HGTVALSO SEE: Your Full 2022 NFL Regular Season TV Schedule
All Times Eastern. PBS programming varies regionally.
Thursday, Dec. 8
Christina on the Coast
HGTV, 8pm
Season Premiere!
In the Season 4 premiere, “A New Outlook,” Christina Hall and her husband, Josh, are settling into a new home with an ocean view in Dana Point. Life is busier than ever juggling a successful design business and three growing kids. After a few months’ break, Christina invites her fellow designer and project manager, James Bender, over to share some big news, catch up and get back to work. Their first project is transforming a couple’s cramped and outdated kitchen and dining room in Huntington Beach into an open and airy space. When the couple encounters personal challenges during an already stressful renovation, Christina and Josh find a way to help them relax and unwind. In the nick of time, Christina finishes the project, turning the entire first floor into an updated, relaxing place for living, entertaining and recharging.
A Miracle Before Christmas
BET+
Original Film!
With a little help from an angel, Mercedes Wright (LeToya Luckett), a fast-talking popular relationship therapist with all the answers when it comes to fixing everyone else’s marriage, must now use the magic of Christmas to find the secret that will save her own. Romeo Miller and Keith David costar. The film will make its linear premiere Dec. 23 on BET and BET Her.
Doom Patrol
HBO Max
Season Premiere!
As Season 4 of this DC superhero series begins, the team unexpectedly travels to the future to find an unwelcome surprise. Faced with their imminent demise, the Doom Patrol must decide once and for all which is more important: their own happiness or the fate of the world. The first two episodes are available today, and subsequent new episodes will drop Thursdays through Jan. 5. An additional six new Season 4 episodes will be released in 2023.
South Side
HBO Max
Season Premiere!
The Chicago-filmed comedy returns for Season 3, with two episodes available Thursdays beginning today. Offering a glimpse of what it’s really like to live on the Windy City’s South Side, the series follows two enterprising best friends, Simon (played by cocreator Sultan Salahuddin) and K (Kareme Young), as they hustle and dream — when they aren’t too busy working as furniture repo men. South Side also features an ever-expanding roster of real-life Chicago residents.
The Real Housewives of Miami
Peacock
Season Premiere!
Season 5 of the reality series drops its first four episodes today, with subsequent new episodes available Thursdays. The new season includes returning Housewives Guerdy Abraira, Lisa Hochstein, Julia Lemigova, Dr. Nicole Martin, Alexia Nepola and Larsa Pippen. Friends Kiki Barth, Adriana de Moura and Marysol Patton will also be featured.
Young Sheldon: “Legalese and a Whole Hoo-Ha”
CBS, 8pm
Sheldon’s (Iain Armitage) database invention puts him at odds with the university in the new episode “Legalese and a Whole Hoo-Ha.”
Hell’s Kitchen: “Putting the Carne in Carnival”
FOX, 8pm
In the new episode “Putting the Carne in Carnival,” the remaining chefs compete in carnival games to win a major advantage in the challenge: cooking an amazing steak that will impress Chef Ramsay.
Scentsational Christmas
Lifetime, 8pm
Original Film!
Perfumer Ellie Reddy (Nazneen Contractor) must invent an impressive new holiday scent for her boss, so she returns home for Christmas to find inspiration. There, she meets a handsome writer (Mykee Selkin) who is staying at her father’s (Sugith Varughese) historic property, and the two hit it off, all while saving her father’s struggling business.
Law & Order: “The System”
NBC, 8pm
A suspect arrested for murder escapes police custody after months of waiting for his day in court; as a hostage situation erupts, Shaw (Mehcad Brooks) must re-examine his conduct as the arresting officer; and Price (Hugh Dancy) questions his faith in the justice system. Following this episode, Law & Order will be on hiatus, returning Jan. 5.
Star of the Month: Ava Gardner: “’50s Star” & “More 1950s”
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!
The nine-film lineup of Ava Gardner films beginning tonight and continuing into early tomorrow afternoon on Turner Classic Movies features the star at the height of her fame in the 1950s. Up first is The Barefoot Contessa (1954), a drama written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and featuring Gardner as Maria Vargas, the titular Spanish sex symbol who is a fictional amalgam of real-life actresses Rita Hayworth and Anne Chevalier. Humphrey Bogart and Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner Edmond O’Brien costar. After that is Mogambo (1953), director John Ford’s romantic adventure drama shot on location in Africa. The film earned Gardner her only Oscar nomination, for Best Actress, thanks to her performance alongside Clark Gable and Best Supporting Actress nominee Grace Kelly. Next, in the 1953 British adventure film Knights of the Round Table, based on the Arthurian legends, Gardner portrays Guinevere alongside Robert Taylor’s Lancelot and Mel Ferrer’s King Arthur. The actress received top billing in the next film, another British-made adventure: Bhowani Junction (1956), also featuring Stewart Granger and shot partly on location in Pakistan. Rounding out the lineup of ’50s favorites from Gardner are: My Forbidden Past (1951), a film noir costarring Robert Mitchum; Show Boat (1951), the beloved musical also featuring Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel; Lone Star (1952), a Western also led by Gable and featuring Lionel Barrymore; Ride, Vaquero! (1953), another Western, also with Taylor and Keel; and The Little Hut (1957), a British rom-com that gave Gardner top billing over costars Granger and David Niven.
Ghosts: “The Liquor License”
CBS, 8:30pm
In the new episode “The Liquor License,” Alberta’s (Danielle Pinnock) expertise from her past comes in handy when the Woodstone whiskey tasting soiree runs into some problems.
CMA Country Christmas
ABC, 9pm
Returning for its 13th year, the Nashville-set special will feature country music’s hottest artists for an intimate night of holiday classics.
Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles
Bravo, 9pm
Season Premiere!
Offering an intimate look into the lives of real estate moguls Josh Altman, Josh Flagg and Tracy Tutor, now all working under the same agency roof for the first time, the Critic’s Choice Real TV Award-winning show returns for Season 14. Altman struggles with work-life balance as he expands his reach into Orange County, Flagg navigates a contentious divorce and Tutor raises her family in a brand-new home Flagg helped her score last season. The show will stream the next day on Peacock.
Brink of Disaster
Discovery Channel, 9pm
Three groundbreaking specials from the production team behind Yellowstone Supervolcano: American Doomsday explore three potentially devastating events and what we can do to stop them: the megastorms that could flood New York City; the 800-mile San Andreas fault threatening Los Angeles; and the water that could sink Miami.
Welcome to Flatch: “O Come, All Ye Flatchful”
FOX, 9pm
In the new holiday episode “O Come, All Ye Flatchful,” Barb (Jaime Pressly) gets into the Christmas spirit by holding auditions for her own “Barbieshop” quartet.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: “And a Trauma in a Pear Tree”
NBC, 9pm
Carisi (Peter Scanavino) and Rollins (Kelli Giddish) work together on an important arraignment. Meanwhile, Benson (Mariska Hargitay) tries to make Noah’s (Ryan Buggle) Christmas wish come true when a case falls in her lap. Following this episode, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit will be on hiatus, returning Jan. 5.
Call Me Kat: “Call Me Chrismukkah”
FOX, 9:30pm
Carter (Julian Gant) has to spice up the bar after being excluded from a Christmas pub crawl in the new episode “Call Me Chrismukkah.”
CSI: Vegas: “Grace Note”
CBS, 10pm
Just as the Sin City team — anchored by blood-spatter pro Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) — is close to cracking the case in Grace’s (Sue Zen Chew) disappearance, the lead suspect is murdered. An investigatory detour ensues.
Law & Order: Organized Crime: “Last Christmas”
NBC, 10pm
The fate of the task force is at stake when a meeting with Robert Silas (John Doman) goes sideways. With danger closing in, Bell (Danielle Moné Truitt) and Stabler (Christopher Meloni) take creative measures to keep their team alive. Following this episode, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit will be on hiatus, returning Jan. 5.
True Crime Story: Indefensible
SundanceTV, 10pm
Season Finale!
Season 2 of this true-crime docuseries concludes with “Bye Bye Wozniak.” A senseless double murder lands a California man on death row. Despite this harsh sentence, a broken system surrounding the death penalty leaves everyone feeling that justice has not been served.
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah
Comedy Central, 11pm
Seven years after succeeding Jon Stewart, Noah, prepping to put stand-up shoes back on, wraps his lauded late-night run.
Friday, Dec. 9
America’s Test Kitchen: The Next Generation
Amazon Freevee
New Series!
Eleven home cooks from across the country compete in a series of challenges to see who has what it takes to join the coveted America’s Test Kitchen team. Episodes are available Fridays.
Emancipation
Apple TV+
Feature Film Exclusive!
Inspired by a true story and directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day), this drama stars Will Smith as a runaway slave who embarks on a perilous journey through the swamps of Louisiana to escape abusive plantation owners and reunite with his family during the Civil War.
Little America
Apple TV+
Season Premiere!
This series inspired by true stories returns for a second season, again going beyond the headlines to look at the funny, romantic, heartfelt, inspiring and surprising stories of immigrants in America. Among the people featured in the new season are a Belizean woman who works for a Hasidic family in New York; a Korean man who makes hats for the Black church community in 1980s Detroit; and a 40-something Japanese woman in Columbus, Ohio, whose dream is to assemble an all-women’s baseball league to fulfill her lifelong passion for the sport. All eight episodes are available today.
Puppy Place
Apple TV+
Season Premiere!
The kids series based on the popular Scholastic books is back for an eight-episode Season 2, continuing to tell the story of dog-loving siblings Charles and Lizzie Peterson (Riley Looc and Brooklynn MacKinzie), and the puppy pals they foster in search of forever homes.
Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage?
Disney+
Tony Award-winning actress/singer Idina Menzel’s many triumphs include iconic Broadway roles in productions of Rent and Wicked, as well as voicing Elsa in Disney’s Frozen movies. In this documentary, filmmaker Anne McCabe follows Menzel on a national tour over the course of 16 shows as she juggles the challenges of being a working mom with a grueling travel schedule.
Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again
Disney+
Original Film!
In this animated entry in the Night at the Museum film franchise, Nick Daley (voice of Joshua Bassett) is following in his father’s footsteps as night watchman at the American Museum of Natural History, so he knows what happens when the sun goes down. But when the maniacal ruler Kahmunrah (Joseph Kamal) escapes, it is up to Nick to save the museum once and for all.
It’s a Wonderful Binge
Hulu
Original Film!
Like Hulu’s original 2020 dark comedy The Binge, a parody of the Purge movies, this holiday-themed sequel — complete with magical storybooks, catchy songs and stop-motion animation — is set in a near future where all drinking and drugs are banned except for one glorious day known as “the Binge.” This year, that day happens to fall on Christmas.
Dream Home Makeover
Netflix
Season Premiere!
From a playroom with a climbing wall to a luxurious Airstream rebuild, Shea and Syd continue to deliver on fantasy spaces for real families in Season 4 of this lifestyle series.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Netflix
Feature Film Exclusive!
Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro and award-winning stop-motion legend Mark Gustafson reimagine the classic Carlo Collodi tale of the fabled wooden boy. The whimsical tour de force finds Pinocchio on an enchanted adventure that transcends worlds and reveals the life-giving power of love. The voice cast features Gregory Mann as Pinocchio and Carlo, Ewan McGregor as Cricket, David Bradley as Geppetto, Tilda Swinton as Death and the Wood Sprite, and Finn Wolfhard as Candlewick.
Money Heist: Korea — Joint Economic Area: Part 2
Netflix
Season Premiere!
Thieves overtake the mint of a unified Korea. With hostages inside, the police must stop them — as well as the shadowy mastermind behind it all.
Something From Tiffany’s
Prime Video
Original Film!
Nothing compares to the magic and excitement of the holidays in New York City, where the streets blaze with lights, windows dazzle and a special box from Tiffany’s could change the course of a person’s life. Or several lives. Rachel and Gary (Zoey Deutch, Ray Nicholson) are happy enough but not quite ready for that big commitment. Ethan and Vanessa (Kendrick Smith Sampson, Shay Mitchell), the perfect picture, are just about to make it official. When a simple mix-up of gifts causes all of their paths to cross, it sets off a series of twists and unexpected discoveries that lead them where they’re truly meant to be. Based on the book by Melissa Hill.
White Christmas
AMC, 2:45pm
Catch a Classic!
This beloved 1954 musical takes its title, of course, from Irving Berlin’s classic song made famous by Bing Crosby in the 1942 film Holiday Inn. Crosby also stars here, and performs a new version of the iconic tune, as he and Danny Kaye play veterans who become famous song-and-dance men after World War II. Soon, they join forces with singing sisters (Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen) to help save their former Army general’s Vermont inn. Along with the title song, White Christmas also features other memorable Berlin toe-tappers, including “Sisters,” “Snow” and “Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep),” which was nominated for an Oscar.
Penn & Teller: Merry Fool Us
The CW, 8pm
Featuring magicians, costumes and a Christmas trophy, this special holiday episode of Penn & Teller helps kick off the holiday season, with Alyson Hannigan as host.
Aisle Be Home for Christmas
Great American Family, 8pm
Original Film!
Two exes (Jennifer Freeman and Garrett Watson) reconnect when a snowstorm leaves them stranded in a superstore, and without cell service or Wi-Fi, just before Christmas.
The Most Colorful Time of the Year
Hallmark Channel, 8pm
Original Film!
An elementary school teacher (Christopher Russell) learns he is colorblind, and the mother of one of his students (Katrina Bowden), who is an optometrist, helps bring color into his life for the holidays.
A Recipe for Joy
Lifetime, 8pm
Original Film!
Carly (Erin Agostino), an ambitious food reporter, is offered the chance to have her own TV show; for the pilot episode, she is sent to Angel Heights to help Grant (Dillon Casey), a shy perfectionist chef, reopen his family’s beloved diner. Nothing goes as planned, but sparks fly between the two food lovers.
Silos Baking Competition: Holiday Cookie Special
Magnolia Network, 8pm; also streams on discovery+
This special installment of the competition series finds the bakers creating holiday cookies.
Lopez vs. Lopez: “Lopez vs. Gaslighting”
NBC, 8pm
Mayan (Mayan Lopez) discovers Rosie (Selenis Leyva) has spent years secretly blaming George (George Lopez) for parenting mistakes she made. Meanwhile, George coaches Chance’s (Brice Gonzalez) T-ball team to always play fair … unless you’re losing.
Young Rock: “Five Days”
NBC, 8:30pm
Miami, 1997: Dwayne (Uli Latukefu) anxiously waits to see if his surprise heel turn will connect with the audience. As he finally gets to show off his personality in the ring, he struggles with the public attention from his growing fanbase.
The Sound of Christmas
BET & BET Her, 9pm
Original Film!
In this BET+ original movie, a down-on-her-luck music teacher leads a wealthy widower away from his gold-digging girlfriend and back to love and music during the Christmas holidays. Ne-Yo and Serayah lead the cast.
Fire Country: “Bad Guy”
CBS, 9pm
In this year’s last new episode, directed by Kevin Alejandro (aka inmate team leader Manny), a harrowing mission brings up Battalion 1608 leader Vince’s (Billy Burke) memories of daughter Riley’s (Jade Pettyjohn) fatal crash.
My Lottery Dream Home: “Second Chances All Around, in Bangor”
HGTV, 9pm
After a second chance drawing, a couple won a whopping $250,000 on an original losing lottery ticket. Now, David Bromstad is tasked with finding a spacious home fit for their growing family, including a garage large enough for a racecar collection, in Bangor, Maine.
Blue Bloods: “Poetic Justice”
CBS, 10pm
In the new episode “Poetic Justice,” Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) crosses paths with Sonny Le (guest star Alex Duong), a criminal from a previous case, during an investigation into a gang attack.
Battle of the Bling
HGTV, 10pm
New Series!
Diamonds and pearls as home decor? You’ll be blinded by sparkle as singer Todrick Hall and designer Kim Myles judge the first two installments of this style-off featuring sunken grottoes, furry walls, mirrored fireplaces and more.
Saturday, Dec. 10
College Football
CBS & ESPN, beginning at 3pm Live
Two great college football traditions continue today, beginning with the Army vs. Navy game at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. Tonight on ESPN, the Heisman Trophy is awarded to the nation’s most outstanding player.
Golf: Capital One’s The Match
TNT, TBS, truTV & HLN, beginning at 6pm Live
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy pair up against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in this 12-hole competition at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, to benefit Hurricane Ian relief efforts.
A Royal Christmas Match
UPtv, 7pm
Original Film!
