Sunday nights continue to thrill on basic cable’s AMC, thanks to the second-season premiere of zombie drama The Walking Dead tonight, October 16, at 9pm ET.

The next round of the survival saga kicks off with the extended 90-minute episode “What Lies Ahead,” which takes viewers back to where we were at the end of Season One. Lawman Rick (Andrew Lincoln) leads the way as his group of undead fighters leave Atlanta, and they soon encounter one of the biggest threats thus far.

Fans of The Walking Dead might also want to stick around until midnight for the new related after-show series called Talking Dead. Hosted by Chris Hardwick, the program will feature commentary, guests, and other bonuses, all related to the most intriguing and entertaining Sunday-night offering this fall. After October 16, the weekly edition of Talking Dead will air at 11pm, immediately following the encore presentation of the latest new installment of The Walking Dead.

Preview the The Walking Dead‘s second-season premiere in the clip below. Andrea (Laurie Holden) has clearly had enough for the moment, and she’s not holding her feelings back anymore. Good.

The best television news of the day has dropped: Friday-night Syfy staple Haven will return next year for a third season featuring 13 new episodes. Yes!

The welcome development means viewers will get a chance to learn why Duke’s supposedly dead (because you never really know on this show) daddy wants him to kill Audrey, who has an uncanny habit of showing up in town every few years looking exactly the same, but with another woman’s memories as her own. Can’t wait.

Season Two of Haven concluded on September 30 with the cliffhanger-filled episode “Sins of the Fathers.” However, the series has a special Christmas-ish installment called “Silent Night” scheduled to premiere on Tuesday, December 6, at 10pm ET. Mark your calendar now.

Set in July (because we all know that hot month just reeks Xmas cheer), the plot kicks off when Audrey unexpectedly starts seeing holiday decorations around Haven. Sadly, no one besides her cares… that is, until folks begin vanishing for no clear reason. The episode should tide fans over just fine while we wait for the paranormal adventures of Audrey, Nathan, and Duke to resume in 2012.

I am so psyched. Former Friday Night Lights star Connie Britton and The Practice star Dylan McDermott return to the small screen at 10pm ET tonight, October 5, in their brand-new paranormal FX series American Horror Story. This could be the beginning of a great TV relationship.

The series focuses on married couple Ben, a therapist, and Vivien Harmon (McDermott and Britton), who move to Los Angeles from Boston with their teen daughter Violet (newcomer Taissa Farmiga). Their goal is to leave their complicated past behind and start over fresh, but their chosen residence has a somewhat complicated past of its own, unfortunately.

Also starring are magnificent film actress Jessica Lange (Tootsie) and Six Feet Under veteran Frances Conroy. The show comes to us courtesy of the talents of Glee and Nip/Tuck executive producers Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy, so viewers have ample reason to expect another entertaining FX series. Fingers crossed.

Preview the latest interesting entry in FX’s programming schedule below.

Actress Britt Robertson makes a swift rebound from her most recent canceled series, Life Unexpected, tonight, September 15. That’s when her new CW drama The Secret Circle debuts at 9pm ET, right after the third-season premiere of established hit The Vampire Diaries.

Once again occupying the lead role, Robertson portrays Cassie Blake. The teenager moves in with her grandmother in a Washington town called Chance Harbor after her mother dies under extremely suspicious circumstances.

Although she needs to recover from that tragedy, Cassie encounters only more weirdness when she begins hanging out with local teens. Her family and the entire town have a complicated, related past it seems, and Cassie is central to all of the drama, even if she doesn’t know why or how yet.

Also starring are former fellow Heroes cast members Ashley Crow and Thomas Dekker, Species star Natasha Henstridge, and Desperate Housewives alum Gale Harold. Sneak a peek at the show in the following extended clip, which provides a good overview of what to expect.

I am pleased. The second season of spooky Syfy drama Haven launches tonight, July 15, at 10pm ET with a premiere that (hopefully) explains (at least some of) the jaw-dropping events from the first-season finale “Spiral.”

