DAVID LEE/NETFLIX ©2021ALSO SEE: Complete 2021 NFL TV Schedule
All Times Eastern. PBS programming varies regionally.
Wednesday, Nov. 3
The Harder They Fall
Netflix
Original Film!
In this new-school Western, when outlaw Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) discovers that his enemy Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) is being released from prison, he rounds up his gang to track Rufus down and seek revenge. Those riding with him include his former love, Stagecoach Mary (Zazie Beetz), his right- and left-hand men — hot-tempered Bill Pickett (Edi Gathegi) and fast-drawing Jim Beckwourth (RJ Cyler) — and a surprising adversary-turned-ally. But Rufus has his own fearsome crew, including “Treacherous” Trudy Smith (Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield), and they are not a group that knows how to lose.
NBA Basketball
ESPN, beginning at 7:30pm Live
A star-studded doubleheader has Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks visiting Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets, followed by LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets out West trying to sting Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
The Goldbergs: “The Rose-Kissy Thing”
ABC, 8pm
Senior Night is upon William Penn Academy, and Beverly soon discovers she is missing out on the ceremonial adoration presented to mothers with athletic children. Much to Adam’s embarrassment, Beverly pushes for her moment to shine with a kiss and a rose and encourages Principal Ball to establish a Non-Athlete Senior Night. As Adam attempts to foil his mother’s plans, Erica finds herself lacking any interested friends to appoint “pre-wedding fun captain.” Reluctantly she engages her eager “sister-in-law to be” Joanna, who inadvertently doesn’t meet expectations but ultimately proves herself worthy of being called sister.
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: “Speakeasy Does It”
The CW, 8pm
Still searching for the scientist who can return them to their original timeline, the team treks to 1920s Chicago and makes life difficult for the crowd at an unusual speakeasy.
Property Brothers: Forever Home
HGTV, 8pm
Season Premiere!
Homeowners Barry and Zonita say they love their home. They have made lots of great memories with their kids there and enjoy having family living nearby. Now this growing household needs the Brothers’ help to make the home suit them for years to come. Drew and Jonathan Scott will give Barry and Zonita the house of their dreams when they create a beautifully designed and spacious open-concept kitchen, living and dining area that is perfect for entertaining extended family, as well as revamp the home office so it can also be used as a playroom.
Chicago Med: “A Square Peg in a Round Hole”
NBC, 8pm
Crockett (Dominic Rains) helps Dr. Blake (Sarah Rafferty) replace a patient’s liver; Vanessa (Asjha Cooper) tries to prove herself; Will (Nick Gehlfuss) continues to pursue the truth about Cooper (Michael Rady); and Ethan (Brian Tee) gets closer to returning to life in the E.D.
Nature: “The Elephant and the Termite”
PBS, 8pm
Witness the creation of one of Africa’s greatest wildlife meeting places and the site of extraordinary drama: the waterhole. From mighty elephants to tiny termites, an entire community of creatures call the waterhole their home.
WildTales From the Farm
Smithsonian Channel, 8pm
New Series!
Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville hosts this revealing four-part series about the secret lives of animals on a 500-acre English farm. We begin in spring with flirty cows and a hen torn between ruling the roost and feeding her chicks.
Star of the Month: Sydney Greenstreet
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!
Considering that he did not begin his film career until age 61 after many years of stage acting, and with that career consisting of only 24 movies made throughout the 1940s, it’s all the more impressive that legendary actor Sydney Greenstreet was able to become such an enduring big-screen icon. It really speaks to his talent; Greenstreet, who frequently played supporting roles as characters with personalities as outsized as the actor’s large physical presence, could steal scenes from even the likes of frequent costars Humphrey Bogart (they made five movies together) and Peter Lorre (nine movies together). While Greenstreet appeared in some comedies, most of his movies were films noir or dramas where he portrayed morally ambiguous, if not outright corrupt, figures, yet he often managed to bring good humor to even his shadiest characters. Each Wednesday this month, Turner Classic Movies recognizes Greenstreet as its Star of the Month with an evening of his films; in total, the celebration will encompass nearly all of the actor’s cinematic body of work in which he portrayed a fictional character, not himself. It begins tonight with Greenstreet’s first movie, the film noir classic The Maltese Falcon (1941), which earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination and was the first of his teamings with Bogart and Lorre. Also tonight: the 1942 spy film Across the Pacific, which re-teamed Greenstreet with Bogart, as well as Maltese Falcon costar Mary Astor and director John Huston (who codirected this film with Vincent Sherman); Conflict (1945), another film noir pairing Greenstreet and Bogart, only this time with Bogie as the bad guy in the equation; The Hucksters (1947), also starring Clark Gable and Deborah Kerr in her American film debut; and Passage to Marseille (1944), a war film again teaming Greenstreet with Bogart and Lorre, as well as their Casablanca costar Claude Rains. — Jeff Pfeiffer
My 600-lb Life
TLC, 8pm
Season Premiere!