Princess Camille (Jordana Largy) travels to America to create a cross-cultural college exchange program and falls for Professor Rhett (Matthew MacCaull). But when she discovers he was hired by her father to escort her — aka babysit her — she wonders if he cares more about her or his career.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
CBS, 8pm
The longest-running holiday special in television history returns as Rudolph and his friends — Hermey the elf, Yukon Cornelius and others — save Christmas in this classic Rankin/Bass special featuring the voice of legendary performer Burl Ives.
Crown Prince of Christmas
Great American Family, 8pm
Original Film!
Madison (Cindy Busby), an aspiring musician, jokingly tells her overbearing family that she is dating the prince of a small European nation. The joke goes too far as her friend and coworker Sebastian (Jilon VanOver) is roped into impersonating the prince while visiting her family in New Jersey. Little does Madison know that Sebastian happens to be hiding a royal secret.
Christmas Class Reunion
Hallmark Channel, 8pm
Original Film!
High school classmates who have dubbed themselves “the cursed class” reconnect at Christmas during their 15-year reunion, challenging each other to take stock of their lives and remember who they once were and wanted to be. Starring Friday Night Lights actress Aimee Teegarden and The Bold and the Beautiful’s Tanner Novlan.
Kirk Franklin’s The Night Before Christmas
Lifetime, 8pm
Original Film!
An estranged mother (Naturi Naughton) and daughter (Lorea Turner) are stuck inside a church during a blizzard on Christmas Eve, motivated to reconcile through music by a captivating music teacher (Kirk Franklin), a handsome youth pastor (Luke James) and a church parish. Executive produced by Grammy Award-winning gospel singer Kirk Franklin.
Ray Liotta Tribute
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!
TCM premieres two films this evening in honor of Ray Liotta, the quintessential movie tough guy known for his iconic portrayal of various gangsters and criminals, who died this past May. In Dominick and Eugene (1988), Liotta plays Eugene, a medical student who lives in Pittsburgh with his twin brother, Dominick, a trash collector who suffered a traumatic brain injury in his youth and needs special care. Tension develops when Eugene is invited to Stanford to complete his education, and he must choose whether or not to leave his brother. In Something Wild (1986), Liotta is a violent ex-con who has just been released from prison and wishes to reconcile with his wife, a wild and reckless woman named Lulu (Melanie Griffith), who has kidnapped a mild-mannered businessman (Jeff Daniels) for a crime-and-sex-filled road trip to her high school reunion, where he must pose as her husband. When her actual husband, incidentally also named Ray, shows up at the reunion too, the real trouble starts. This is considered by many as Ray Liotta’s breakthrough role.
NBA Basketball: Boston at Golden State
ABC, 8:30pm Live
The Boston Celtics are in San Francisco to face the Golden State Warriors in a rematch of the NBA Finals tonight on ABC.
Frosty the Snowman
CBS, 9pm
The classic animated musical special returns, narrated by Jimmy Durante. Jackie Vernon provides the voice of the “jolly, happy soul” whose old silk hat full of magic brings him to life. The special is followed by the 1992 sequel, Frosty Returns.
A Christmas Fumble
OWN, 9pm
Original Film!
The queen of crisis management, Nicole Barnes (Eva Marcille) gets the toughest assignment of her career when she’s asked to handle a breaking scandal for a former pro footballer turned TV commentator (Devale Ellis) whose network contract isn’t going to be renewed, and who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend. Ah, slight conflict of interest! We’re guessing this also takes place over the holidays.
Serial Killer Capital: Baton Rouge
Oxygen, 9pm
This three-hour special that airs over two nights (the second part airs tomorrow) takes a deep dive exploring the manhunt for a killer believed to be responsible for the deaths of more than 36 women in Baton Rouge between 1994 and 2004. After more than a decade of investigation entailing a dozen mistaken arrests, police discover that three different serial killers have been active at the same time.
The Gift of Peace
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 10pm
Original Film!
Traci (Nikki Deloach) is a once-devout Christian who lost her faith following the tragic death of her husband. As her second Christmas without him gets closer, she goes to a support group looking for some inspiration and comfort. Also starring Brennan Elliott and Gary Fremont.
Sunday, Dec. 11
A Very Merry MeTV Marathon
MeTV, beginning at 9am
More holiday episodes from beloved TV series spanning various decades are featured in today’s MeTV lineup, with entries from Saved by the Bell, The Flintstones, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and The Love Boat.
Miracle on 34th Street
AMC, 2:30pm
Catch a Classic!
This beloved Best Picture Oscar-nominated production has charmed audiences, critics and the Academy since its premiere in 1947, with its story (which earned an Original Story Oscar for Valentine Davies and a Screenplay Oscar for George Seaton) about a department store Santa Claus (Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner Edmund Gwenn) who claims to be the real thing instantly propelling it into the “perennial holiday favorite” ranks alongside the likes of other classics like A Christmas Carol. A fun and touching mix of comedy, drama and Yuletide magic, the film also stars Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Gene Lockhart and Natalie Wood in her most famous performance as a child star.
Figure Skating: ISU Grand Prix Final
NBC, 4pm
NBC has tape-delayed coverage of the ISU Grand Prix Final event from Torino, Italy.
White House Christmas 2022
HGTV, 6pm
See how they deck the halls at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. This annual special highlights the three-day White House transformation using impressive gingerbread creations, grand sparkling trees and other POTUS-caliber decorations.
A Christmas Prayer
TV One, 7pm
Original Film!
When the pastor of a small hometown church is accused of a vicious crime, his sullied past comes back to haunt him. He fights to prove his innocence and ultimately save his church, right before Christmas. Chad L. Coleman, Javen Lewis, Stan Shaw, Rolonda Rochelle, Robin “The Lady of Rage” Allen and Cree Davis star.
Santa’s Got Style
UPtv, 7pm
Original Film!
