Natalie Zea

Last night saw the fifth season premiere of FX’s Justified. The cult show hasn’t had such a wide reception as some of FX’s other productions, but in the premiere, as with most of the previous four seasons, the writing remains as solid as ever. The first episode was mostly setting up for the new stories about to unfold – one of the most beloved aspects of the writing is that often, big events have already happened on screen, leaving viewers to get to grips with the new situation, while they wait for the action to begin.

Timothy Olyphant returns as Raylan Givens - now with less grime.

This was the case in last night’s episode - both Raylan and Boyd are without the women they love, as Winona is raising Raylan’s daughter in Florida, while Eva sits in jail waiting for some (illegal) miracle to get her out.

Continue reading: "Justified's" Season 5 Premiere "Murder Of Crowes" Low On Action, But Packed With Revelations

Kevin Bacon has been forced to echo the remarks of Fox chief Kevin Reilly by insisting his new show The Following does not glorify violence. The new series - which premieres in the U.S. tonight (January 21, 2013) -follows Bacon's character, retired FBI agent Ryan Hardy who is pulled back into service to capture an escaped serial killer.

"I don't think it's too violent for everybody," Bacon told Vulture. "Here's the thing: I've done a lot of different kinds of movies, played a lot of different kinds of parts. I was in the very first Friday the 13th. I've been in silly movies and romantic movies and historic movies. My focus is to play the part with as much honesty and integrity as I can and to explore what I want to explore as an actor." Wise words from the Hollywood veteran, though Bacon says he was initially drawn to The Following for its high stakes premise, "I started to realise that the shows that I was watching - Breaking Bad, Homeland, The Killing, Game of Thrones - they're all really life-and-death situations, so I knew that was something I'd want."

The new series also stars James Purefoy and Natalie Zea. Early reviews have been favourable, with Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker saying, "Both Bacon and Purefoy are so intensely earnest, The Following quickly supersedes its patent Silence of the Lambs setup." Variety's Brian Lowry said, "There's no pulling punches, and exec producer Kevin Williamson delivers a full-throttle ride that, four episodes in, proves twisty, unpredictable and tense."

Continue reading: Is 'The Following' Too Violent? Kevin Bacon Doesn't Think So