TV Best Bets

Friday, Nov. 5: The Dakota Boys Dig Deep in ‘Gold Rush: White Water’ Season 5

Gold Rush White Water Discovery Discovery Communications LLC

ALSO SEE: Complete 2021 NFL TV Schedule

All Times Eastern. PBS programming varies regionally.

Friday, Nov. 5

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.

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.

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.

Sunday, Nov. 7

Father Christmas Is Back
Netflix
Original Film!

In this British comedy, four feuding sisters get a crash course in family togetherness when their long-lost father shows up for Christmas at their posh ancestral manor. Elizabeth Hurley, John Cleese, Kelsey Grammer and Nathalie Cox star.

NASCAR Cup Series: Championship 4
NBC, 3pm Live

Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott duke it out at Phoenix Raceway, with the best finisher among them claiming the NASCAR Cup Series season championship

Christmas With a Prince: The Royal Baby
UPtv, 7pm
Original Film!

This third movie in the Christmas With a Prince franchise helps kick off the network’s celebration of the holidays that will feature nine original movie premieres, two cable premiere movies and a brand-new series between now and Christmas Eve. In The Royal Baby, Princess Tasha (Kaitlyn Leeb) and Prince Alec (Nick Hounslow) are happily married, expecting their first child and settling into their lives as royals. But a complication during a royal tour finds the couple having to scramble back to San Saraze before their little royal blessing arrives.

The Equalizer: “Followers”
CBS, 8pm

McCall (Queen Latifah) is hired by an online group of true-crime enthusiasts to find the anonymous stalker of an unsuspecting New York City woman before he kills her in the new episode “Followers.”

The Simpsons: “A Serious Flanders”
FOX, 8pm

In “A Serious Flanders,” the first of a new two-part episode, a ruthless debt collector comes to Springfield to target Flanders (voice of Harry Shearer). The guest voice cast features Chris O’Dowd, Brian Cox, Cristin Milioti, Joe Mantegna, Jessica Paré and Timothy Olyphant.

A Christmas Treasure
Hallmark Channel, 8pm
Original Film!

After opening a 100-year-old time capsule and meeting a charming chef, Lou questions whether or not she should move to New York after Christmas and further her writing career. Stars Jordin Sparks and Michael Xavier.

Yellowstone
Paramount Network, 8pm
Season Premiere!

Two back-to-back episodes kick off the highly anticipated Season 4. The series chronicles the Montana-based Dutton family, led by John Dutton (Kevin Costner), who controls the largest cattle ranch in the nation amid shifting alliances, unsolved murders, open wounds and hard-earned respect. The ranch is in constant conflict with those it borders — an expanding town, an Indian reservation and America’s first national park. Jacki Weaver, Piper Perabo and Kathryn Kelly join the cast this season.

Call the Midwife: “Episode Six”
PBS, 8pm

Dr. Turner (Stephen McGann) and Sister Frances (Ella Bruccoleri) help a mother-to-be who refuses medical care.

Lost Tombs of the Maya
Science Channel, 8pm

This two-hour special follows a team using the latest technology to search for clues to what caused the Maya to abandon their cities in the 9th century A.D. Was it a climate disaster or human activity that ultimately caused their collapse? The program will also look at the technology used to scan a temple in which the experts believe the tomb of Copan’s 15th king is hidden. There will also be an exploration of the Maya’s unique burial practices, with researchers uncovering what they think was a group sacrifice buried as an offering to the gods.

WWII Battles in Color: “Barbarossa”
Smithsonian Channel, 8pm

Get an inside look at Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union, presented through colorized footage, home movies and firsthand accounts. Revisit history’s deadliest military conflict — Operation Barbarossa — and see how Hitler’s all-out assault on Russia led to millions of deaths and the beginning of the end of Nazi Germany.

Sunday Night Sex Comedies
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!

Each Sunday evening this month on Turner Classic Movies, tune in to a double feature of beloved and sophisticated sex/romance comedies from the heyday of that genre, roughly the mid 1950s through the mid ’60s. Tonight’s lineup begins with the 1963 romp Sunday in New York, starring Jane Fonda as a 22-year-old woman worried about her virginity and debating whether she should give it up before marriage. Rod Taylor and Cliff Robertson also star. Then, the Oscar-nominated That Touch of Mink (1962) stars one of the queens of the ’60s sex comedy, Doris Day. She plays a working woman who meets a handsome and eligible tycoon (Cary Grant). Each is enticed by the other’s ways, but they do not see eye-to-eye on marriage — she wants it and he doesn’t, leading to a hilarious game of cat-and-mouse as each tries to win the other over.

NFL Football: Tennessee at L.A. Rams
NBC, 8:20pm Live

The Tennessee Titans face a tough test against the stout L.A. Rams defense on Sunday Night Football from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

The Great North: “Skidmark Holmes Adventure”
FOX, 8:30pm

Judy’s (voice of Jenny Slate) murder mystery party doesn’t go exactly as planned in the new episode “Skidmark Holmes Adventure.”

Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks: “Red Seas”
Nat Geo, 9pm

National Geographic celebrates an incredible milestone when the 100th episode of Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks, the wildly popular spinoff of Wicked Tuna. In “Red Seas,” the Reel E’ Bugging crew works to land a monster bluefin while also battling the elements. Captain Bobby Earl feels the pressure to catch as his crew hooks up to a much-needed bluefin tuna, and tensions are running high between captain and crew. While dealing with internal tension, the Bugging crew also faces external hardships from huge waves, rocky seas, and a tuna that won’t go down without a fight. Though Earl initially barks orders at his team, he quickly backs off when they start yelling back, and the Bugging crew starts to work together to get the fish to the boat.

NCIS: Los Angeles: “Divided We Fall”
CBS, 9pm

The interrogation-room tables are turned on the team. Each NCIS agent is questioned after a mission to protect a compromised undercover operative goes very wrong.

Diana: “The Price of Freedom”
CNN, 9pm

Diana exits from her marriage to Prince Charles and turns toward humanitarian causes close to her heart. As press interest in Diana peaks, no one could have predicted what was to come.

Condor
EPIX, 9pm
Season Premiere!

Season 2 of the spy thriller kicks off with back-to-back hourlong episodes. CIA analyst Joe Turner (Max Irons) is still wandering Europe and avoiding his past, but it catches up with him in the form of a mysterious Russian intelligence officer claiming to be an asset working for Joe’s Uncle Bob. The officer’s life is in danger and he’s willing to trade the identity of a Russian mole in the CIA for safe passage. Joe is reluctant to help, but events back home compel him to take action and force him to face the life he thought he’d left behind.

Holiday Wars
Food Network, 9pm
Season Premiere!

Sleigh, queen! Host Maneet Chauhan asks the three teams of bakers and sugar artists to create animals to replace Santa’s reindeer.

Bob’s Burgers: “Beach, Please”
FOX, 9pm

When the Belcher kids participate in a beach clean-up for Wagstaff Volunteer Day, Louise (voice of Kristen Schaal) gets drawn into a battle of wits with Mr. Fischoeder (guest voice of Kevin Kline) in the new episode “Beach, Please.”

Grantchester: “Episode Six”
PBS, 9pm

When the leader of a student group falls to her death during a protest, Will (Tom Brittney) and Geordie (Robson Green) are drawn into campus politics. Meanwhile, the Bishop (Stuart Bowman) introduces a new face at the vicarage.

Dexter: New Blood
Showtime, 9pm
New Series!