When department store executive Madison (Kathryn Davis) is charged with coming up with a fresh idea for the holiday season, she decides that instead of a classic Santa, this year they will hire a young Santa with lots of fashionable styles. But when she has difficulty finding the perfect model, her longtime best friend Ethan (Franco Lo Presti), who has been in love with her for years, throws on a beard and disguises himself as the Santa of her dreams.
National Christmas Tree Lighting: Celebrating 100 Years
CBS, 8pm
The event celebrates its 100th year with this special featuring an all-star lineup of musical performances and the National Christmas Tree lighting in Washington, D.C.
Family Law
The CW, 8pm
Season Finale!
After Nina (Kelli Ogmundson) discovers she is not her father’s biological daughter, Abigail (Jewel Staite) traces a history of malpractice at the fertility clinic where Nina was conceived.
Dirty Jobs
Discovery Channel, 8pm
Season Premiere!
Mike Rowe returns for another season of his series that finds him getting down and dirty while shadowing the careers of unsung heroes.
The Holiday Sitter
Hallmark Channel, 8pm
Original Film!
Sam (Jonathan Bennet), a workaholic bachelor, agrees to babysit his niece and nephew before the holidays while his sister (Chelsea Hobbs) is out of town. Completely out of his element, he elicits help from a handsome neighbor (George Krissa), and sparks fly. This groundbreaking film is Hallmark’s first Christmas movie featuring a leading LGBTQ couple.
A Prince and Pauper Christmas
ION, 8pm
Original Film!
When her down-on-his-luck confidential informant in a criminal investigation suddenly goes missing, desperate federal agent Sydney (Brittany Underwood) recruits his doppelgänger (Jonathan Stoddard) to play his role. But her job gets even harder when she falls for the criminal’s stand-in, who just happens to be a European prince visiting the states for Christmas. Tom Arnold also stars.
Single and Ready to Jingle
Lifetime, 8pm
Original Film!
Due to a booking mix-up, Emma (Natasha Wilson), a senior executive of a successful Chicago toy company, ends up in her worst nightmare for a holiday vacation: a town devoted to everything Christmas. Will she find what she is looking for in the least likely place?
Must Love Christmas
CBS, 9pm
Original Film!
Liza Lapira (The Equalizer) stars as a renowned romance novelist who finds herself snowbound in the charming town of Cranberry Falls. There, she unexpectedly becomes torn between her childhood crush (Nathan Witte) and a reporter (Neal Bledsoe) determined to interview her to save his dying magazine.
Coroner: “Safe Space”
The CW, 9pm
Death follows River (Kiley May) and Dennis (Jon De Leon) as they move into a new loft. A bereaved Peggy (Jennifer Dale) is missing.
Bob’s Burgers: “The Plight Before Christmas”
FOX, 9pm
You never want to pick and choose which kid’s event to attend, but that’s just what parents Bob and Linda Belcher (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin and John Roberts, respectively) must do when all three of their children’s seasonal performances align. Louise (Kristen Schaal) is reading at the holiday poetry contest at the library, Gene (Eugene Mirman) has Ms. Merkin’s first ever original sixth-grade holiday all-xylophone musical spectacular, and Tina (Dan Mintz) has the Thundergirls’ holiday play at City Hall Plaza. Somehow, we’re pretty sure Gene will be the most upset — they don’t call it middle-child syndrome for nothing.
The White Lotus
HBO, 9pm
Season Finale!
Season 2 of the dark comedy series set at a luxurious White Lotus resort concludes with “Arrivederci.” Jennifer Coolidge, Michael Imperioli and Aubrey Plaza star.
Master of Glass: The Art of Dale Chihuly
Smithsonian Channel, 9pm
Take a deeper dive into the people, places and things that Dale Chihuly has collected in his life, revealing a man whose keen eye for beauty and connection will leave behind an enduring legacy.
Small Town Christmas: “North Pole, Alaska”
UPtv, 9pm
Host Megan Alexander visits North Pole, Alaska, and tours landmarks such as the Santa Claus House and the world’s tallest Santa Claus statue.
Let the Right One In
Showtime, 10pm
Season Finale!
The horror drama about a man who does his best to protect his daughter, a 12-year-old vampire, concludes its first season with “What’s Done in the Dark.” Demián Bichir, Madison Taylor Baez and Ian Foreman star.
The BMF Documentary: Blowing Money Fast
Starz, 10pm
Series Finale!
The documentary series chronicling the rise and fall of Detroit’s Black Mafia Family crime syndicate concludes with “Legacy.”
Yellowstone: One-Fifty
FOX News Channel, 10pm
The first episode of FOX Nation’s Yellowstone: 150 airs on FOX News Channel tonight. Kevin Costner presents this four-part documentary series celebrating the 150th anniversary of Yellowstone National Park. In each hourlong episode, Costner explores Yellowstone to discover whether it’s still as wild and untouched as it was when it was established as a national park, and looks back in time at the events that led to its preservation. In the first episode, “A Magical Place,” Costner retraces the steps of the Hayden expedition as he explores the wildest terrain of Yellowstone.
Monday, Dec. 12
Midsomer Murders
Acorn TV
Season Premiere!
One of Britain’s best-loved and most enduring crime dramas returns for Season 23, with new episodes available in the U.S. exclusively on Acorn TV Mondays beginning today and through Jan. 2.
Whitstable Pearl
Acorn TV
Season Finale!
The British crime drama’s second season concludes with two episodes — “Hidden Treasures” and “To Those We Love” — available today.
Baking It
Peacock
Season Premiere!