In the premiere, when Nathan’s weight gets in the way of the only healthy thing in his life — his job as a drama teacher — it’s a wake-up call for him. But changing his life might mean a falling out with his wife, Amber, who is also overweight, unless she can lose, too.
Batwoman: “Antifreeze”
The CW, 9pm
When Ryan (Javicia Leslie) makes Gotham’s “30 Under 30” list, Luke (Camrus Johnson) worries about how Marquis’ (Nick Creegan) involvement in Ryan’s rising popularity as Wayne Enterprises’ acting CEO will land with Jada (Robin Givens). Mary (Nicole Kang) returns from a late night out not feeling quite herself, while Alice’s (Rachel Skarsten) hallucinations grow stronger. And when Sophie’s (Meagan Tandy) sister, Jordan (guest star Keeya King), goes missing, she and the Bat Team quickly realize that Freeze’s missing weapon hasn’t been fully contained.
Chicago Fire: “Whom Shall I Fear?”
NBC, 9pm
Gallo (Alberto Rosende) clashes with the new lieutenant temporarily filling in for Casey (Jesse Spencer). Meanwhile, Severide (Taylor Kinney) closes in on a deadly arsonist.
NOVA Universe Revealed: “Milky Way”
PBS, 9pm
Our Milky Way galaxy is so vast that even traveling at the speed of light, it would take about 100,000 years to cross it. But what shaped this giant spiral of stars, gas and dust, and what will be its destiny? This episode explores the wonders of galactic archaeology revealed by Gaia, a spacecraft that’s unlocking the turbulent history of our cosmic neighborhood — from its birth in a whirling disk of clouds and dust to its ultimate fate as it collides with its nearest neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy, over 4 billion years from now.
Home Economics: “Speeding Ticket, $180”
ABC, 9:30pm
Sofia brings out Tom’s adventurous side which ignites Marina’s jealous side. Meanwhile, Sarah and Denise learn that Shamiah has been confiding in Connor instead of them, leaving them no choice but to take action.
A Million Little Things: “Six Months Later”
ABC, 10pm
The sentimental drama jumps six months ahead. Maggie (Allison Miller) enjoys a new romance, while Gary (James Roday Rodriguez) beats himself up for an old sin.
CSI: Vegas: “Let the Chips Fall”
CBS, 10pm
The CSI team investigates the case of an autonomous cargo plane that lands in Las Vegas with its entire crew killed in the new episode “Let the Chips Fall.”
In Pursuit With John Walsh
Investigation Discovery, 10pm
Season Finale!
In the Season 3 finale, “Tragically Taken,” John is on the hunt for Jorge Rico-Ruvira, accused of murdering his girlfriend in 2020 and abducting their young son. Later, John and Cal shine a spotlight on the case of 15-year-old Sophie Reeder, who was abducted in 2017 and may be in grave danger.
Chicago P.D.: “Trust Me”
NBC, 10pm
Despite this episode’s title, trust continues to be sorely tested in the CPD’s Intelligence Unit. Officer Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) fears the sex trafficker who shot her is still at large because her guilt-stricken colleague Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) hasn’t told her that she killed the bad guy and that their boss, Sgt. Hank Voight (Jason Beghe), covered it up. Hailey’s fiancé, fellow detective Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer), who sussed out the truth, is angry with Hailey and especially Hank for putting her in that vulnerable position. “If you look at [the team] as a family and Voight as the father — the responsible party — his family is unhappy and dangerously out of sync. It doesn’t feel like home anymore,” Beghe says. However, this week, Hank forges an unexpected bond with a new confidential informant, Anna Avalos (Carmela Zumbado, who’ll recur), while trying to bring down a drug ring and figure out who’s violently ripping off the dealers. “They’re both willing to bend rules in order to get justice,” Beghe explains of the kindred spirits. “One of [Hank’s] mantras,” he reminds us, “is ‘Tell me the truth so I can lie for you.’” Anna has her own hidden agenda. Can the CI’s word be trusted?
Secrets of the Dead: “The First Circle of Stonehenge”
PBS, 10pm
A decade-long archaeological quest reveals that the oldest stones of Stonehenge originally belonged to a much earlier sacred site: a stone circle built on a rugged, remote hillside in West Wales. This episode shows how a dedicated team of archaeologists led by Professor Mike Parker Pearson (University College London) painstakingly searched for the evidence that reveals the original stones of Europe’s most iconic Neolithic monument had a previous life before they were moved almost 155 miles from Wales to Salisbury Plain.
Portals to Hell
Travel Channel, 10pm
New Episodes!
