Thursday TV abounds with top picks and the three best for Jan. 17 are Oprah’s no-holds barred exclusive interview with Lance Armstrong on OWN, plus the season premiere of “Archer” on FX and the mid-season premiere of “Suits” on USA Network. It all adds up to an exciting night of TV entertainment.
On Jan. 17, Oprah Winfrey sent out an email to her fans that previewed tonight’s interview with Lance Armstrong. The footage is so explosive that Winfrey personally carried the tape back to her studio, rather than send it airmail. The interview was taped from Armstrong’s home in Austin and has been expanded to a 2-night special called “Oprah and Lance Armstrong: The Worldwide Exclusive.”
Armstrong addresses the alleged doping scandal, years of accusations of cheating and charges of lying about the use of performance-enhancing drugs throughout his storied cycling career. Winfrey speaks with Armstrong in the only interview since the seven-time Tour de France winner was stripped of his titles and dropped from millions of dollars in endorsement deals after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released an extensive report accusing the renowned cyclist of doping throughout his career. Armstrong was given a lifetime ban on competing professionally. Late last year, Armstrong resigned as chairman of the foundation he created, Livestrong, which has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in the fight against cancer.
Right after the interview, Oprah tweeted, “Just wrapped with @lancearmstrong. More than 2 ½ hours. He came READY!” The two-night broadcast should get huge ratings for OWN. People are already talking about it on Oprah.com. Marcee Pole posted, “I can only hope the interview brings a close to this sordid mess. Perhaps that next sonic boom we hear will be Lance’s ego crashing.”
The special episode of “Oprah’s Next Chapter” with Lance Armstrong airs from 9-10:30 p.m. EST and PST on Thursday, Jan. 17 and Friday, Jan. 18 on OWN.
Another top Thursday pick is the season premiere of “Archer,” an animated half-hour comedy that revolves around the International Secret Intelligence Service and the lives of its employees. Sterling Archer, the spy without a clue, returns for his fourth season with amnesia, a wife, the KGB on his tail, and a nod to voice star H. Jon Benjamin’s other gig on “Bob’s Burgers.” It airs at 10 p.m. EST on FX.
The third Thursday TV pick is the mid-season premiere of “Suits” on USA Network. The series stars Patrick J. Adams and Gabriel Macht and takes place at a law firm in New York City. Season two premiered on June 14, with the mid-season finale airing on August 23, 2012. The remaining six episodes of season two begin airing tonight and they focus on the private lives of the main characters. Plus, there are plenty of legal twists and turns. In one upcoming episode of “Suits,” Mike’s pot smoking clouds his judgment during a hit-and-run case. Relationships get complicated and sometimes explosive. “Suits” airs for the next six weeks at 10 p.m. EST on Thursday nights on USA Network.
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