Hosts/executive producers Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph invite a new batch of home baker teams to Season 2 of their baking competition show. Over five hourlong episodes, and with bigger challenges judged by a panel of grandmothers, one baking team must rise to the occasion and win some serious dough. Episodes are available Mondays beginning today. A Baking It holiday special will also air tonight, with an encore this Thursday (Dec. 15), on NBC.
Special Theme: Directors’ Final Films
TCM, beginning at 12pm
Catch a Classic!
Starting this afternoon and running well into tomorrow morning, Turner Classic Movies continues its look at final feature films from noted directors, with a nine-movie lineup. The titles are Tod Browning’s Miracles for Sale (1939), a mystery starring Robert Young and Florence Rice; Max Ophüls’ historical romance Lola Montès (1955); the TCM premiere of Fred Zinnemann’s Five Days One Summer (1982), a romantic drama led by Sean Connery and Betsy Brantley; François Truffaut’s Confidentially Yours (1983), a French comedy/mystery featuring Hitchcockian themes as a tribute from Truffaut to his favorite director; David Lean’s A Passage to India (1984), which earned Lean Oscar nominations for directing, his screenplay adaptation of E.M. Forster’s novel and the film’s editing; Tony Richardson’s Blue Sky (1994), a drama that was released three years after the director’s passing, with Jessica Lange in a Best Actress Oscar-winning performance alongside Tommy Lee Jones; Anthony Mann’s spy thriller A Dandy in Aspic (1968), whose direction was completed by star Laurence Harvey after Mann passed away before completing the film; Ernst Lubitsch’s Betty Grable-led musical That Lady in Ermine (1948), which was completed by Otto Preminger after Lubitsch died eight days into production; and, finally, Preminger’s thriller The Human Factor (1979), starring a powerhouse lineup of British actors including Richard Attenborough, Derek Jacobi, John Gielgud and Nicol Williamson.
Studio C: “Best of Christmas”
BYUtv, 7pm
This hourlong Christmas compilation of the sketch comedy show is hosted by original cast member Stephen Meek and current cast member Megan Rico, who introduce top sketches from past Christmas episodes.
The Great Christmas Light Fight
ABC, 8pm
Season Finale!
The holiday festivities continue as Carter Oosterhouse and Taniya Nayak visit the most spectacular Christmas displays in America while four families compete for the coveted Light Fight trophy and $50,000.
Dogs of the Year 2022
The CW, 8pm
Hosted by Entertainment Tonight’s Kevin Frazier and Keltie Knight, this charming special will highlight the most amazing dog stories of 2022, celebrating dogs that go above and beyond.
NFL Football: New England at Arizona
ESPN, 8pm Live
Week 14’s Monday Night Football matchup has the New England Patriots at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, to take on the Cardinals.
The Voice: “Live Finale, Part 1”
NBC, 8pm Live
The top five artists perform a ballad and an up-tempo song in front of coaches Camila Cabello, John Legend, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani. The second part of the Season 22 finale airs live tomorrow night.
American Masters: “The Adventures of Saul Bellow”
PBS, 8pm
Explore Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Saul Bellow’s impact on American literature in the first ever major documentary about the writer. The film illuminates how Bellow navigated through issues of his time, including race, gender and the Jewish immigrant experience, and features rare archival footage and interviews with Philip Roth, Salman Rushdie and many others.
Murder in the Wicked West
Investigation Discovery, beginning at 9pm
New Series!
This true-crime docuseries reveals compelling cases about murders that have occurred in some of the wildest and most remote towns in the western United States. With few or no witnesses, no closed-circuit cameras and often a dead phone signal, these can be the hardest cases for law enforcement to crack. The series kicks off with back-to-back hourlong episodes tonight: “Utah’s Lion King” and “Murder on Main Street.”
The Good Doctor: “Broken or Not”
ABC, 10pm
Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) unknowingly creates competition when he introduces a new performance rating system.
Baking It: Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler’s Celebrity Holiday Special
NBC, 10pm
As Baking It returns for Season 2 on the Peacock streaming service beginning today, this special holiday installment of the baking competition finds hosts Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler inviting their famous friends to celebrate the holidays in a friendly competition to raise some dough for their favorite charities.
POV: “Let the Little Light Shine”
PBS, 10pm
National Teachers Academy (NTA) is considered a beacon for Black children: a top-ranked, high-performing elementary school in the fastest-growing neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. As the neighborhood gentrifies, a wealthy parents’ group seeks to close NTA and replace it with a high school campus. How will NTA’s community fight to save their beloved institution?
David & Annie: After the 90 Days
TLC, 10pm
Season Premiere!
The December-May couple head to her native Thailand with his no-filter adult daughter Ashley to help prep Annie’s brother and cousin for their visa interviews.
Loren & Alexei: After the 90 Days
TLC, 10:30pm
Season Premiere!
Only a few months after giving birth to baby Asher, Loren and Alex are in for another big surprise — they’re pregnant with a third! Now, they only have nine months to find a bigger place to live, kickstart Shai’s child-modeling career, and take their first family vacation to Israel … all while dealing with the madness of life with two kids under 2.
Tuesday, Dec. 13
Kindred
Hulu
New Series!
This adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s 1979 novel follows Dana (Mallori Johnson), a young Black woman and aspiring writer who moves to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams. But she soon finds herself being pulled back and forth through time to a 19th century plantation that has surprising ties to her family. All eight episodes are available today.
Gudetama: An Eggcellent Adventure
Netflix
New Series!
Featuring the popular Japanese character Gudetama, this live-action/CGI-animated hybrid series finds that lazy anthropomorphic egg yolk getting swept up with go-getting, overbearing chick Shakipiyo. Leaving the refrigerator where they were just waiting to end up on someone’s plate, the odd couple head out into the world and on an adventure to find their mother.
Last Chance U: Basketball
Netflix
Season Premiere!