Season 2 returns with new episodes starting tonight with “Hotel Monte Vista.” Jack Osbourne and Katrina Weidman travel to Flagstaff, Arizona, where they check into one of America’s most terrifying hotels. They dive headfirst into the paranormal hot spot, where patrons and staff have reported unsettling encounters with the hotel’s debauched past.
Thursday, Nov. 4
Lace
ALLBLK
New Series!
This legal drama follows Lacy McCullough (Maryam Basir), a successful and highly connected Los Angeles lawyer whose influence sometimes leads her down a very dark path and often causes her to blur the lines between right and wrong to protect her rich and powerful clientele. With the help of her trusted associates, Othello Charles (Skyh Black) and Britney Deveaux (Tanyell Waivers) — and the ever-efficient twins Aaron (Antoine Harris) and Nora Tuft (Taylor Bynoe) — McCullough faces one of her most mysterious and perilous cases to date. Katrina Y. Nelson, who cocreated Lace with Michelle Ebony Hardy, explains one of the themes they wanted to convey with their series and its lead character: “As [Black] women, we get that moniker that we’re strong, but there are vulnerabilities to us, you know? So, we wanted to show just different aspects of being a Black woman. … And just to be able to see someone that looks like us that’s not in comedy but doing drama, that is an attorney, that is filled with a beautiful group of other castmates that’s very diverse, this has been a pleasure for us.”
Space Titans: Musk, Bezos, Branson
discovery+
Discovery+ partners with The Washington Post for this special that chronicles how billionaire entrepreneurs Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson are leading a new wave of space exploration.
Head of the Class
HBO Max
New Series!
This 10-episode revival of the 1986-91 sitcom revolves around a group of overachieving high school students who meet their greatest challenge — a teacher, Alicia Gomez (Isabella Gomez) who wants them to focus less on grades and more on experiencing life. Robin Givens returns as an all-grown-up Darlene Merriman (now Hayward). A former member of the original Individualized Honors Program and now an ambitious lawyer, Darlene wants what is best for her son and is focused on setting him up for success. She might need a reminder of the positive impact an out-of-the-box teacher can have, but she’s fighting for the good of all students at Meadows Creek High as co-head of the Parents’ Association. All Season 1 episodes are available today.
Taste the Nation: Holiday Edition
Hulu
New Series!
Cookbook author Padma Lakshmi, host of Hulu’s Taste the Nation, also presents this holiday installment of the culinary series. Each of the four episodes will highlight unique holiday traditions through the lens of a different immigrant culture and city, such as Korean New Year in Los Angeles and Cuban Christmas in Miami.
The Harper House
Paramount+
Season Finale!
The first season of the adult animated comedy comes to a close.
Siwas Dance Pop Revolution
Peacock
New Series!
Jessalyn Siwa, mom and manager to pop sensation JoJo Siwa, teams up with her daughter for this reality competition series in which young talent (who also happen to be major JoJo fans) compete for a role in XOMG Pop, a brand-new pop group that Jessalyn will manage. Eleven tweens will participate in a series of performances and challenges while JoJo serves as choreographer and mentor. As part of the grand prize, the newly crowned pop group will serve as an opening act for JoJo. The first three episodes are available today; subsequent new episodes are available Thursdays.
Dead & Beautiful
Shudder
Exclusive Film Premiere!
In this psychological thriller produced in the Netherlands and Taiwan, five rich, spoiled 20-somethings in Taipei are suffering from upper-class ennui, unsure how to spend their days when so little is expected from them. In search of excitement, the friends form the “Circle,” a group where they take turns designing a unique, extravagant experience for the others. But things go wrong when the privileged urbanites awaken after a night out to find they have developed vampire fangs and an unquenchable thirst for flesh, blood and adventure at any price.
One Lane Bridge
Sundance Now
Season Finale!
In “Bombshell,” the Season 2 finale of this dark mystery thriller from New Zealand, with Ariki (Dominic Ona Ariki) and Stephen (Joel Tobeck) now offside, the investigation goes in two completely separate directions. Stephen becomes obsessed with a suspect, certain they may strike again. Ariki, meanwhile, closes in on his own suspect but is also drawn further and further into his visionary world, comforted to know others experience similar feelings. But has either man got the right suspect?
NBA Basketball
NBA TV, beginning at 7:30pm Live
Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics are on the road against Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat in NBA TV’s first game. The second game has Jalen Green and the Houston Rockets in Phoenix to face off against Chris Paul and the Suns.