Television’s favorite serial killer is back as Michael C. Hall returns as Dexter Morgan in this special event series. Ten years after he went missing in the eye of Hurricane Laura, Dexter is worlds removed from Miami, living as Jim Lindsay in the small town of Iron Lake, New York. His quiet, unassuming life in the close-knit community is interrupted by a series of unexpected events, beckoning the Dark Passenger and putting his freedom at risk. Dexter fans will find much to enjoy (along with some familiar faces).

WWII by Drone: “The Fight for Italy”
Smithsonian Channel, 9pm

Watch a drone team create a 3D model of the Monte Cassino area, famous for its monastery … and a controversial bombing. Follow experts as they use high-tech drone imaging to explain a bloody chapter of the Allied attempt to liberate Italy.

Uncharted Adventure
The Weather Channel, 9pm
New Series!

The Weather Channel’s first ever travel show explores extreme activities in various destination spots. The series kicks off with a visit to South Florida in tonight’s episode.

Family Guy: “Cootie & the Blowhard”
FOX, 9:30pm

Stewie (voice of Seth MacFarlane) takes drastic measures when he thinks he is diagnosed with terminal cooties in the new episode “Cootie & the Blowhard.”

Four Seasons Total Documentary
MSNBC, 10pm

This film tells the real story behind Rudy Giuliani’s infamous press conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping in November 2020, delivered just as the presidential election was being called for Joe Biden. One year after the event, and with exclusive access to the Four Seasons family, filmmakers show what really happened that day and what became of the small business that was thrust into the national spotlight.

Baptiste: “Episode Four”
PBS, 10pm

After discovering new evidence, Julien (Tchéky Karyo) and Emma (Fiona Shaw) are back on the hunt to find Will (Conrad Khan).

American Rust
Showtime, 10pm
Season Finale!

The drama starring Jeff Daniels as a complicated chief of police in a Pennsylvania Rust Belt town wraps up Season 1 tonight.

Weather Gone Viral
The Weather Channel, 10pm
Season Premiere!

In “Brutal Cold in Texas,” the Season 7 premiere of the series that shows extreme weather events captured on video, an arctic blast sweeps down and cripples Texas. Also in the episode, a powerful windstorm equals disaster for two massive tower cranes; and thin ice on a canal in Amsterdam proves challenging for a local skater in more ways than one.

Squidbillies
Adult Swim, 12am (late-night)
Season Premiere!

The cult animated comedy returns for its 13th and final season, which will include 10 episodes (two new 15-minute episodes air each week beginning tonight). The show follows the rural adventures of cephalopods Early, Rusty and Granny Cuyler, who call the mountains of Georgia home. Season 13 features all-new covers of the series’ opening theme song performed by Willie Nelson, Amanda Shires, Sturgill Simpson and others. Tracy Morgan will voice Early for the final season.

Joe Pera Talks With You
Adult Swim, 12:30am (late-night)
Season Premiere!

Host Joe Pera (playing a fictionalized version of himself) and his old basset hound, Gus, are back for Season 3 of this “relaxing comedy show.” The first episode follows Pera as he helps his friend Gene pick out his retirement chair at the furniture store; this then initiates a season-long search for the perfect place to sit. Other episodes this season will find Pera talking about subject matter ranging from Great Lakes icebreakers, second fridges and cooking fish in the woods, to classroom-appropriate movies and drone warfare.

Monday, Nov. 8

Unraveled: Experts on Trial
discovery+

This new special is a companion to the true-crime anthology podcast Unraveled. In Unraveled: Experts on Trial, cohosts Alexis Linkletter and Billy Jensen expose serious problems with forensic experts’ testimony in the U.S. court system, citing multiple cases in which people were charged with murders they didn’t commit, based largely on an expert’s opinions. Following the success of the Long Island Serial Killer and The Stalker’s Web, the current installment of the Unraveled anthology investigates courtroom corruption within the American criminal justice system, with an exposé into the legitimacy of forensic experts. Experts on Trial reveals the tragic reality of real cases where innocent people were found guilty of a crime because a self-proclaimed “expert” testified against them.

Dalgliesh: “The Black Tower”
Acorn TV

In the two-episode mystery “The Black Tower” (both episodes are available today), Dalgliesh (Bertie Carvel) is invited to Dorset by an old friend, only to discover that the man has recently died, as has a resident at Toynton Grange, a mysterious, nearby home for the disabled. Though technically off-duty, Dalgliesh wonders if there’s a connection between the deaths. After another suspicious death at the home, a vote is held on its future and Dalgliesh becomes convinced that the deaths are linked. But can he identify the murderer before they escape or kill again — or could he himself be next?

Manhunt: The Night Stalker
Acorn TV
Season Finale!

The team begins losing morale as it becomes unlikely that Minstead Man will appear again after such a close call. Will the surveillance be cut short before they can catch their culprit?

Best Shape of My Life
YouTube
New Series!

This emotionally packed six-part unscripted series peels back the curtain on what makes Will Smith truly tick, as the actor is pushed to his limits physically, mentally and emotionally. What starts as a docuseries about Smith’s desire to go from the “worst shape” of his life to a new movie-star body evolves into a deeper, darker and more profound journey into his psyche, with Smith finding himself questioning the very behaviors that have led to his success. Ultimately, it’s on this search where his healing can begin.

Copy That!
YouTube
New Series!

In this five-part competition comedy series, four popular YouTube creators, each with a different, incredible skill, will step out of their comfort zones and attempt to copy their fellow creators’ area of expertise. Sofie Dossi, Lisette aka Luhhsetty, Rosanna Pansino and Preston will demonstrate their gaming, cooking, dancing, or beauty and makeup mastery in a blur of action and charisma. Then, it is up to the other star creators to “copy that” and nail their own version. The other star creators will be in over their heads trying to create their own magic in a space they know little about.

Tug of Words
GSN, 4:30pm
New Series!

Ahmad Rashad hosts this game show from the producing team behind Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Two teams compete to correctly answer word-clue questions that involve changing a single letter in a word that appears on the board, and then pulling the flag on the “tug of war rope” to their side. With each round, an additional letter is added, and the team with the flag on their side after three rounds wins the game, qualifying them for the bonus round and a chance to compete for $10,000.

All American: “All I Need”
The CW, 8pm

With Spencer (Daniel Ezra) having to make yet another big decision, he chooses to spend time with the most important people in his life. Olivia (Samantha Logan) tries to balance her desire for intimacy with the commitment she made with herself regarding her sobriety. Jordan (Michael Evans Behling) is worried about his recruitment possibilities and turns to Billy (Taye Diggs) for advice. Meanwhile, Grace (Karimah Westbrook) is fed up with Billy’s behavior and decides to confront him.

NFL Football: Chicago at Pittsburgh
ESPN, 8pm Live

Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears visit Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field to battle Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers on Monday Night Football.

NBA Basketball
NBA TV, beginning at 8pm Live

An NBA TV twin bill opens with Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets at Chicago’s United Center for a matchup against Lonzo Ball and the Bulls. After that game, LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets are at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to face LeBron James and the Lakers.

The Voice: “Top 20 Live Playoffs”
NBC, 8pm Live

The playoffs of the singing competition series begin tonight, with live performances from the Top 20 finalists.

Antiques Roadshow: “True Colors”
PBS, 8pm

Feast your eyes on a rainbow of Antiques Roadshow’s most colorful treasures, including a $100,000 find.

TCM Spotlight: Dance Numbers
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!