The critically acclaimed docuseries returns to East Los Angeles College (ELAC) for Season 2, giving viewers another honest, gritty look inside the world of community college basketball. The new season picks up a year after COVID caused an abrupt and emotional end to ELAC’s championship run in 2020. Head coach John Mosley is eager to get back on the court with an almost entirely new roster of Huskies, including talented but troubled D1 level athletes looking for a last opportunity to make it.
Sampled
Paramount+
New Series!
Featuring artists Arlo Parks, Bas, GoldLink, Marc Rebillet, NGHTMRE and Tinashe, this six-episode (all available today) travel docuseries presents a visceral exploration of international cities from the viewpoints of traveling musicians on world tours. Exclusive, raw and unfiltered sides to the cities — Berlin, Monterrey, Amsterdam, London, Medellin and Tokyo — will be seen through the eyes of the musicians as they are guided by local artisans, creatives and experts.
Dr. Seuss Baking Challenge
Prime Video & Amazon Freevee (features ads)
New Series!
Tamera Mowry-Housley hosts this competition series in which nine teams consisting of pairs of bakers ranging from classically trained pastry chefs to self-taught cake artists compete for a prize of $50,000. Their goal in each episode? To craft the most jaw-dropping creations inspired by beloved Dr. Seuss stories and characters, including the Cat in the Hat and, fittingly for this month, the Grinch. Baking icons Clarice Lam and Joshua John Russell will judge the results based on taste, creativity and storytelling. All eight episodes drop today.
2022 FIFA World Cup: Semifinal
FOX, 2pm Live
One of the FIFA World Cup finalists is determined today in the first semifinal match at Lusail Iconic Stadium in Qatar.
FBI: “Fortunate Son”
CBS, 8pm
A seemingly innocent teen shows up at headquarters with a large bag of fentanyl, asking OA (Zeeko Zaki) and the team for protection after his father’s murder. Meanwhile, pregnant Nina (Shantel VanSanten) pops by with a proposal for baby daddy Scola (John Boyd), which he may or may not accept.
Jeanette Lee Vs.
ESPN, 8pm
They called her “The Black Widow” and, dressed in her coal-colored finery, she confidently bested all comers with her pool cue. This 30 for 30 profile looks at Lee’s improbable, revolutionary rise in billiards, and her much tougher battle with ovarian cancer.
O Holy Night: Christmas With the Tabernacle Choir
PBS, 8pm
Tony Award nominee Megan Hilty and actor Neal McDonough join the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square for an Irish-inspired edition of this heartwarming annual celebration of music and holiday traditions.
Philip Marlowe
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!
Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler’s iconic character who appeared in a number of the hardboiled detective fiction master’s novels and short stories, has remained one of the most famous fictional private eyes of all time. That is thanks in large part not just to Chandler’s tales, but also (and perhaps especially) the eight feature films depicting the character by name that have been produced over the past 80 years or so (a ninth movie, Marlowe, is slated to be released this month, with Liam Neeson as the sleuth). Tonight, Turner Classic Movies is airing five of the films featuring Marlowe on the case, portrayed with intriguingly different interpretations by a varied group of actors. Up first is Murder, My Sweet (1944), an adaptation of Chandler’s Farewell, My Lovely that is not only the first movie to feature Marlowe, played by Dick Powell, but is also regarded as among the first film noir productions, and a major influence on ensuing works in that genre. Of course, any lineup devoted to Philip Marlowe movies would be remiss without airing what is likely the most famous one, and that is next: The Big Sleep (1946), starring Humphrey Bogart as the private eye alongside Lauren Bacall. Director Howard Hawks’ movie is based on the novel of the same name, and features a mystery that is so famously convoluted even Chandler himself was hard-pressed to definitively answer what is going on in parts of it. Ultimately, that’s beside the point, since the ride is such terrific fun. Following that, Robert Montgomery plays Marlowe in the unique Lady in the Lake (1947). Montgomery also directed the film, and narrates as Marlowe, whom the audience largely does not see but rather follows along with his first-person point of view, only seeing what the detective does. Next, watch Robert Mitchum in the first of his two appearances as Marlowe in 1975’s Farewell, My Lovely (the actor reprised the character in the 1978 adaptation of The Big Sleep). Set in the early 1940s, the mystery costars Charlotte Rampling and Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominee Sylvia Miles. Finally, James Garner — before he became more famous as TV private eye Jim Rockford — steps into Marlowe’s shoes in the 1969 neo-noir Marlowe, based on Chandler’s novel The Little Sister.
FBI: International: “Hail Mary”
CBS, 9pm
The Fly Team probes the mysterious death of an American model in Milan. Kellett (Heida Reed) doesn’t love that legal attaché Dandridge (Michael Torpey) unexpectedly shows up on the case.
Professionals: “Deep Fake”
The CW, 9pm
Zora (Lisa Loven Kongsli) is scheming again, and Tariq’s (Saïd Taghmaoui) and Neumann’s (Ken Duken) feud continues. Peter (Brendan Fraser) is arrested.
Pelosi in the House
HBO, 9pm; also streams on HBO Max
In her 14th documentary film for HBO, acclaimed documentarian Alexandra Pelosi offers a candid behind-the-scenes chronicle of the life of her mother, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, through her career milestones, from her election to Congress in 1987 to the inauguration of President Joe Biden in January 2021. Filmed in a cinéma vérité style over the course of three decades, the film provides a unique, longitudinal window into the life of a longstanding Democratic politician and history in the making.
The Voice
NBC, 9pm Live
Season Finale!