The Queen Family Singalong
ABC, 8pm
This fourth installment of the Singalong franchise is hosted by Darren Criss and features celebrities belting out an hour of hits from the legendary rock band Queen in honor of the group’s 50th anniversary, and inviting home audiences to sing along. Among the performances are “The Show Must Go On” by Adam Lambert, “Another One Bites the Dust” by Derek Hough featuring Alexander Jean, “Under Pressure” by Fall Out Boy, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Jimmie Allen featuring Miss Piggy, “We Will Rock You” by JoJo Siwa and Orianthi, “We Are the Champions” by OneRepublic, “Somebody to Love” by Pentatonix and “Don’t Stop Me Now” by cast members of Broadway’s The Lion King and Aladdin.
Young Sheldon: “Stuffed Animals and a Sweet Southern Syzygy”
CBS, 8pm
Sheldon (Iain Armitage) and Dr. Linkletter (Ed Begley Jr.) struggle to solve an equation in the new episode “Stuffed Animals and a Sweet Southern Syzygy.”
NFL Football: N.Y. Jets at Indianapolis
FOX & NFL Network, 8pm Live
Week 9’s Thursday Night Football matchup has the N.Y. Jets against the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Secrets of an Escort
LMN, 8pm
Original Film!
Having an alter ego becomes a deadly game when a single mother who works at a hotel during the day and as a high-end escort at night discovers her daughter is missing. Unsure who from her various lives would take her child, she takes matters into her own hands to repair all the damage she and her alter ego have caused before it’s too late. Stars Sheena Peña, Jim Klock and Pauline Egan.
The Blacklist: “The SPK”
NBC, 8pm
A new case involving stolen artifacts reunites Red (James Spader) with a former blacklister. Meanwhile, Aram (Amir Arison) faces a difficult decision.
Hollywood Victory
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!
On Nov. 2, the book Hollywood Victory: The Movies, Stars and Stories of World War II, from the Turner Classic Movies library, will be published. Written by Christian Blauvelt, it details Hollywood’s response during the events of the World War II era, relating the different ways in which the film industry enlisted in the war effort, from filmmakers such as Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock making recruitment films, to Bob Hope’s USO performances and how the industry made films to show the public why they were fighting. Tying in with this book release, tonight TCM will be hosting an evening of films made during the American involvement in the World War II era that are also featured in the book. First is the 1939 drama Confessions of a Nazi Spy, starring Edward G. Robinson, Francis Lederer and George Sanders, which was the first anti-Nazi film to be made by a major American studio (not surprisingly, it was banned in Germany and Japan). Next, the Oscar-nominated 1941 romantic drama Hold Back the Dawn, which takes place largely in Mexico, made some alterations to its screenplay at the request of the Mexican government to show a better representation of the country and help promote a “Good Neighbor Policy” to America’s important ally to the south in the coming war that we would find ourselves in less than three months after the film’s release. Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland and Paulette Goddard star. Following that is the 1943 war film Edge of Darkness, starring Errol Flynn and Ann Sheridan, which was one of the top five most requested films by the U.S. Army at the time. Also from 1943, Howard Hawks’ Oscar-winning war film Air Force, starring John Garfield and John Ridgely, offered special thanks at the end to the U.S. Army Air Force for their assistance in the creation of the film. Air Force also reflected some of the unfortunate aspects of the American psyche during the era, including distrust of Japanese Americans. Finally, in the 1946 adventure drama Courage of Lassie, a collie named Pal is credited as Lassie in the role of a collie named Bill, who finds himself shipped to the War Dog Training Center and eventually fights heroically alongside American troops during the Aleutian Islands Campaign. The film, also starring Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Morgan, ends with an onscreen written acknowledgment thanking the office of the Quartermaster General for their cooperation in the production of the film. — Evan McLean
Ghosts: “Pete’s Wife”
CBS, 9pm
In the new episode “Pete’s Wife,” Pete (Richie Moriarty) convinces Sam (Rose McIver) to invite his living wife to the mansion, only to discover she’s been keeping a dark secret from him for many years.
Flipping 101 With Tarek El Moussa: “Up Against a Brick Wall”
HGTV, 9pm
A real estate agent and a designer have the makings of a flipping dream team, but a tight profit margin on their project in Carson, California, have them looking for help. With Tarek El Moussa as their renovation and marketing expert, they hope to make their biggest profit yet.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: “They’d Already Disappeared”
NBC, 9pm
When a teenage sex worker disappears, Rollins (Kelli Giddish) and Velasco (Octavio Pisano) find a key clue in a pile of neglected missing persons reports.
Paranormal Caught on Camera: “Florida Dinosaur and More”
Travel Channel, 9pm
Experts analyze footage from viewers claiming they’ve captured a velociraptor dashing across a yard in Florida, UFOs making contact in Ohio and a ghost lurking in England.
B Positive: “Baseball, Walkers and Wine”
CBS, 9:30pm
Gina (Annaleigh Ashford) comes up with a plan to help a resident, Meredith (Priscilla Lopez), get some space from her overprotective husband in the new episode “Baseball, Walkers and Wine.”
