Scorpion: The CBS drama wraps up the season with a nuclear meltdown, a crazed kidnapper… and a possible proposal.

• Daytime Emmys Preview: This year’s ceremony won’t be televised, but there’s still plenty to cheer for.

• Plus: Dancing With the Stars’ Nyle DiMarco and Peta Murgatroyd, Inside Amy Schumer, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, Banshee, Turn: Washington Spies, Limitless, Penny Dreadful and more.