More terrific dance numbers can be enjoyed in tonight’s lineup of movie musicals featuring classic choreography. Up first is the Oscar-nominated romantic comedy The Band Wagon (1953), starring two of the most famous big-screen dancers of all time — Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse — who perform musical numbers choreographed by Michael Kidd and set to classic songs like “Dancing in the Dark,” “You and the Night and the Music” and “That’s Entertainment!” Kidd also choreographed tonight’s next classic, the Oscar-winning Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) — ingeniously creating memorable dance numbers out of activities taking place in the story’s frontier setting, like barn-raising and wood-chopping. Howard Keel and Jane Powell lead the cast. The next film is the Oscar-nominated Guys and Dolls (1955), starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons and Frank Sinatra, and it, too, boasts Kidd as its choreographer (he had also staged the dances in the original Broadway production). The evening concludes with two iconic musicals from the 1930s choreographed by Busby Berkeley: the Oscar-nominated 42nd Street (1933) and the Oscar-winning Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935), also directed by Berkeley and featuring the famous “Lullaby of Broadway” production number. — Jeff Pfeiffer

Below Deck: “Bourbon Buffoonery”
Bravo, 9pm

The interior crew’s attempts to up their housekeeping game sink when the yacht’s next charter brings heavy partyers.

The Big Leap: “Big Dumb Life”
FOX, 9pm

Wayne (Kevin Daniels) decides to hold an old-fashioned lockdown to bring everyone together in the new episode “Big Dumb Life.”

Unraveled: The Long Island Serial Killer
Investigation Discovery, 9pm

This is the linear Investigation Discovery premiere of this documentary that began streaming on discovery+ earlier this year. The two-hour special is a companion documentary to the true-crime case chronicled in the new Unraveled podcast that launched in January. The podcast’s first season delved into the police corruption, sexual misconduct and coverups at the highest levels of the Suffolk County Police Department that hampered the investigation into a serial killer who stalked Long Island about a decade ago.

NCIS: Hawai‘i: “Rescuers”
CBS, 10pm

Jane (Vanessa Lachey) and the team investigate the murder of a petty officer while protecting the victim’s friend and colleague in the new episode “Rescuers.”

Call the Closer
HGTV, 10pm
New Series!

Real estate phenom Lauren Risley knows how to get results from the toughest and pickiest buyers. In Call the Closer, Lauren will help clients break through the barriers that are standing in the way of finding the right house. Then, alongside her talented team, she will guide them through a renovation that will give them the home of their dreams.

Independent Lens: “Ferguson Rises”
PBS, 10pm

A recipient of the Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award, Mobolaji Olambiwonnu’s documentary explores the protests following the 2014 killing of Michael Brown Jr., a young Black man, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. The film uses the voices of a diverse community: from residents and police officers to business owners and activists who took to the streets for a record 400 days straight. This chorus of perspectives is interwoven with the experience of the victim’s father, Michael Brown Sr., and his journey through grief after the death of his son.

Tuesday, Nov. 9

NBA Basketball
TNT, beginning at 7:30pm Live

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks run the floor with Joel Embiid and the 76ers in Philadelphia. The second game on TNT has Damian Lillard leading the Portland Trail Blazers into Los Angeles for a matchup against Paul George and the Clippers.

FBI: “Allegiance”
CBS, 8pm

The team must track down a shooter targeting NYPD detectives from the same precinct and unit in the new episode “Allegiance.”

Supergirl
The CW, 8pm
Series Finale!

In the first hour of the two-part series finale, Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) and the super friends take drastic action after a loved one is kidnapped by Nyxly (Peta Sergeant) and Lex (guest star Jon Cryer), and an unlikely ally steps in to help the team. In the final hour, Supergirl is joined by familiar faces from the past to help her stop Lex and Nyxly for good. Meanwhile, Alex (Chyler Leigh) and Kelly (Azie Tesfai) prepare to walk down the aisle. Mehcad Brooks, Jeremy Jordan and Chris Wood return for the series finale.

The Voice: “Live Top 20 Eliminations”
NBC, 8pm Live

Find out which of the Top 20 finalists were eliminated in the first round of this season’s live playoffs.

Queen Bees
Showtime, 8pm

Independent senior Helen (Ellen Burstyn) nearly causes a cane mutiny by getting on the bad side of her retirement community’s clique (“like mean girls, but with medical alert bracelets”). She comes to fit in just in time to get the right advice about a man of a certain advanced age (James Caan) in this 2021 romantic comedy.

TCM Special Theme: New Waves Around the World: “Australian New Wave”
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!

Tonight’s final Tuesday night look at new wave cinematic movements around the world on Turner Classic Movies features films from Down Under. The 1970s through the late ’80s was a time of great resurgence in popularity worldwide for the Australian film industry, after its decline starting in the 1940s. Through funding from the Australian government, the film industry in the country was saved. Nearly 400 films were made during this time, and many of them had a tendency toward featuring violence, which made American audiences compare it to Hollywood movies made at the same time. Productions from the Australian New Wave that TCM will be featuring tonight, in order, are: the 1971 adventure drama Walkabout, directed by Nicolas Roeg (also the cinematographer), who was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival; Peter Weir’s 1977 mystery The Last Wave, starring Richard Chamberlain; the 1979 drama My Brilliant Career, directed by Gillian Armstrong and starring Sam Neill and Judy Davis in her second feature-film role, for which she won Best Actress and Most Outstanding Newcomer at the BAFTA Awards; Weir’s 1982 war drama The Year of Living Dangerously, starring Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver and Linda Hunt, winner of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar; writer/director Jane Campion’s feature-film debut, the 1989 drama Sweetie, winner of Best Original Screenplay at the Australian Film Institute for Gerard Lee and Campion; and Weir’s atmospheric 1975 mystery Picnic at Hanging Rock, nominated for three BAFTA Awards and winner of Best Cinematography for Russell Boyd. — Evan McLean

FBI: International: “The Secrets She Knows”
CBS, 9pm

As the Fly Team searches for a seemingly abducted U.S. intelligence negotiator who holds nuclear secrets, Forrester (Luke Kleintank) sees parallels to the years-earlier disappearance of his mother, a disgraced foreign service officer.

Our Kind of People: “For Colored Boys …”
FOX, 9pm

Teddy (Joe Morton) tries to make right with Angela (Yaya DaCosta) in the new episode “For Colored Boys … .”

Dear Rider
HBO, 9pm

An inspirational look at the late Jake Burton Carpenter, beloved “godfather of snowboarding” and 1977 founder of Burton Snowboards (in a Vermont barn!).

La Brea: “The Storm”
NBC, 9pm

When a chaotic superstorm hits the clearing, a structural collapse puts Marybeth (Karina Logue) and Lucas’ (Josh McKenzie) lives in danger, and Eve (Natalie Zea), still at odds with everyone, tries to make amends by leading the efforts to dig them out. Meanwhile, Gavin (Eoin Macken) embarks on a journey into his past.

American Veteran: “The Return”
PBS, 9pm

Hollywood war stories may end with the hero’s triumphant return, but in reality, the road back to civilian life is often less certain. For some, there were ticker-tape parades; for others, protests, anger and silence. In this episode hosted by Vietnam War veteran (National Guard) and Native American (Cherokee) activist Wes Studi, some veterans recall the confidence they brought home, while others remember thinking, “What am I going to do now?”

Little People, Big World: Amy & Chris’s Happily Ever After
TLC, 9pm

Fans of Little People, Big World will see Amy Roloff marry her fiancé, Chris Marek, in this new special that pulls back the veil on the weeks leading up to the big day, from food tastings to farm renovations to decor decisions, culminating with the highly anticipated wedding.

FBI: Most Wanted: “Lovesick”
CBS, 10pm

The team attempts to hunt down a family annihilator before he continues his murder spree in the new episode “Lovesick.”