Bull: “King Bull”
CBS, 10pm
Tensions at the Trial Analysis Corporation run high when the team asks Dr. Jason Bull (Michael Weatherly) to sit one out as they defend a business mogul accused of being mentally unfit to lead his company.
Love, Honor & Betray
Investigation Discovery, 10pm; also streams on discovery+
New Series!
This real-footage-led series tells the shocking stories of wives and husbands duped by their partners in dark and devastating ways that absolutely no one could have seen coming. From bigamists and covert criminals to serial liars and would-be murderers, the series features accounts of partners with terrible secrets that eventually become too big to conceal. Layers of deceit that keep escalating combined with gripping real footage will keep viewers guessing until the very end.
Law & Order: Organized Crime: “High Planes Grifter”
NBC, 10pm
Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and Brewster (Guillermo Díaz) take advantage of Reggie’s (Dash Mihok) insecurities to force his hand; Bell (Danielle Moné Truitt) and Nova (Nona Parker Johnson) must protect each other’s secrets; and Agnes (Caroline Lagerfelt) makes a desperate choice for her family.
Tacoma FD: “Eddie the Chief”
truTV, 10pm
When Chief Terry (Kevin Heffernan) throws out his back, the firehouse warms up to his fun-loving brother-in-law, Captain Eddie (Steve Lemme), as their leader. The hilarious competition gets heated.
Vexed
Ovation, 11pm
In this ironic police procedural, a 2010-12 British favorite airing Thursdays starting tonight, Kate and Jack (Lucy Punch and Toby Stephens) are just like any other detectives … who happen to work out of a café and bar instead of a precinct and spend time at a crime scene trying to decide whether to lease the victim’s flat. Immature and incompetent Jack’s antics veer into the absurd as he interrogates a potential suspect over the phone and uses police resources to score a date, all the while infuriating the rule-following Kate (and, in Season 2, ticking off new partner Georgina, played by a tenacious Miranda Raison). Although developments in their cases, as well as their personal lives, are played for laughs, you’ll find yourself invested in Kate’s increasingly messy marriage. Episodes running 90 minutes with commercials can feel bloated, but they do afford quality screen time with scene-stealers like Tony (Roger Griffiths), the bar’s owner, who provides hilarious commentary, and Naz (Ronny Jhutti), an eccentric crime scene specialist. You’ve rarely had this much fun with murder investigations.
Friday, Nov. 5
Dickinson
Apple TV+
Season Premiere!
The critically acclaimed, Peabody Award-winning comedy that fancifully follows the life of famed 19th-century poet Emily Dickinson (Hailee Steinfeld) returns for its 10-episode third and final season. In Season 3, Emily’s most productive time as an artist falls amid the raging Civil War and an equally fierce battle that divides her own family. As she tries to heal the divides around her, Emily wonders if art can help keep hope alive, and whether the future can be better than the past. New guest stars include Ziwe as Sojourner Truth, Billy Eichner as Walt Whitman and Chloe Fineman as Sylvia Plath, who join returning favorites Zosia Mamet as Louisa May Alcott and Will Pullen as Nobody. The first three episodes are available today; subsequent new episodes are available Fridays.
Finch
Apple TV+
Feature Film Exclusive!
Tom Hanks leads this postapocalyptic sci-fi comedy/drama that was originally intended for theatrical release, but was delayed several times by the pandemic and now makes its premiere on Apple TV+. Hanks plays Finch, a robotics engineer and one of the few survivors of a cataclysmic solar event that has left the world a wasteland. Finch has built a world of his own in an underground bunker that he shares with his dog, Goodyear, and creates a robot, who names himself Jeff (played by Caleb Landry Jones in a motion-capture performance), to watch over the dog when he no longer can. As the trio embarks on a perilous journey into a desolate American West, Finch strives to show Jeff the joy and wonder of what it means to be alive — and faces difficulties in trying to goad Jeff and Goodyear to get along.
Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show
Apple TV+
New Series!
This live-action series for kids and families from creators Jack McBrayer (30 Rock) and children’s TV veteran and author Angela C. Santomero, and featuring original songs from Grammy-winning band OK Go, aims to ignite kindness through exploring empathy, humor, playfulness and imagination. Anchored around Emmy nominee McBrayer’s infectious positivity and whimsical humor, the series invites preschoolers into a world where a little act of kindness can change the world and problems can be solved with heart.
Animaniacs
Hulu
Season Premiere!
The Steven Spielberg-produced revival of the beloved animated series returns for a 13-episode second season, with all episodes available today.
Big Mouth
Netflix
Season Premiere!
