Exciting moments on TV in 2015: Letterman, ‘SNL’

What will the big, exciting moments on television be in 2015? Look back to 2014 for just a few hints: Continued seismic changes in late night and the continued evolution, or devolution, of TV’s major unscripted series.

Oh, and here’s something else that should continue: The TV audience’s restless desire to see what it wants when it wants. That’s just part of the revolution that Netflix helped to start, but it’ll be exemplified by one key development. (Hint: HBO will have something to do with it.)

Meanwhile, here’s my list of the major moments of 2015:

DAVID LETTERMAN LEAVES — This will be one of those moments, arriving May 20, cloaked in hyperbole — certainly understandable — alongside just a little melancholy, too. Also understandable: After all, Dave has been a happy part of our lives for more than 30 years. After Johnny Carson, he is and was the consummate late-night host. Let the hype begin. When he’s done, no one will have spent as many years on late night — a total of 33, for 6,028 episodes on NBC and CBS, which noted upon announcing his final day: “Letterman is one of the most influential, acclaimed and honored personalities in television history.” All true, but he’s also one of the most reclusive. How will TV’s most famous introvert deal with all the hoopla?

STEPHEN COLBERT ARRIVES — After ending “The Colbert Report” on Dec. 18, Colbert should get the better part of a year to make everyone forget the old Stephen Colbert. But what exactly will the new Stephen Colbert bring to the “Late Show” party when he takes over, probably early next fall? Some givens: A lightning wit in service to a gifted comic persona. Little is known of Colbert’s “Late Show,” which only adds to the anticipation. He will certainly lose the “Colbert Report” persona. But how exactly will his “Late Show” depart from Dave’s? Probably not by much: There’s no need to reinvent this wheel.

“MAD MEN” WRAPS — Sometime in 2015, one of TV’s singular triumphs ends. But don’t expect “answers” or a finale to beat all finales. If past is prologue here, “Mad Men” will probably end with a question mark as opposed to an exclamation point. Maybe many question marks. Foremost, if “Mad Men” is really the journey of Don Draper’s (Jon Hamm) soul, then where does this complicated soul end up?

FINALES FOR “PARKS AND RECREATION” (FEB. 24) AND “GLEE” (MARCH 20) — Now here are two series that will end with an exclamation point. They will go out loud, and with surprising speed, too. “P&R’s” seventh and final season (beginning Jan. 13) will literally rush by. “Glee,” too. It begins Jan. 9 with a two-hour launch and concludes in March with a two-hour wrap. Another loud exit: “Two and a Half Men” (Feb. 19), which could even see the return of Charlie Sheen.

“BETTER CALL SAUL” — Arriving Feb. 8 on AMC, this is an easy, umm, call. It’s a prequel to a classic series, “Breaking Bad,” which will bring fresh dimensions to a series we loved. “Saul” is easily one of the most anticipated launches of the whole year. But this won’t be a reunion series — except for Bob Odenkirk, as ambulance-chaser Saul Goodman, and Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut, Saul’s muscle. Expect lots of fun new elements and characters. For example, who knew Saul had a brother? He does: Chuck McGill, played by another legend, Michael McKean.

THE OTHER NEW LATE-NIGHT GUYS — Larry Wilmore begins his Comedy Central series, “The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore” on Jan. 19, while “The Late Late Show with James Corden” arrives March 23. Wilmore — one of the creators of ABC’s “black-ish” — is Colbert’s successor, while Corden succeeds Craig Ferguson. Corden, like Wilmore, arrives with a resume that doesn’t have an entry for late night TV host. (Corden is an accomplished veteran of the stage and star of Hulu’s “The Wrong Mans.”) The fun in both cases could be watching them learn the new gig while on the job.

SHOWS THAT JUST SOUND REALLY, REALLY INTERESTING (AND THIS IS A VERY LIMITED LIST) — “Agent Carter” (ABC, Jan. 6); “Empire” (Fox, Jan. 8); “12 Monkeys” (Syfy, Jan. 16); “Backstrom” (Fox, Jan. 22), “Battle Creek” (CBS, March 1); “The Last Man on Earth” (NBC, March 1); “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (Netflix, March); “Wayward Pines” (Fox, May 14); “Heroes Reborn” (NBC, TBA); and “Grease Live” (Fox, also TBA.) And … let’s not forget NBC’s next live holiday event, an adaptation of “The Music Man.”

HBO GO — HBO’s video-on-demand service will launch as a so-called “stand-alone over-the-top” service sometime in 2015. Lots of questions (including cost), but one has to be: Will Showtime Anytime follow suit? HBO Go, like Netflix, could be a real game-changer.

“AMERICAN IDOL” AND “DANCING WITH THE STARS” — I’ll be watching as these major franchises drift inexorably into “formerly major” status. Len Goodman, for example, leaves sometime in 2015. Meanwhile, big changes on the 14th season of “Idol” — beginning Jan. 7. It will be the first without Randy Jackson; and at some point during the season, the long-standing “results” edition will end, and be merged into the performance edition. Last season’s judging panel returns — Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. — but will they be around for the 15th season?

“SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE” TURNS 40 — And to celebrate, a Feb. 15 three-hour spectacular. Expect everyone — and I do mean everyone — to turn out for this