The first week of 2021 will feature the debut of CBS All Access crime drama Coyote and the return of fantasy drama American Gods. 

Coyote, which was initially scheduled to debut on Paramount Network, debuts on CBS All Access Jan. 7 and stars Michael Chiklis as a border patrol agent who finds himself working for the people he spent his career keeping out of America, said the streaming service.

Debuting Jan. 10 on Starz is the third season of American Gods, which stars Ricky Whittle and Ian McShane and chronicles a war brewing between the Old Gods of ancient mythological roots and the New Gods of modern technology, said the network.

Also Read: 'American Gods' Renewed on Starz'

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting the week of Jan. 4 to Jan. 10 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

Jan. 5 -- History of Swear Words (documentary) -- Netflix

Jan. 7 -- Go-Big Show (reality) -- TBS

Jan. 8 -- Herself (drama) -- Prime Video

Jan. 8 -- Dickinson (returning series) -- Apple TV Plus

Jan. 9 -- A Discovery of Witches (returning series) -- Shudder/Sundance Now

Jan. 10 -- Tiger (documentary) -- HBO

As women superheroes continue to capture the imagination of viewers, an unlikely new group of TV heroines is emerging from a genre more often associated with evil: witches.

Series such as A Discovery of Witches from streaming service Shudder, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix and upcoming offerings like Freeform’s Motherland: Fort Salem portray witches as intelligent, romantic and emotional characters who mostly use their power for good. Further, the shows reach an audience of young women looking for strong characters in an age of female empowerment.

“Witches get a bad rap,” Jan Diedrichsen, general manager of SundanceTV and Sundance Now, said. “One of the reasons [the witch genre] has endured and evolved is that witches are smart and powerful, and they use their smarts to wield their power.”

Indeed, the evolution of witches on television comes as female superhero characters from Wonder Woman to Captain Marvel have become a big part of the pop-culture zeitgeist. While those characters project physical and mental strength, a witch’s power is more steeped in learning and intelligence.

“Women always think we have a powerful sixth sense that’s stronger than men, so the mental power from witches tends to resonate well with female viewers,” Los Angeles-based TV critic and writer Mekisha Madden Toby said. “I would argue that the increase in shows featuring good, strong witches coincides with the women’s movement and women just wanting to be in power and have more control.”

Shows of Strength

In A Discovery of Witches — based on the popular book series by Deborah Harkness — the series’ protagonist, university professor Dana Bishop (Teresa Palmer), is at first reluctant to use witchcraft, but eventually harnesses those powers with her intelligence, employing them to keep an ancient manuscript from falling into the wrong hands.

“The old stereotype that witches were evil — and the evolution of the genre from the Wizard of Oz on up — has shown that witches can be good and can use their powers for good,” Diedrichsen said.

The series set audience streaming records on both Shudder and Sundance Now within two weeks of its February launch. It also had a successful run on BBC America, where it retained most of the audience from its lead-in — the Emmy-winning Killing Eve — on Sunday nights over eight weeks in April and May, Diedrichsen said.

“It’s an exciting way for audiences to see a female character be in power,” Diedrichsen said.

Freeform will look to reach a younger female audience with its new series Motherland: Fort Salem, set in an alternate U.S. where witches cut a deal with authorities some 300 years ago to end their persecution in exchange for military service. The show depicts witches as protectors of the greater good, rather than as evil destroyers, Freeform president Tom Ascheim said.

“Mythology for a long time has done a lot to create stereotypes, and much like with Siren — where we reimagined mermaids as not voiceless, legless love objects — we’re trying to do the same [reimagining] thing for witches with this series,” Ascheim said. “It’s a feminst tale about a reimagining of witches not as foes, but as strong, vibrant and, in this case, strong defenders of what is an alternative version of America.”

Conjuring Up Diversity

The new wave of witchcraft-themed shows are also diverse and inclusive. From A Discovery of Witches and The CW’s reboot of Charmed — which both feature lesbian charaters — to Netflix’s Siempre Bruja (Always A Witch), which stars an Afro-Caribbean slave transported to the 21st century, to Starz’s recently green-lighted series Brujas — which follows the exploits of four Afro-Carribean/Latinx witches — these shows are expected to broaden the genre’s audience, according to Toby.

“The new face of feminism is way more inclusive in terms of who’s speaking out and who’s included, and these shows are reflecting that,” Toby said.

As for the future, Diedrichsen said AMC Networks has already green-lighted two additional seasons of A Discovery of Witches and will continue to look for new opportunities within the genre.

“We look for great storytelling, and if we can find a great genre show we’re 100% on board for it,” Diedrichsen said.

Added Toby, “Witches, like vampires, will always be in vogue, and viewers — especially female viewers — will be attracted to them.”

AMC Networks will bring its Shudder and Sundance Now digital streaming series A Discovery Of Witches to television with the horror show’s April 7 premiere on BBC America and AMC, the network said Saturday.

A Season of Witches will run over eight weeks on both cable networks beginning April 7, the network announced during the Television Critics Association winter press tour presentation.

The series, set in a world where witches, vampires and demons secretly live and work alongside humans, has set Sundance Now records for total video plays, and in its first week on the site accounted for more than half of all streaming activity on the platform, according to the service.

“Thanks to the critical acclaim and overwhelmingly positive audience response to A Discovery of Witches, the series has found a new legion of fans. We are thrilled to bring it to a wider audience and pair it with Killing Eve on both AMC and BBC America,” said Sarah Barnett, President of AMC Entertainment Networks in a statement. “This is a great example of our cross-network strategy; to expose our series to new audiences across our ecosystem of networks and streaming services.”

In other streaming news, Shudder announced it has begun production on its first long-form series, Creepshow, based on the iconic 1982 anthology film written by Stephen King and directed by George A. Romero.

The six-episode season will be executive produced by Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead), according to the streaming service.

USA Network’s reboot of Fox broadcasting's reality series Temptation Island and Showtime’s Wall Street-themed comedy series Black Monday headline the scripted and reality shows premiering on cable this week.

On the streaming front, Netflix’s reboot of the 1999’s animated series Carmen Sandiego and YouTube’s original drama series Wayne launch this week.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting this week:

Jan. 15 -- Temptation Island (reality series) – USA Network

Jan. 16 – Deadly Class (drama) -- Syfy

Jan. 16 – Wayne (drama) -- YouTube

Jan. 17 – A Discovery of Witches Shudder/Sundance Now

Jan. 18 – Carmen Sandiego (animated) -- Netflix

Jan. 20 – Black Monday (comedy) -- Showtime