MTV Movie Awards and Amy Schumer show among mid- season premieres

Spring is here, bringing with it a new crop of shows, as the mid-season premieres continue through the month.  Here are a few picks you might want to check out.

The MTV Movie Awards – special live event, Sunday, April 14 at 10pm on MTV:

Broadcast live from Los Angeles, the MTV Movie Awards will be hosted this year by Rebel Wilson, and will feature an A-list of guests and presenters including Adam Sandler; Zoe Saldana; Will Ferrell; Seth Rogen; Steve Carrell; Kerry Washington; Ester Dean; Emma Watson; Chris Rock and Brittany Snow, among others. 

Among the live performances that have been announced are Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Selena Gomez, and a musical mash-up by the cast of Pitch Perfect. You can vote online for your favourite nominees in an array of viewers’ choice categories. Winners will receive special Golden Popcorn Awards at the event. For more, visit: http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/2013.

The Borgias – Season 3 premiere, Sunday, April 14 at 11pm on Showtime:

Created by Academy-Award winning Irish filmmaker and novelist Neil Jordan, this historical fiction series is set at the turn of the 16th century and follows the Borgia family, an Italian dynasty of Spanish origin. 

This season, the focus is on a new pope, interestingly timed as similar changes have taken centre stage in the Catholic church today. Played by Jeremy Irons, the character of Pope Alexander VI in the series is a complex man who pursues diplomacy and upholds morality and family values while leading wars and engaging in inappropriate behaviour with women. Watch as the intrigue and power plays unfold. For more info and sneak peeks, visit www.sho.com/sho/the-borgias/home.

Defiance – Series premiere, Monday April 15 at 10pm on Syfy:

I’m intrigued by the launch of this new science fiction series, set in the near future, where a group of aliens known as Votans arrive on Earth hoping to make it their new home following the massive stellar collision that destroyed their star system. Turns out they were wrong in thinking that the planet was uninhabited and their hosts are not receiving them with open arms. A handful of them make it to Brazil and are allowed to stay, but in the meantime, millions of others are onboard their starships, orbiting Earth in a holding pattern, in hypersleep, while tense negotiations with Earth are taking place. Along with the series, a new video game by the same name and based on the show is also being launched.

Who Gets the Last Laugh? – Series premiere, Tuesday, April 16 at 11pm on TBS:

Donald Faisan – of The Exes and Scrubs fame – hosts this new hidden-camera comedy series by Punk’d co-creators Jason Goldberg and Ashton Kutcher.

The premise is that each week three famous comedians come up with hidden-camera pranks and then go out and execute them. After all three pranks have been viewed, the audience votes for their favourite and the winner will have $10,000 donated to their charity of choice. Participants include Andy Dick; Tom Green; D.L. Hughley; Chris Kattan; Bam Margera; Bill Bellamy; Charlie Murphy; Cheri Oteri and lots more.

Inside Amy Schumer – Premieres Tuesday, April 30 at 11pm on Comedy Central:

Stay in a laughing mood as one of the hottest names in comedy today launches her own show with this live tour. Amy got her start in 2007 on NBC’s Last Comic Standing and has since appeared on The Howard Stern Show; Jimmy Kimmel Live; Conan and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. 

She has been featured in Rolling Stone Magazine and The New York Times and was one of Variety’s Top 10 Comics to Watch.  Her comedy album Cutting placed in the top five on the Billboard Charts and has been included in numerous Best Comedy Albums of the Year awards lists.

* April also marks the return of two Showtime favourites – Nurse Jackie (April 14) and The Big C (April 30). n