Showcase heats up for 2011

The Shaw Media channel is debuting three new shows this winter with a lineup featuring spies, lawyers and The Wire's Idris Elba.

TV fans still bummed about the end of The Wire will be pleased to see Idris Elba back on the airwaves this winter in the British crime drama Luther, set to air on Showcase in January. (And, yes, we know The Wire ended in 2008. But we still miss Stringer Bell’s devious ways.)

The channel’s recently announced winter programming lineup includes three new shows starting in January, including the above-mentioned UK import, Luther, which premieres Friday, Jan. 7 at 10 p.m.

Starting Sunday, Jan. 9 at 10 p.m., Covert Affairs is a USA Network series that launched last summer in the States. It follows rookie CIA agenct Annie Walker (Piper Perabo, Coyote Ugly) as she is used as a pawn in the agency’s secret agenda.

Also premiering in January is Fairly Legal, airing on Mondays at 10 p.m. starting Jan. 31. Fairly Legal stars The L Word‘s Sarah Shahi as Kate Reed, a lawyer-turned-mediator with a complicated personal life.

Also returning to the network this winter is Burn Notice, which launched in the fall on the Shaw Media channel alongside a major promotional campaign. Its second season will start Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 10 p.m.