The adult-themed animated sitcom about kids trying to make it through puberty returns for Season 5. The voice cast includes cocreator Nick Kroll, John Mulaney and Maya Rudolph.
A Cop Movie
Netflix
Original Film!
Following family tradition, Teresa (Mónica Del Carmen) and Montoya (Raúl Briones) join the Mexican police force, only to find their convictions and hopes crushed by a dysfunctional system, and their emotional bond becoming a refuge for the hostility they are exposed to. Through an experimental style of narrative and documentary storytelling, director Alonso Ruizpalacios’ unpredictable action film/documentary plays with the boundaries of nonfiction as it propels the viewer into an unusual cinematic space.
Love Hard
Netflix
Original Film!
This lighthearted romantic comedy chronicles the efforts of Los Angeles girl Natalie (Nina Dobrev) to reel in love after she falls for an East Coast guy on a dating app and decides to surprise him for the holidays, only to discover that she’s been catfished. Lochlyn Munro and Harry Shum Jr. also star.
Narcos: Mexico
Netflix
Season Premiere!
The acclaimed crime drama, a spinoff of Narcos focusing on the development of Mexico’s illegal drug trade, returns for its third and final season, but without star Diego Luna and with new showrunner Carlo Bernard, who cocreated this series and Narcos and wrote a number of episodes of both shows.
The Unlikely Murderer
Netflix
New Series!
This limited series offers a fictional interpretation of how Stig Engström — the graphic designer who was named as the probable assassin of Swedish prime minister Olof Palme in 1986 — managed to elude justice right up to his death through a combination of audacity, luck and a perplexed police force. How could Engström get away, despite police being on his track, and the fact that he did everything wrong from the beginning and almost no one believed his lies about what he actually did during that fateful night in Stockholm?
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
Prime Video
Feature Film Exclusive!
Benedict Cumberbatch leads this biopic as its title subject in a film that tells the extraordinary true story of eccentric British artist Louis Wain, whose playful, sometimes even psychedelic, pictures helped transform the public’s perception of cats forever. Moving from the late 1800s through the 1930s, the drama follows the incredible adventures of this inspiring, unsung hero as he seeks to unlock the “electrical” mysteries of our world and, in so doing, better understand his own life and the profound love he shared with his wife, Emily Richardson (Claire Foy). The cast also includes Andrea Riseborough, Toby Jones, Olivia Colman and Taika Waititi.
Tampa Baes
Prime Video
New Series!
This eight-episode unscripted series follows a young group of lesbian friends in Tampa Bay, an ever-growing gay hotspot on the Florida shoreline.
Sergio Leone’s “Dollars Trilogy”
TCM, beginning at 7am
Catch a Classic!
As part of a morning and afternoon lineup of Western films, TCM is airing the movies in director Sergio Leone’s classic and influential “Dollars Trilogy” (aka the “Man With No Name Trilogy”) back-to-back-to-back, albeit in reverse order of release, beginning with The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), followed by For a Few Dollars More (1965) and A Fistful of Dollars (1964). Leone’s trilogy revitalized the Western, which had, even by that point, with some exceptions, become fairly stagnant and cliched. Perhaps it took a director from another country like the Italian Leone to view a quintessentially American genre like the Western from a new, less mythological and revered perspective, and that perspective resulted in refreshingly dynamic works of art that established the “Spaghetti Western” subgenre — with its hallmarks including larger-than-life violence and new, exciting types of musical scores from the likes of composer Ennio Morricone — and led to many more, often inferior, similar films. Clint Eastwood stars in all three movies in the antihero role of the Man With No Name, which made him a star who continued his association with Westerns as an actor and director in the ensuing decades and brought his own revisions to the genre. — Jeff Pfeiffer
NBA Basketball
ESPN, beginning at 7:30pm Live
Kemba Walker and the N.Y. Knicks are in Milwaukee to face Giannis Antetokounmpo and the NBA champion Bucks. ESPN’s second game has the New Orleans Pelicans on the road against the Golden State Warriors.
College Football
ESPN2 & FS1, beginning at 7:30pm Live
Friday night college football action has Virginia Tech at Boston College on ESPN2, followed by Utah at Stanford on FS1.
Home Sweet Home: “You Can Be a Cowboy!”
NBC, 8pm
Two Black families from opposite ends of L.A. find kinship that crosses economic boundaries when the urban cowboy Featherstone family swaps South Central for the San Fernando Valley home of the Price family.
Magnum P.I.: “Til Death”
CBS, 9pm
Cold feet for an anxious groom should be an easy case for private-eye duo Magnum (Jay Hernandez) and Higgins (Perdita Weeks). But a surprise web of lies and a life-threatening situation for Higgins complicate things! (There will still be cake, right?)
