Matt LeBlanc hosts "Top Gear"

Back on 'Top': One of the most popular shows in the world is revving up to put the pedal to the metal. "Top Gear" is back for an astounding 24th season starting Monday, March 13, on BBC America, and while its lineup of presenters is a bit different from last season's, the change isn't as dramatic as the previous shakeup.

Popular English personality Chris Evans stepped down at the end of the show's previous season, despite having only hosted six episodes, in the face of negative reviews and criticism of his performance. The other hosts, though, remain for the new season.

American actor Matt LeBlanc ("Friends") now headlines the cast, along with automotive journalists Chris Harris and Rory Reid, businessman Eddie Jordan and professional racer Sabine Schmitz. The Stig, the anonymous driver who pushes many of the cars featured on the show to their absolute limits, is also back, although his (or her) identity remains a closely guarded secret.

"Top Gear" is, simply put, a show about cars (and sometimes other motor vehicles) and people's love for them. The current series has been on the air since 2002, and was recognized by Guinness World Records in 2013 as the most widely watched factual TV program in the world.

Last season's big casting shakeup came about after Jeremy Clarkson, who'd been the show's main presenter since its inception in 2002, was dropped amid controversy. Co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May left with him.

Although last season didn't go over as well with fans as the Clarkson-hosted ones did, the thinning out of "Top Gear's" ranks should allow for more screen time for the presenters who hit it off with audiences.

Imperial ambitions: After a short pause, the empire is expanding again. Fox's hit drama "Empire" returns from its midseason hiatus Wednesday, March 22, and it has a sizzling star lined up to pad its already impressive cast.

Golden Globe-nominated actress Eva Longoria joins "Empire's" roster for a multi-episode guest-starring role. The star plays Charlotte Frost, the director of Nevada's state gaming commission. With Lucious (Terrence Howard, "Iron Man," 2008) looking to expand his entertainment company's reach to Las Vegas, she has the power to make or break his ambitions.

Longoria is in good company with "Empire"; the show's third season has been packed with guest stars. Phylicia Rashad ("The Cosby Show"), Taye Diggs ("Private Practice") and Mariah Carey ("Glitter," 2001) are just a few of the big names that have appeared in the drama's credits so far this season, and Hollywood A-lister Demi Moore ("Ghost," 1990) has also recently joined the cast in a recurring role.

Longoria earned a Golden Globe nomination for her role in the dramedy "Desperate Housewives," which aired on ABC for eight seasons. Along with "Empire," she is also set to star in the upcoming film "Lowriders," scheduled for release Friday, May 12, and in the upcoming British miniseries "Decline and Fall."

"Empire" was created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, who previously worked together to create "Lee Daniels' The Butler" (2013). It focuses on the fight to control hip-hop entertainment company Empire Entertainment by the founder's family, including his three sons: Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray, "The New Edition Story"), Jamal (Jussie Smollett, "The Mighty Ducks," 1992) and Andre (Trai Byers, "All My Children").

Family drama is the the most intense kind of drama, and "Empire" has it in spades. The series returns with its midseason premiere Wednesday, March 22, on Fox.

Global shark-tastrophe: After terrorizing America no less than four times, the most deadly -- and most ridiculous -- natural disasters on the planet are going global.

When "Sharknado," the made-for-TV film, hit Syfy back in the summer of 2013, there probably weren't many people expecting it to spawn an entire tongue-in-cheek franchise, but that's exactly what happened. The fifth film (still using the working title "Sharknado 5" as of press time) is currently in production, and it's going where no sharknado has gone before ... fin-ternational.

The stars of all four previous films, Ian Ziering ("Beverly Hills, 90210") and Tara Reid ("The Big Lebowski," 1998), are confirmed to be returning, as is Cassie Scerbo ("Make It or Break It"), who has starred in both the first and third movies in the franchise.

The Sharknado films, as one might expect, are about tornadoes powerful enough to lift sharks out of the ocean and deposit them in places they shouldn't be. After the events of the past four films, much of North America is in ruins. But, with the sharknados going global, the unlikely heroes of the franchise face their most deadly meteorological challenge yet.

Although the title "Sharknado 5... Earth 0" has been speculated to be the next film's title, due to the phrase's appearance in a teaser poster, to date, Syfy is still just referring to it as "Sharknado 5." Whatever its final title ends up being, the new "Sharknado" promises to be a campy romp around the world when it premieres this summer.