In the wake of the bustling holiday season, many of us have once again settled back into the routines of our daily lives: work, school, homework, the gym and the defining evening activity —TV time.

With the free-to-air channels’ lineups ranging from “Wow!” to “I think exactly three people in America watched that show,” employ this handy reading guide to maximize the enjoyment of your precious leisure time.

Megahit series Desperate Housewives is on free-to-air. Starring Eva Longoria, Felicity Huffman, Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross and Nicollette Sheridan, this suburban drama is narrated by the main five characters’ dear (and dead) friend Mary Alice.

Their perfect little neighborhood looks very different from Mary Alice’s point of view, offering peaks into the private lives of her friends and family. From suspicious husbands to gossiping girlfriends, Mary Alice provides the juicy details of the scandals, trials, romances and everyday life hiding behind closed doors.

Airing on Dubai’s OneTV every Tuesday evening with back-to-back episodes starting at 7pm.

Following in the footsteps of telenovella Fashion House —addictive camp at its best and worst —is MBC4’s premiere of Desire: Table for Three.

Keeping with the same telenovella format, this one-hour drama started January 27 and will air every weekday at 7pm.

Michelle Belegrin leads a B-grade cast as the beautiful Andrea Zavatti, daughter of restaurant owner Harold Zavatti (Ron Gilbert) and the love object of two brothers. Fleeing the Gamarra crime family in New Jersey, the Thomas brothers Louis (Nate Haden) and Alex (Zack Silva), escape to California with their mother and begin working at the Zavatti restaurant. A love triangle isn’t the only thing the characters have to fear: Not only is the mafia hot on the heels of Louis (for sleeping with a mobster’s daughter), but so-called friends are scheming to snare the Zavatti fortune.

Airing Saturday through Wednesdays at 7pm on MBC4.

Also joining MBC4’s schedule this year is the supernatural series Medium, starring Patricia Arquette and produced by Emmy Award-winner Glenn Gordon Caron.

This chilling drama is inspired by the real-life story of research medium Allison Dubois. Since childhood, Allison has struggled to make sense of her unique ability to see what others can’t. As a young adult, a wife and mother of three, she begins to suspect that she can tap into her psychic abilities to help solve crimes. Although supported by her husband, her new boss is less than convinced — until she unravels seemingly unsolvable crimes with clues that couldn’t have come from the living.

Airing Tuesdays at 10pm on MBC4.

The medical drama Grey’s Anatomy airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 11pm on TV Land.

Sure, it’s subscription satellite, but this series has taken home both an Emmy and a Golden Globe. The series, created by Shonda Rhimes, revolves around the jobs and interpersonal relationships of a group of young surgical interns, centering on the life of Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo).

Each of the interns has his own struggle, but what they share is a stressful work atmosphere and the established team of doctors that guide them. et