Nancy Drew: “The Vision of the Birchwood Prisoner”
The CW, 9pm
After a major setback in the Frozen Hearts case, Nancy (Kennedy McMann) asks Temperance (guest star Bo Martynowska) for help with an occult approach to getting answers from a murder suspect. Meanwhile, the Bobbsey entanglement creates a world of trouble for Ace (Alex Saxon), and George (Leah Lewis) has a long-overdue confrontation with someone from her past.
Gold Rush: White Water
Discovery Channel, 9pm; also streams on discovery+
Season Premiere!
The popular spinoff of Discovery’s No.1-rated show, Gold Rush, returns for Season 5. After a lackluster season, miner Dakota Fred hangs up his wetsuit to search for his next golden opportunity. Meanwhile, his son Dustin is left with his own opportunity and biggest challenge yet: running two mining operations in the treacherous Alaskan wilderness, where even the slightest mistake could be fatal. To bring home their biggest payday yet, everyone must put everything on the line — including the new crew members.
The UnXplained
History, 9pm
New Episodes!
New Season 2 episodes of the William Shatner-hosted series that delves into inexplicable mysteries pick up again starting tonight with “The Hunt for Hidden Treasures.” The ideas of sunken ships filled with priceless cargo, lost cities of gold and ancient temples concealing untold riches have long captured the human imagination. But are lost treasures merely the stuff of legend, or could they actually be real?
The Oratorio: A Documentary With Martin Scorsese
PBS, 9pm
Filmmaker Martin Scorsese hosts this look at a long-forgotten event that forever changed the cultural landscape of New York City. It’s the story of an oratorio that was performed one-night-only in 1826 at St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in the area that today is known as Little Italy and marked the arrival of Italian opera in the New World. Immediately after this hourlong film, PBS will broadcast Da Ponte’s Oratorio: A Concert for New York, which offers a full concert performance of the piece featured in the documentary.
The Deep House
EPIX, 9:35pm
Feature Film Exclusive!
In this supernatural horror film from France, a perfectly preserved family home lies deep below the surface of a seemingly tranquil lake. When a young influencer couple (James Jagger and Camille Rowe) sets out to explore the submerged house to capture uncharted content for their social media followers, their dive turns into a nightmare as they discover a sinister presence. With limited oxygen supply and time running against them, the couple must find a way to escape the underwater house of horrors before it’s too late.
Eli Roth’s History of Horror: “Mad Scientist”
AMC, 10pm
Season Finale!
From Frankenstein to Frank N. Furter, mad scientists smash the barriers of polite society. In tonight’s episode, horror film director, writer, producer and actor Eli Roth brings together the masters of horror to explore films like Frankenstein, Ex Machina, The Invisible Man, The Fly, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Island of Lost Souls, Altered States and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek
History, 10pm
New Series!
Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Gates McFadden is an executive producer on this 10-part docuseries that celebrates the 55th anniversary of Star Trek by sharing rare, fascinating details of how the franchise began, where it’s been and how it’s boldly going where no television series has gone before. Each episode focuses on a different chapter in the classic sci-fi drama’s history, chronicling the original series’ inception to more recent film and television adaptations and projects. The show includes candid interviews with Trek legends like Nichelle Nichols, Brent Spiner, Kirstie Alley, Walter Koenig, Kate Mulgrew, Denise Crosby, Wil Wheaton and many more. The first four episodes air Fridays on History beginning tonight, with six additional episodes available on History Vault, the network’s subscription video service.
Saturday, Nov. 6
College Football
CBS & NBC, beginning at 11:30am Live
Saturday’s college football highlights include Army vs. Air Force at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, on CBS, and Navy at Notre Dame on NBC.
Getting Spicy With Pepper Teigen
Food Network, 12pm
This all-new special showcases Pepper Teigen at home as she introduces you to the time-honored recipes she grew up eating in Thailand. She’s known for bringing the heat, both in the kitchen and beyond, with her love of hot-hot food and her fiery personality. There’s seemingly no limit to how much spice Pepper can handle in her food, but that doesn’t mean her dishes are plain firebombs. Instead, Pepper is all about balancing the heat with the sweet, salty and sour tastes of traditional Thai dishes. Join Pepper to learn how to put homemade spins on Thai classics you know and love, as well as tried-and-true tips and secret family how-tos that are unique to her.
Frankie Drake Mysteries: “The Guilty Party”
Ovation, 7pm
A man acquitted of a grisly murder is still a suspect, and the clock ticks as the team investigates whether or not he is the guilty party.
Next Stop, Christmas
Hallmark Channel, 8pm
Original Film!
Angie wonders what her life would be like if she had married a former boyfriend who became a famous sportscaster. She takes the train home to spend Christmas with her family and inexplicably finds herself 10 years in the past. With the advice of the train’s enigmatic conductor, Angie has the chance to revisit that Christmas and learn what — and who — is truly important to her. Stars Lyndsy Fonseca, Chandler Massey, Lea Thompson and Christopher Lloyd.