Queens: “Ain’t No Sunshine”
ABC, 10pm

Brianna faces some unexpected emotions and circumstances in her home life, but she finds support among her Queens. Meanwhile, Jill continues to struggle with her romantic relationships, and Naomi grapples with the truth behind the identity of JoJo’s father. Musical performances include “Love Still Finds Us” by Naturi Naughton and “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Brandy.

Great Escapes With Morgan Freeman
History, 10pm
New Series!

Morgan Freeman hosts this eight-episode documentary series examining some of history’s most famous, daring prison escapes. Through dramatic re-creations, dynamic storytelling and cutting-edge visual effects, see how inmates broke out of Alcatraz, Dannemora, the World War II POW camp that inspired The Great Escape and more.

Impeachment: American Crime Story
FX, 10pm
Season Finale!

In the season finale episode “The Wilderness,” the Starr Report is released, the president (Clive Owen) is impeached, Linda Tripp (Sarah Paulson) faces the consequences of her decisions and Monica Lewinsky (Beanie Feldstein) considers how to move on with her life.

Real PD: Kansas City
Investigation Discovery, 10pm; also streams on discovery+
New Series!

This hard-hitting docuseries goes behind the scenes, round-the-clock, with Kansas City, Kansas, police detectives, capturing the real-life drama of police investigations in America’s heartland. In tonight’s series premiere episode, “They Shot Him Good,” a brutal murder rocks a close-knit trailer park community. With a 19-year-old female on the run, detectives begin to suspect that a family fight may have taken a deadly turn.

New Amsterdam: “Paid in Full”
NBC, 10pm

Max (Ryan Eggold) is faced with a wrenching decision when New Amsterdam falls prey to a massive ransomware attack.

Frontline: “Pandora Papers”
PBS, 10pm

Frontline airs a new investigation, with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), into the global entanglement of political power and secretive offshore finance and how U.S. trusts are sheltering millions in controversial assets, as drawn from a trove of nearly 12 million confidential documents for a multiplatform project known as the “Pandora Papers.”

Chucky: “Little Little Lies”
Syfy and USA Network, 10pm

Chucky has a new playmate! Jennifer Tilly from the Child’s Play movies is back as Tiffany Valentine, the bonkers girlfriend of the serial killer who’s possessed the demon doll.

Wednesday, Nov. 10

Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.
Disney+
Season Finale!

In “Aloha — The Goodbye One,” the Season 1 finale, Lahela (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) accepts a medic job on Walter’s (Alex Aiono) pro surf tour in Australia, but Benny (Jason Scott Lee) and Clara (Kathleen Rose Perkins) refuse to let their 16-year-old live with her boyfriend and leave her medical residency for the summer. As the chief of staff announcement nears, Lahela circumvents Clara’s authority, requesting a sabbatical, and Benny insists Uncle John (Al Harrington) should be discharged early for the family’s King Kamehameha Day potluck. Walter offers to skip his tour, and Lahela musters the strength to do what’s right, even if it’s hard.

Animal
Netflix
New Series!

This immersive series follows the world’s most magnificent creatures, capturing never-before-seen moments from the heartwarming to the outrageous.

Gentefied
Netflix
Season Premiere!

This half-hour, bilingual dramatic comedy adapted from the 2017 Sundance digital favorite of the same name returns for Season 2. Created by two Chicano first-gen writers, Gentefied follows three Mexican American cousins struggling to chase the American dream, even while that same dream threatens the things they hold most dear: their neighborhood, their immigrant grandfather and the family taco shop.

Passing
Netflix
Original Film!

This black-and-white film was written, produced and directed by Rebecca Hall in her feature directorial debut. Based on the 1929 novel by Nella Larsen, the drama finds two mixed-race childhood friends who reunite in middle-class adulthood becoming increasingly involved with one another’s lives and insecurities. While Irene (Tessa Thompson) identifies as African American and is married to a Black doctor (André Holland), Clare (Ruth Negga) “passes” as white and has married a prejudiced, wealthy white man (Alexander Skarsgård).

Clifford the Big Red Dog
Paramount+
Feature Film Exclusive!

The beloved pooch from the popular children’s books makes his feature film debut in this family movie that streams on Paramount+ beginning the same day it also hits theaters. When middle-schooler Emily Elizabeth (Darby Camp) meets a magical animal rescuer (John Cleese) who gifts her a little, red puppy, she does not anticipate waking up to find a giant 10-foot hound in her small New York City apartment. Sienna Guillory and Jack Whitehall costar.

The 55th Annual CMA Awards
ABC, 8pm Live

The CMA Awards return to Bridgestone Arena in Nashville for country music’s biggest night. Eric Church and Chris Stapleton lead the nominees with five each, with other top nominees including Gabby Barrett, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris and Chris Young.

Chicago Med: “Just as a Snake Sheds Its Skin”
NBC, 8pm

Dylan’s (Adam Poss) loyalty to Med and the police department is challenged when an old family friend and veteran cop exhibits concerning behavior; the annual random drug testing puts a doctor’s career in jeopardy; Ethan (Brian Tee) tries a risky old-school method on a patient; and Will (Nick Gehlfuss) helps Stevie (Kristen Hager) search for her mother.

Nature: “Born in the Rockies: First Steps”
PBS, 8pm

In this two-part special, concluding next Wednesday, journey deep into the wild heart of North America’s Rocky Mountains and experience this rugged land through the eyes of its iconic wildlife. Follow the drama as newborns make their way in one of the world’s most challenging and spectacular habitats on Earth.

Wild Tales From the Farm: “Great Escape”
Smithsonian Channel, 8pm

Watch the drama heat up as a long, hot summer affects all of the animals living in or around the Southern England farm. A touching pig romance, a great sheep escape and a chicken coop power struggle make for a wild summer. Narrated by Downton Abbey costar Hugh Bonneville.

Star of the Month: Sydney Greenstreet
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!

Tonight’s Star of the Month salute to legendary actor Sydney Greenstreet on Turner Classic Movies begins with the Joan Crawford-led film noir Flamingo Road (1949), directed by Michael Curtiz, which finds Greenstreet playing a corrupt sheriff/political boss. Next, the actor is an unscrupulous count alongside Alexis Smith, Eleanor Parker, Gig Young and Agnes Moorehead in The Woman in White (1948), based on Wilkie Collins’ pioneering 1860 detective novel; makes his final film appearance as a saloon owner connected with smugglers in the titular Japanese-occupied colony of 1949’s Malaya, costarring Spencer Tracy, James Stewart and Lionel Barrymore; and re-teams with frequent costar Peter Lorre in the 1943 spy film Background to Danger, directed by Raoul Walsh and also starring George Raft. — Jeff Pfeiffer

My 600-lb Life
TLC, 8pm
Season Premiere!

The series follows the journeys of morbidly obese people as they fight to save their own lives by making the courageous decision to undergo high-risk gastric bypass surgery. Chronicling lifelong hardships with addiction and the inevitable impact their condition has on their closest relationships, each episode gives an inside look at the extreme emotional and physical journeys each person must undergo to qualify for lifesaving surgery with Dr. Nowzaradan.

Batwoman: “A Lesson From Professor Pyg”
The CW, 9pm

Ryan (Javicia Leslie) asks Sophie (Meagan Tandy) to accompany her to a dinner at Jada’s (Robin Givens) to do recon on what her estranged mother knows about Wayne Enterprises, but the evening takes a turn when an uninvited guest drops in on the intimate gathering. As the terrifying evening unfolds, Ryan witnesses another side to Marquis (Nick Creegan) and her mother.

