HDTV Heads-Up: July 23-29

TV2 at last will unearth in HD the lively zombie drama, The Walking Dead.

In a curious scheduling move, the US cable-TV hit will screen on the back of TV2’s two-hour comedy block, at 9.30pm Wednesdays from July 27.

TVNZ made a fuss of just having bought the six-part series at its 2011 new-season launch in November.

But inexplicably it has left screening the series, from Shawshank Redemption writer/director Frank Darabont, until now — even though it’s the kind of male-skewed action hour that generated such a buzzfest it’s hard to imagine most of its key audience haven’t already downloaded it.

It will lead into another HD newcomer, Undercovers, about husband-and-wife CIA agents that lasted only 13 episodes, despite its JJ Abrams (Alias, Lost) credentials.

The week of July 23-39 also is notable for:

• The season two finale of Modern Family (TV3, 7pm Monday);
• The free-to-air HD premieres of X-Men Origins: Wolverine (TV3, 8.30pm Monday) and the Ricky Gervais comedy, Ghost Town (TV3, 8.30pm Thursday), and a re-run of Eagle vs Shark (TV3, 9.30pm Saturday);
• TV2’s dumping of The Middle (and SD stablemate Mike & Molly) for a Sunday instalment of My Kitchen Rules;
• The season three premiere of The Mentalist (TV2, 8.30pm Monday); and,
• Julia Roberts’ brother, Eric, guest starring in Chuck (TV2, 8.30pm Thursday).