Highway to Heaven
Lifetime, 8pm
Original Film!
Jill Scott stars as Angela Stewart, an angel sent to Earth to help others in need. She takes on the role of a temporary school counselor and finds herself working alongside junior high school principal Bruce Banks (Barry Watson).
Waco Burning: Deadly Standoff
REELZ Channel, 8pm
The first of three Deadly Standoff documentary specials airing tonight recounts the infamous 1993 FBI siege of a Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, and what led to the doomed standoff, including the shocking stories of abuse and weapons-stockpiling under the group’s leader, David Koresh.
Blondie Triple Feature
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!
If your local newspaper still features a comic-strip section, you might notice that it may still include the iconic Blondie strip created by Chic Young back in 1930 and still going under the creative control of his son Dean. While the adventures of Blondie Bumstead and her sandwich-loving husband, Dagwood, are still popular enough to continue running in print, the days when they were big enough to star in 28 feature films and a long-running radio show — from the late 1930s through the early ’50s — are long gone. But tonight on Turner Classic Movies, you can enjoy three beloved Blondie comedy films from back in the day, all making their network premieres, and all starring Penny Singleton as Blondie and Arthur Lake as Dagwood. First up is Blondie Plays Cupid (1940), the seventh film in the series, which finds the Bumsteads out in the country and involved in a young couple’s plan to elope against the wishes of the girl’s shotgun-toting father. Next, in the ninth Blondie movie, Blondie in Society (1941), Dagwood brings home a pedigreed Great Dane that an important client for his company wants. Despite the pooch racking up food and vet bills for the Bumsteads, and alienating neighbors, Blondie enters him in a big dog show. Finally, in Blondie’s Blessed Event (1942), the 11th film in the franchise, the Bumsteads welcome their baby daughter, Cookie. — Jeff Pfeiffer
911 Crisis Center
Oxygen, 9pm
New Series!
Oxygen takes viewers to the middle of the action at a dynamic Chagrin Valley area emergency call center in Ohio. At the center, the responders’ calm demeanor, quick thinking and ability to draw out essential information from callers in the midst of extreme situations is often the difference between life and death. From gut-wrenching to heartwarming, these very first responders hear it all over the course of a 12-hour shift.
Ruby Ridge: Deadly Standoff
REELZ Channel, 9pm
This documentary looks at the deadly 11-day siege that took place in Idaho in 1992 when deputies of the U.S. Marshals Service initiated action to apprehend and arrest Randy Weaver. The event would change the rules of engagement and redefine police tactics for use of deadly force.
Attica
Showtime, 9pm
This documentary delves deep inside the bloodiest prison rebellion in U.S. history, when 43 people were killed as a result of the uprising and police raid at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York in 1971.
Destination Fear
Travel Channel, 9pm; also streams on discovery+
New Episodes!
Season 3 of the paranormal series returns with new episodes, beginning tonight with “Twin Bridges Orphanage,” in which the team finds itself blinded by terror in an abandoned Montana orphanage. When Dakota attempts to tap into the dark energy that permeates the facility, he heaps fear upon the team and communicates with something that may not be what it seems.
Debbie Macomber’s A Mrs. Miracle Christmas
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 10pm
Original Film!
When a family faces loneliness and loss of faith, Mrs. Miracle swoops in to renew their Christmas spirit, and they experience a holiday of heavenly proportions. Stars Kaitlin Doubleday, Steve Lund and Caroline Rhea.
Arcane
Netflix, 10pm
New Series!
This sci-fi/fantasy animated event series takes place in the universe of the League of Legends multiplayer online game. Set in the past, it retells the origin stories of several characters and features more adult subject matter (the series is geared toward an audience of age 14 and older). Hailee Steinfeld, Ella Purnell, Kevin Alejandro and Katie Leung are among the voice cast. The first three episodes are available this evening.
Montana Freemen Militia: Deadly Standoff
REELZ Channel, 10pm
Tonight’s final Deadly Standoff documentary special examines one of the longest standoffs ever in the 113-year history of the FBI, when, in 1996, agents negotiated with members of the Montana Freemen Militia in rural Jordan, Montana, over the course of 81 days. Former FBI Special Agent Tim Healy shares his riveting firsthand account of going undercover inside the extremist group and the fallout that sparked the standoff.
Austin City Limits: “Leon Bridges/Khruangbin”
PBS, 11pm
Enjoy performances from two eclectic Texas artists: Grammy-winning soul/R&B singer-songwriter Leon Bridges, and Khruangbin, a musical trio whose sound blends global influences like classic soul, dub, rock and psychedelia.