Chicago Fire: “What Happened at Whiskey Point?”
NBC, 9pm

Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Herrmann (David Eigenberg) clash over office space; Boden (Eamonn Walker) looks at Pelham’s past as he considers making him permanent; Gallo’s (Alberto Rosende) resentment of Pelham comes to a head; Brett (Kara Killmer) and Ritter (Daniel Kyri) force Violet (Hanako Greensmith) to confront her true feelings for Gallo.

NOVA Universe Revealed: “Alien Worlds”
PBS, 9pm

For nearly as long as humans have gazed up at the night sky, we’ve wondered whether other life-forms and intelligences could be thriving on worlds far beyond our own. Over the last few decades, ultra-sensitive telescopes and dogged detective work have transformed alien planet-hunting from science fiction into hard fact. This episode tells the story of how the first breakthrough discoveries of exoplanets — planets orbiting other stars — were made, and revisits, with thrilling new science, that age-old question: Are we alone?

CSI: Vegas: “Funhouse”
CBS, 10pm

In the new episode “Funhouse,” CSI goes on lockdown when evidence in a murder leads to a new suspect in the crime lab, and the team investigates a series of chilling killings at a dilapidated clown-themed hotel.

Chicago P.D.: “Fractures”
NBC, 10pm

As the team investigates the stabbing of a father with two young daughters, they begin to suspect there is more to the story than meets the eye. Meanwhile, the FBI investigation into Roy Walton’s death intensifies while Voight (Jason Beghe), Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) and Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) feel the heat.

Secrets of the Dead: “Hindenburg’s Fatal Flaws”
PBS, 10pm

In 1937, the Hindenburg airship exploded into flames upon landing. Thirty-six people were killed in the horrifying crash, shocking the world and sealing the fate of airship travel forever. For decades, the exact cause of the Hindenburg’s crash has remained a mystery. Now, recently discovered letters, maintenance reports and company memos reveal the unfortunate errors that led to the disaster. More than 80 years later, experts suspect that, had critical construction flaws been fixed at the time, the airship might not have exploded.

Intergalactic
Syfy, 10pm
New Series!

Peacock’s streaming epic, set in 2143, comes to Syfy: A heroic space cop (Savannah Steyn), framed for treason, is en route to a prison colony when a band of female criminals seizes control of the transport.

NHL Hockey: Minnesota at Arizona
TNT, 10pm Live

Kirill Kaprizov and the Minnesota Wild skate against Phil Kessel and the Coyotes at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Thursday, Nov. 11

Ragdoll
AMC+
New Series!

From the producers of Killing Eve comes this six-part modern-day Faustian serial killer thriller based on the novel by Daniel Cole. Six people have been murdered, dismembered and sewn into the shape of one grotesque body — nicknamed the “Ragdoll.” Assigned to the shocking case are DS Nathan Rose (Henry Lloyd-Hughes), recently reinstated to the London Met; his best friend and boss, DI Emily Baxter (Thalissa Teixeira); and the unit’s new recruit, DC Lake Edmunds (Lucy Hale). The Ragdoll Killer taunts the police by sending them a list of his next victims, with Rose’s name among them.

Doom Patrol
HBO Max
Season Finale!

The DC Comics-inspired series concludes its third season.

Love Life
HBO Max
Season Finale!

Season 2 of the romantic comedy anthology series comes to an end.

3212 Un-Redacted
Hulu

In this original documentary film from ABC News, unraveling the truth behind the deaths of four U.S. Special Forces soldiers in Africa leads to evidence of a coverup at the highest levels of the Army.

Madagascar: A Little Wild
Hulu & Peacock
Season Premiere!

Alex (voice of Tucker Chandler), Marty (Amir O’Neil), Melman (Luke Lowe) and Gloria (Shaylin Becton) are back with more adventures in and out of their “A Little Wild” rescue habitat in Season 5 of the series inspired by the hit animated films. In the season, Alex deals with some major jealousy issues when Ant’ney (Eric Petersen) goes viral, Marty gets himself locked inside the public library, the gang helps Melman make it through his first ever night away from the habitat, and Gloria struggles to cope with saying goodbye when Lala (Grace Lu) decides she’s ready for a bigger pond. All episodes are available today.

Love Never Lies
Netflix
New Series!

Six couples are subjected to an eye-scanning lie detector in this reality show where lies cost money, and truth and trust come with a juicy cash prize.

The Game
Paramount+
New Series!

The hugely popular sitcom that aired its original nine seasons on The CW (2006-09) and then BET (2011-15) is back in a revival on yet another outlet, streamer Paramount+ (the first nine seasons are also available to stream). Returning with a mix of new players and original cast members — and relocating its setting from San Diego to Las Vegas — The Game will again offer a modern-day examination of Black culture through the prism of pro football. Original series creator Mara Brock Akil is on hand as an executive producer; some familiar onscreen faces reprising their roles from the original include Wendy Raquel Robinson as sports agent Tasha Mack and Hosea Chanchez as footballer Malik Wright. Original stars reprising their roles in what are promoted as “special appearances” include Brittany Daniel as Kelly Pitts, Pooch Hall as Derwin Davis and Coby Bell as Jason Pitts. Notable newcomers to The Game include Tim Daly as self-made billionaire Col. Ulysses S. Thatcher; Toby Sandeman as Garret Evans, a top football player in the league; Adriyan Rae as Brittany Pitts, daughter of Jason and Kelly; and Vaughn Hebron as Jamison Fields, an undrafted free agent. New episodes are available Thursdays.

Great White
Shudder
Exclusive Film!

In this thriller, a blissful tourist trip turns into a nightmare for five passengers when their seaplane goes down near a shipwreck. Stranded miles from shore in an inflatable life raft, they find themselves in a desperate fight for survival as they try to make it to land before they either run out of supplies or are taken by a menacing pack of sharks lurking just beneath the surface.

Stella Blómkvist
Sundance Now
Season Premiere!

The neo-noir crime drama from Iceland returns for Season 2. Set two years after the events in the Ministry that changed the political landscape of Iceland, the new season finds ruthless and cunning lawyer Stella (Heida Reed) back to her old tricks defending criminals and hustling her way through the court system. Meanwhile, Stella’s ex-lover/current Prime Minister Dagbjört (Sara Dögg Ásgeirsdóttir) is causing massive social upheaval with her war chest full of money from the Chinese government. This is a changed world, and not to everyone’s liking. But when a series of new cases demand Stella’s attention, she will have her wits, her sense of justice and even her belief in herself truly tested. And, of course, there will be diabolical murders to solve. All six episodes are available today.

Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of “Wildflowers”
YouTube

This feature-length documentary premieres for free globally in full 4K resolution on Tom Petty’s official YouTube channel. The film offers a unique look into the creative mastery and turbulent personal life of the legendary musician, capturing the period from 1993-95, when Petty worked with famed producer Rick Rubin for the first time to create the 1994 album Wildflowers. This unvarnished look at Petty features never-before-seen footage drawn from a newly discovered archive of 16 mm film, as well as new interviews with album coproducer and Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell, Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench and many more. The documentary is directed by award-winning filmmaker Mary Wharton (The Beatles Revolution) and debuted earlier this year as an Official SXSW 2021 Selection, winning the festival’s Audience Award.

Paths of Glory
TCM, 6:15pm
Catch a Classic!

Cowritten and directed by visionary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, this searing 1957 drama is among the most powerful antiwar films ever made — with its anti-military stance so profound and radical for its time that the movie was banned in France for nearly 20 years and banned on U.S. military bases in Europe. Based on the novel by Humphrey Cobb, Paths of Glory tells the story of shell-shocked French World War I soldiers ordered on a suicide mission reluctantly led by Col. Dax (a fiery Kirk Douglas). When Dax refuses the corrupt Gen. Mireau’s (George Macready) orders for soldiers to fire on their own ranks to keep them driving forward during this impossible mission, the general scapegoats a group of the soldiers to protect his promotion, accusing them of cowardice in a kangaroo court. This haunting, exquisitely photographed dissection of the military machine in all its absurdity and capacity for dehumanization (a theme Kubrick would continue to explore throughout his career) is mesmerizing from its tense trench warfare sequences to its gripping courtroom climax to its ravaging final scene.