Fans of the show will recall four pivotal occurrences from way back then: (1) Audrey told Nathan she has been reincarnated as her own mother Lucy, (2) Nathan told Audrey he can feel it when she touches him, (3) an FBI agent appeared out of nowhere and told Audrey and Nathan she is Audrey Parker, and (4) viewers everywhere were left stunned and excited for Season Two.

Now we can finally resume the search for the truth about what’s up with Haven, its unique residents, and the woman we thought was Audrey Parker when the second-season premiere “A Tale of Two Audreys” premieres. During the sophomore run, also watch out for Beverly Hills, 90210 veteran Jason Priestley, who will appear in several episodes and direct one, as well. He plays a marine biologist named Chris Weekly, and, yes, Chris happens to be “unique,” too.

Preview Haven‘s upcoming premiere and second season in the sneak peek and trailer below.

In case you don’t already know, basic cable’s AMC rocks. Thanks to the network’s much-appreciated generosity, current and future fans of zombie standout The Walking Dead will get to catch the entire first season (again) this Friday, March 4. Talk about TV worth looking forward to.

The six-episode marathon kicks off at 8pm ET on Friday night and winds down early Saturday morning at 2:30am. And if that’s not enough gory goodness to start your weekend off properly, AMC will cap the Dead-fest with the classic (at least to me) 1983 Stephen King-based, rabid dog flick Cujo at 2:30am. You can never have too much Dee Wallace.

But wait — there’s more… In addition to another opportunity to watch one of the best new television shows in recent memory, viewers will also have the chance to experience lots of tasty extras. For instance, the Walking Dead marathon will feature exclusive interviews with cast members throughout, as well as a first look at AMC’s next new highly anticipated original series, The Killing, which debuts on Sunday, April 3. So, mark those calendars now, savvy TV lovers.

Paranormal Syfy drama Haven ends its first season tonight, October 8, with the finale “Spiral,” just one day after the network announced the show’s renewal.

Get ready for everything to come to a head as a criminal with ties to numerous Haven residents arrives in town, right before events get as weird as ever.

Preview “Spiral” in the sneak peek below before the episode’s 10pm ET premiere.

Basic-cable network Syfy made me a very happy TV watcher yesterday, October 7, when it announced the renewal of rookie original series Haven for a 13-episode second season.

The paranormal drama is based on the Stephen King novel The Colorado Kid, which is set in New England, like most of the author’s written works. According to Syfy’s official announcement, the series will continue filming in Nova Scotia, Canada, in the spring of 2011 for a planned sophomore run in the summer of 2011.

Although not a huge hit, Haven performed respectably in the ratings, averaging 2.6 million total viewers and, equally important, managing to retain 82% of the audience that tuned in to its former lead-in Eureka. The series is also one of the five most popular shows among people ages 25 to 54 on Showcase, the network that airs it in Canada.

Summer Syfy original series Haven continues to wind down on October 1 as the paranormal drama presents its next-to-last Season One episode called “Resurfacing.”

The latest intriguing case for former FBI agent Audrey and Haven cop Nathan begins with a skeleton found on a shipwrecked vessel, which then leads to unexplained events at a local residence that may be linked to a poltergeist.

Sneak a lengthy peek at “Resurfacing” in the following preview clip before the episode’s 10pm ET premiere. It’s nice to see Nathan and Duke still spending so much quality time together.

With just three episodes left in its current freshman season, Syfy paranormal series Haven heads out to sea during the new September 24 episode called “The Trial of Audrey Parker.”

Questionable Agent Howard (Maurice Dean Wint, Blue Murder) from the show’s premiere episode “Welcome to Haven” returns to the title New England town to investigate Audrey’s so-called suspicious actions. However, his visit is interrupted when two crooks take over Duke’s boat and set sail, with Audrey, Duke, and Howard along for the ride.

A short trailer for “The Trial of Audrey Parker” follows.