MeTV Remembers the “M*A*S*H” Finale
MeTV, 7pm

Classic television network MeTV’s annual airing of “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,” the legendary series finale of the Korean War-set dramedy M*A*S*H, returns tonight with the rarely seen, uncut version of the episode. First airing on Feb. 28, 1983, to cap off the show’s 11-season run, “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” still holds the record of being the most-watched scripted television event in U.S. history; more than 105 million viewers — 45% of the country’s population at that time — tuned in to say tearful farewells to the beloved members of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. Along with the episode, MeTV’s three-hour block of this special event will also feature cast and creators of M*A*S*H sharing their memories of the landmark finale in exclusive interviews. And there’s more good news ahead for M*A*S*H fans: Starting Nov. 21, the series joins MeTV’s new Sunday night lineup, with two episodes airing each week.

College Football: North Carolina at Pittsburgh
ESPN, 7:30pm Live

The North Carolina Tar Heels take a trip to Heinz Field for a primetime ACC clash with the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Station 19: “Things We Lost in the Fire”
ABC, 8pm

When Theo and Vic hit a relationship milestone, Vic is forced to reckon with her feelings about commitment. Andy takes refuge at Dean’s home and helps care for Pruitt, while Dean considers a new potential career opportunity. Meanwhile, an explosion rips apart a neighborhood and changes the lives of our firefighters forever.

Young Sheldon: “Money Laundering and a Cascade of Hormones”
CBS, 8pm

Missy’s (Raegan Revord) questions about sex make for an uncomfortable situation at church in the new episode “Money Laundering and a Cascade of Hormones.”

Walker: “Barn Burner”
The CW, 8pm

Walker (Jared Padalecki) invites Gale Davidson (guest star Paula Marshall) to participate in the chili cookoff at the Side Step to try and make amends after years of their families feuding; however, Abby (Molly Hagan) isn’t too pleased with the gesture. Micki (Lindsey Morgan) and Trey (Jeff Pierre) work on reconciling their relationship when she comes home after her deep undercover operation.

NFL Football: Baltimore at Miami
FOX & NFL Network, 8pm Live

Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens visit Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida to duel with the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football.

Hidden Heroes: The Nisei Soldiers of WWII
History, 8pm

This special reveals the unsung story of America’s Nisei warriors, the sons of Japanese immigrants who volunteered by the thousands after Pearl Harbor and served in a segregated regiment to fight in some of the bloodiest battles of World War II. Featuring sit-down interviews, archival imagery, illustration and narration, the documentary centers around the Nisei soldiers of the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team, the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of the U.S. military, and the Military Intelligence Service, a group of Nisei linguists and translators who are credited with shortening the war and saving millions of lives.

The Blacklist: “The Avenging Angel”
NBC, 8pm

The task force races to locate a blacklister who uses any means necessary to return what has been unjustly stolen; Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) asks Park (Laura Sohn) for a favor; and Cooper (Harry Lennix) tries to piece together an event for which he has no memory.

Grey’s Anatomy: “Bottle Up and Explode!”
ABC, 9pm

The Grey Sloan doctors spring into action after an explosion rocks Seattle, with the incoming trauma hitting close to home. Owen experiences PTSD after he hears the explosion, while his sister Megan enlists help from Winston and Hayes in confidence. In Minnesota, Meredith and Amelia meet up with a familiar face who assists in their study.

Ghosts: “Flower’s Article”
CBS, 9pm

Flower (Sheila Carrasco) begs Sam (Rose McIver) not to write an article about the time she and her friends from the commune held up a bank in the new episode “Flower’s Article.”

Variety’s Salute to Service 2021
History, 9pm

This latest hourlong installment of the annual special honors acts of service and heroism by our nation’s veterans. Various celebrities (the names had not been announced at presstime) will be on hand to pay tribute to service members.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: “Nightmares in Drill City”
NBC, 9pm

Carisi (Peter Scanavino) asks the SVU for help with a murder investigation when one of the witnesses shows signs of abuse.

B Positive: “Novocaine, Bond and Bocce”
CBS, 9:30pm

After Jerry (David Anthony Higgins) faints at work, Gina (Annaleigh Ashford) tries to convince him to move into the senior center in the new episode “Novocaine, Bond and Bocce.”

Law & Order: Organized Crime: “Ashes to Ashes”
NBC, 10pm

A deadly bombing rocks the NYPD and leaves several suspects in the wind. Meanwhile, Nova (Nona Parker Johnson) makes a major discovery.

Friday, Nov. 12

Apex
AMC+
Feature Film Exclusive!

Bruce Willis stars in this action film streaming exclusively on AMC+ beginning the same day it hits theaters. Serving a life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit, ex-cop Thomas Malone (Willis) is offered a chance at freedom if he can survive a deadly game of Apex. Six hunters pay for the pleasure of hunting another human on a remote island, but once Malone arrives, all hell breaks loose. Laying traps and playing mind games, Malone tries to turn the tables and fight for his life and his future. Neal McDonough, Corey Large and Lochlyn Munro also star.

The Shrink Next Door
Apple TV+
New Series!

Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd share the screen together for the first time since 2013’s Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues in this eight-episode limited series inspired by true events. Based on the No. 1 new podcast of 2019, The Shrink Next Door is a dark comedy about the unusual relationship between psychiatrist Dr. Isaac “Ike” Herschkopf (Rudd) and his longtime patient, Martin “Marty” Markowitz (Ferrell). Also stars Kathryn Hahn and Casey Wilson. The first three episodes drop today; subsequent new episodes are available Fridays.

Snoopy in Space
Apple TV+
Season Premiere!

After exploring the moon and visiting the International Space Station in Season 1, the second season of this animated Peanuts series finds Snoopy and the gang ready for an epic journey across the universe to discover if there really is life beyond Earth. The season brings NASA’s most current research to life, from searching for traces of ice and ancient fossils on Mars to drilling into oceans hidden inside of distant moons and even seeking out exoplanets far outside our own solar system. All 12 episodes are available today.

90 Day: The Single Life
discovery+
Season Premiere!

In Season 2 of the reality spinoff, 90 Day franchise hopefuls are on a mission to prove it’s never too late to find love. Moving past their failed romances, some of the biggest names in the 90 Day universe are looking to start fresh with better and stronger relationships. To do so, they must navigate the modern dating world and overcome cringeworthy encounters, ghosting and even traveling to other continents for a first date. For the first time in 90 Day history, two singles from different 90 Day relationships connect and spark an interest in each other after ending things with their American exes. The season kicks off with a special two-hour premiere today, and new episodes are available Fridays.

Set!
discovery+

This documentary chronicles how, once a year, a group of feverishly determined table setters vie for the Best of Show ribbon at the Orange County Fair table-setting competition, often referred to as the “Olympics of Table Setting.” Old rivalries, controversy and eccentric personalities come to a head and show the extent to which a hobby can become a passion.

Disney+ Day
Disney+

Disney+ celebrates its second anniversary today all across the Disney empire, including at its parks. The streaming service itself will, of course, be a primary hub for celebration, offering new content releases and sneak peeks of things to come. Disney+ Day content premiere highlights on Disney+ include the streaming premiere of Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings; the original film Home Sweet Home Alone, the latest entry in the Home Alone franchise, starring Archie Yates, Ellie Kemper and Rob Delaney; the Jungle Cruise movie now available for all subscribers; Olaf Presents, a new series of animated shorts featuring the beloved snowman from Frozen; the first five episodes from Season 2 of The World According to Jeff Goldblum; Under the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett, a new special about the famous Star Wars bounty hunter; a special celebrating the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Disney+ with a look at what’s ahead; and more.

Red Notice
Netflix
Original Film!

Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds headline this action comedy. Johnson plays an Interpol agent regarded as the world’s greatest tracker who may meet his match after his organization issues a “red notice” — a global alert to hunt and capture the world’s most wanted — and he finds himself in pursuit of the world’s greatest art thief (Gadot) and the world’s greatest con man (Reynolds).

Always Jane
Prime Video
New Series!

This four-part docuseries is a true coming-of-age story that offers an intimate look into the life of transgender teen Jane Noury and her family as she nears graduation and prepares to leave the nest. Navigating deeply personal and challenging issues, the Noury family’s uplifting humor and kindness are always present, revealing the transformative power of acceptance. All four episodes are available today.

I Know What You Did Last Summer
Prime Video
Season Finale!

The first season of this series offering a modern take on the 1997 horror film and the 1973 novel by Lois Duncan that inspired it concludes.

Mayor Pete
Prime Video

Recently appointed to U.S. Secretary of Transportation, former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg serves as the first openly LGBTQ Cabinet member in U.S. history, following his 2020 campaign to become one of the youngest U.S. presidents. This documentary brings viewers inside Buttigieg’s run for the Oval Office, providing an unprecedented intimacy with the candidate, his husband, Chasten, and their ambitious team. From the earliest days of the campaign to his unlikely, triumphant victory in Iowa and beyond, this film reveals what really goes on inside a campaign for the highest office in the land — and the myriad ways it changes the lives of those at its center.

TCM Birthday Tribute: Jacques Tourneur
TCM, beginning at 6:15am
Catch a Classic!

Jacques Tourneur, the French director well remembered for his work in Hollywood creating wonderfully atmospheric and shadowy black-and-white films noir and horror movies, in the 1940s especially, would have turned 117 today (he was born Nov. 12, 1904, in Paris, and passed away Dec. 19, 1977, at age 73). Turner Classic Movies celebrates the birthday boy’s body of work with a 12-hour-plus marathon of his films. In order, they are: the 1939 crime film They All Come Out, Tourneur’s American feature directorial debut; Cat People (1942), the first of Tourneur’s memorable collaborations with producer Val Lewton on classic — and classy — low-budget horror productions; I Walked With a Zombie (1943), another Lewton-produced creepfest; the 1944 Gregory Peck-led war film Days of Glory; the Oscar-nominated melodrama Experiment Perilous (1944), starring Hedy Lamarr and George Brent; Out of the Past, the legendary 1947 noir starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas; Berlin Express (1948), an early Cold War thriller starring Robert Ryan and Merle Oberon; Easy Living, a 1949 drama with Victor Mature and Lucille Ball; and Wichita (1955), the only color film from Tourneur on today’s lineup, a grand CinemaScope Western starring Joel McCrea as Wyatt Earp. — Jeff Pfeiffer

College Football
ESPN2 & FS1, beginning at 6pm Live

Cincinnati is at South Florida for an American Athletic Conference game on ESPN2. Then on FS1, Wyoming visits Boise State in a Mountain West matchup on the blue turf of Albertsons Stadium.

The Last Cowboy
CMT, 8pm
Season Premiere!

The cowboy and -girl chronicle inspired by the hit series Yellowstone moves from Paramount Network to its sister station CMT starting tonight. The series follows the lives of eight men and women who compete on the regular reining circuit, a Western-based competition where riders guide horses through a precise pattern of circles, spins and stops. These horsemen are determined to elevate and preserve the cowboy tradition as they train and engage in the exclusive, ultra-competitive sport.

Open by Christmas
Hallmark Channel, 8pm
Original Film!

When Nicky finds an unopened Christmas card from a high school secret admirer, she and her best friend Simone search to find and thank the anonymous author. Stars Alison Sweeney, Erica Durance and Brennan Elliott.

An Ice Wine Christmas
Lifetime, 8pm
Original Film!

One of Philadelphia’s top wine sommeliers, Camila (Roselyn Sánchez), goes home to the magical vineyards of Evergreen, New York, to take part in the town’s annual Ice Wine Christmas Festival and Harvest. While there, Camila spends time with her mother Sunny (Maria del Mar) and sister Beth (AnnaMaria Demara), who manages the local winery for Camila’s former ice wine mentor, Henry (Richard Fitzpatrick). But Camila discovers changes are coming as Henry plans to retire, scaling down the Christmas Festival. Beth also recently hired wine specialist Declan (Lyriq Bent), who plans to take the operation to full-year production. Believing in the importance of preserving the magic of “Christmas in a bottle,” Camila shares with Declan her passion for Christmas and what an authentic ice wine harvest can bring.

Strike Her Dead
LMN, 8pm
Original Film!

All-star soccer player Jenna Sims and her mom Sally are ready for a fresh start when they move to a sunny beach town. Jenna joins her new school’s soccer team in the hopes of making friends and keeping her college scholarship, but things soon turn dangerous when she is framed for murder after discovering the coverup of a player’s death. Can she find who the real culprit is before the murderer gets to her? Stars Cece Kelly, René Ashton, Marc Herrmann and Grace Lawell.

Home Sweet Home: “The Alley Provides”
NBC, 8pm

When the Lakhias, a structured and regimented Indian Hindu family, trade homes with the carefree, new age James family, both are forced to evaluate their cultural, religious and environmental differences.

Murdered and Missing in Montana
Oxygen, 8pm

Imagine a place where your daughter goes missing and your cries for help may not be heard — a place where Indigenous women are murdered at 10 times the rate of any other ethnic group and killers are rarely brought to justice. In this 90-minute documentary special, attorney and investigative journalist Loni Coombs focuses on the cases of three young, Indigenous women whose deaths on and around the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Reservations remain a mystery.

Kevin Garnett: Anything Is Possible
Showtime, 8pm

This documentary is a deep dive into the mind and heart of former NBA star Kevin Garnett, who tells his story with the help of former teammates, coaches, media personalities and others who knew him from way back.

Magnum P.I.: “Devil on the Doorstep”
CBS, 9pm

A journalist hires Magnum (Jay Hernandez) to track down an anonymous source that has mysteriously gone dark in the new episode “Devil on the Doorstep.”

My Lottery Dream Home
HGTV, 9pm
Season Premiere!

The new season of My Lottery Dream Home will follow uber-popular HGTV star David Bromstad as he crisscrosses the country to help his instantly rich clients find fantasy homes with their newfound wealth. From a waterfront getaway in Cape Coral, Florida, to a sprawling family estate in Atlanta, Georgia, David will search for amenity-filled properties that check off every box on a lottery winner’s wish list. In the premiere episode, David will help a family of five finally move out of the two-bedroom apartment they share with three dogs after a life-changing $5-million-dollar scratch-off win. Together they will navigate the expensive and exclusive California market for a home that has a room for everyone.

Great Performances: “A John Williams Premiere at Tanglewood”
PBS, 9pm

This concert recorded in July at Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer home, is conducted by both BSO music director Andris Nelsons and legendary composer John Williams. Among the evening’s performances, virtuoso violinist Anne-Sophie Mütter will be spotlighted in the debut of Williams’ new violin concerto. “The violin is an instrument that I love very dearly,” Williams says. “These instruments are now 300 years old that are being used, and the craftsmanship of [their] makers is something unequaled. It seemingly cannot be improved upon.”

These Woods Are Haunted
Travel Channel, 9pm
Season Finale!

In the tales featured in “I Don’t Want to Be Forced Out and None of Us Dared to Move,” the Season 3 finale of this paranormal docuseries, a Georgia man fights to save his home from a pack of destructive Bigfoots, and a family is terrified when a werewolf crashes their camping trip in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Blue Bloods: “Be Smart or Be Dead”
CBS, 10pm

There’s no one you trust more than family. When a former gang member puts out a hit on Detective Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg), the cop’s dad, police commissioner Frank (Tom Selleck), assigns his younger son, Sgt. Jamie (Will Estes), to protection duty. “As you can imagine, it goes over like a lead balloon with Danny that Jamie’s going to be his ‘handler,’” Estes says. “Danny doesn’t take orders so well, and Jamie is just trying to make the best of it.” Then little bro rolls out his sleeping bag next to the star detective’s bed! Sibling bickering aside, though, “there is real danger.” Jamie has his hands full in this episode: Wife Eddie (Vanessa Ray) meets her new NYPD partner, Luis Badillo (Ian Quinlan), whom he recommended. “He thought they would complement each other,” Estes adds, “but they’re like oil and water. Later, that will come to a head.” (The scene you won’t see? After Jamie breaks up a fight between Eddie and the handsome Badillo, Estes says, “I ad-libbed, ‘This tension better not be sexual!’”) The actor is “really enjoying [playing a] leadership role” in both scenarios, he adds. Good practice for an — inevitable? — promotion to lieutenant. We also see Frank’s long-secret grandson, Joe Hill (Will Hochman), for the first time since last season’s finale. Some trivia: When Hochman guest-stars, Estes becomes “Jamie” off-camera too to avoid having two Wills on set.

The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek: “Saturday Morning Pinks”
History, 10pm

This episode looks back at the fondly remembered, Emmy-winning 1973-74 Saturday morning show Star Trek: The Animated Series. While technically the second series in the Trek franchise, with most of the original cast members returning to voice their characters, and original creator Gene Roddenberry and writer D.C. Fontana onboard creatively, it effectively was the fourth and fifth seasons of the original Star Trek.

The Alaska Triangle
Travel Channel, 10pm
Season Finale!

Season 2 of the paranormal docuseries concludes with “Haunted Fairground and The Vanished.” First, dark forces disrupt a paranormal investigation at an old fairground near Fairbanks, Alaska. Then, hundreds of Alaskans go missing every year. Is something otherworldly abducting them?

College Basketball: Villanova at UCLA
ESPN2, 11:30pm Live

Two storied college basketball programs are in action at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles as the Villanova Wildcats visit the UCLA Bruins on ESPN2.

Saturday, Nov. 13

Carole Baskin’s Cage Fight
discovery+
New Series!

Tiger King personality Carole Baskin is the subject of this two-part docuseries that shows a different side of her as she and her husband, Howard, along with their team, investigate the treatment of big cats, often coming into direct confrontations with dangerous operators.

NBA Basketball
NBA TV, beginning at 5pm Live

Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat are in Salt Lake City to take on Mike Conley and the Utah Jazz. In NBA TV’s second game, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics face Jarrett Allen and the Cavaliers in Cleveland.

Frankie Drake Mysteries: “Life Is a Cabaret”
Ovation, 7pm

After witnessing a man’s murder, Frankie’s (Lauren Lee Smith) search for his lady-friend suspect leads her to an underground cabaret and surprising results.

A Snowy Christmas
UPtv, 7pm
Original Film!

UPtv’s “Snowed in Weekend” begins with this movie, in which unlucky-in-love city lawyer Kelly Mitchum (Elysia Rotaru) returns home to spend Christmas with her family. As she dreams of finding her perfect man, she meets handsome contractor Forrest Newell (Damon Runyan), and he ticks all the boxes. Now, with her family’s home at risk of demolition, will Forrest be able to help? And will the magic of Christmas be enough to save it?

Christmas Time Is Here
GAC Family, 8pm
Original Film!

Nia Moore (Rukiya Bernard), a successful small-town Realtor, has her heart set on closing a big sale on a new resort for her client, Julian Parsons (Dewshane Williams), just in time for Christmas. There is only one hitch: No matter how many properties in Pine Valley Nia shows Julian, he keeps coming back to the one resort that isn’t for sale — the one belonging to Nia’s widower dad, Patrick (Tom Pickett). Patrick would like to sell the property and retire, but it’s Nia who cannot let go. Julian comes up with a magical plan for saving Nia’s family’s resort.

A Picture Perfect Holiday
Lifetime, 8pm
Original Film!

Fashion photographer Gaby Jones (Tatyana Ali) is eager to make a name for herself and finally gets her chance when she lands a coveted job at a magazine. Encouraged by an editor (Dina Meyer) to attend the annual Christmas Photography Retreat in the small town of Pine Falls to ramp up her skills, Gaby reluctantly signs up despite not being a huge fan of the holidays. When she arrives, she learns her rental has been double-booked with wildlife photographer Sean (Henderson Wade), but soon discovers there’s more to a photo than what you see through the lens. As the two fall for each other, their life choices start to get in the way, and they must decide if they’re willing to take a risk in order to share a picture-perfect holiday together.

The French Connection 50th Anniversary (Directed by William Friedkin)
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!

Five Oscars, including Best Picture, went to Best Director Oscar winner William Friedkin’s highly acclaimed and realistic 1971 crime drama The French Connection, which is based on the true story of New York City narcotics detective Eddie Egan, dramatized here as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (portrayed by Best Actor Oscar winner Gene Hackman). The adapted screenplay by Ernest Tidyman, which also won an Oscar, sparkles under Friedkin’s direction as it follows Doyle and fellow detective Buddy “Cloudy” Russo (Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominee Roy Scheider) as they use sharp instincts and unconventional methods to thwart the international suppliers of New York’s heroin trade. The film’s cinematography and sound were also nominated for Oscars, and their excellence is particularly on display during the movie’s legendary car chase, often cited as one of the greatest ever filmed, with Doyle commandeering a civilian’s car for a frantic pursuit of an elevated train on which a hitman is trying to escape and creative camerawork enhancing the thrills and sensation of speeding through the streets of a densely crowded big-city borough. The French Connection celebrated the 50th anniversary of its release on Oct. 7, so it’s a perfect time to revisit or discover the influential classic. It’s also perfect time to check out another Friedkin crime-drama classic, 1985’s To Live and Die in L.A., which he cowrote as well as directed, and which airs as the second half of tonight’s double feature. The neo-noir thriller is led by William Petersen in his second feature-film role, as a secret service agent who, with his partner (John Pankow), goes to increasingly desperate lengths to arrest a counterfeiter (Willem Dafoe in one of his earlier credited roles, and playing one of his creepier characters — which is saying something). To Live and Die in L.A. features another harrowing and highly regarded Friedkin-directed car chase, this time with the participants careening the wrong way down a busy Los Angeles freeway. — Jeff Pfeiffer

Blade Runner: Black Lotus
Adult Swim, 12am (late-night)
New Series!

This Japanese American anime series is based on the classic Blade Runner sci-fi film franchise. Set in the year 2032, it centers around Elle (voice of Jessica Henwick), a female replicant, and will reportedly also include “familiar” characters from the Blade Runner universe. Executive producer Joseph Chou says it “was difficult to strike a balance” between both honoring the look of the original 1982 film and its 2019 follow-up, Blade Runner 2049, and adding the unique elements of the anime world, but he thinks BR fans will be pleased with the result.