Season 22 of the singing competition series crowns its winner at a special time tonight. This star-studded two-hour finale will also feature special performances by chart-topping artists and finalist/coach duets. A live cutdown special airs an hour before the finale begins. The Voice will return in the spring for Season 23, which will be coach Blake Shelton’s final season.
In a Different Key
PBS, 9pm
This two-hour documentary follows a mother who tracks down the first person ever diagnosed with autism, now an elderly man living in rural Mississippi, to learn if his life story holds promise for her own autistic son. Her journey exposes a startling record of cruelty and kindness alike — framed by forces like race, money and privilege — but leads to hope that more communities are learning to show support for people on the spectrum.
The Nine Lives of Vince McMahon
Vice, 9pm
This two-hour special looks at how — despite lawsuits, allegations, scandal and controversy — Vince McMahon has dominated the world of pro wrestling for over 40 years, turning it into a multibillion-dollar global empire.
FBI: Most Wanted: “Appeal”
CBS, 10pm
Three prosecutors are assassinated outside a bar in their small Arkansas town. While there investigating, rookie Ray (Edwin Hodge) takes on a separate mission: helping a woman and her young son combat an injustice.
The Bermuda Triangle: Into Cursed Waters: “Spies in the Deep”
History, 10pm
The team signs up one of the most advanced research ships on the planet to search the depths for a lost secret weapon of the Pentagon’s arsenal: a top-secret spy plane that vanished into the Bermuda Triangle. Are planes and ships falling victim to a terrifying ocean storm called a white squall? The skies darken as the team pushes deep into dangerous waters attempting to identify whether the plane was lost to freak weather, or something even darker.
Real Time Crime
Investigation Discovery, 10pm; also streams on discovery+
New Series!
Across America, Real Time Crime Centers use surveillance cameras, tracking systems and gunshot detectors to solve crimes and bring criminals to justice. Every episode of this six-part series features two high-octane stories with life-and-death stakes. Filmed across nine states, with exclusive access to nerve centers from New York to New Orleans, each story includes incredible closed-circuit television footage along with interviews with the major protagonists — police solving the crimes, witnesses and the families of the victims.
Christmas Wars
A&E, 10:30pm
New Series!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year … or is it? The holiday season is known to be joyous, but for some it brings out trouble. From shopping madness to full family brawls, this half-hour series spotlights videos of human behavior that will secure a place on Santa Claus’ naughty list. Among the stories in tonight’s series premiere: a paragliding Santa has a head-on collision with a power line; fists fly between two bargain-hunting Black Friday shoppers; and more.
Wednesday, Dec. 14
National Treasure: Edge of History
Disney+
New Series!
Based on the National Treasure feature films, this series follows 20-year-old Jess Valenzuela (Lisette Olivera), a “Dreamer” in search of answers about her family, who embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to uncover the truth about the past and save a lost Pan-American treasure while staying one step ahead of a wealthy treasure hunter/black-market antiquities dealer (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Lyndon Smith, Jake Austin Walker, Antonio Cipriano, Jordan Rodrigues and Zuri Reed also lead the newcomers to the franchise, with Harvey Keitel and Justin Bartha reprising their respective film roles as Peter Sadusky and Riley Poole. The first two episodes drop today; new episodes are available Wednesdays.
The Santa Clauses
Disney+
Season Finale!
In “Chapter Six: A Christmas to Remember,” the first-season finale, the Calvins race against Simon (Kal Penn) to find the Santa coat in order to save Christmas.
Grails: When Sneakers Change the Game
Hulu
New Series!
Directed by sports journalist Hannah Storm, this six-part ABC News/Hulu production profiles entrepreneurs Earl Cooper and Olajuwon Ajanaku, former Morehouse College golf champions who created the lifestyle brand Eastside Golf to promote diversity on the golf course. The series follows the two young Black creators, who struck a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to partner with Nike’s Jordan Brand in designing an innovative line of golf sneakers and apparel to be worn on and off the course.
Kangaroo Valley
Netflix
This documentary follows a baby kangaroo named Mala, who faces famine, frosts and a pack of hungry dingoes as she endeavors to survive her incredible first year in the Australian Outback.
I Believe in Santa
Netflix
Original Film!
In this holiday rom-com, Lisa (Christina Moore), after five happy months of dating Tom (John Ducey, who also wrote the film), is horrified to learn that he is obsessed with her least-favorite holiday and actually still believes in Santa Claus. Is it time for her to give Christmas another chance?
Too Hot to Handle
Netflix
Season Finale!
The dating series drops the final five episodes of its fourth season today.
2022 FIFA World Cup: Semifinal
FOX, 2pm Live
The FIFA World Cup second semifinal match takes place at Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar.
A Very Backstreet Holiday
ABC, 8pm
Grammy Award-nominated boy band the Backstreet Boys sing songs from their brand-new holiday album, along with other classic hits, in this festive new special.
Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet: “Sleighin’ It”
Nat Geo Wild, 8pm
This new installment of the popular reality series that follows the life and work of veterinarian Dr. Michelle Oakley in the Yukon finds the vet caring for reindeer across Alaska.
A “Saturday Night Live” Christmas Special
NBC, 8pm
Enjoy two hours of the most memorable Christmas-themed sketches from over SNL’s long history.
The Earthshot Prize 2022
PBS, 8pm
The annual ceremony of Prince William’s prestigious environmental award returns with a star-studded event that honors this year’s five winners and their innovative solutions to help repair our planet.
TCM Spotlight: Movie Neighbors
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!
Tonight’s movie neighbors are an eclectic mix of unlikely friends and potential romances. In the 1943 Academy Award-winning comedy The More the Merrier, a housing shortage during World War II forces a young woman (Jean Arthur) to share her apartment with two men, a wealthy retiree (Charles Coburn) and a young soldier named Joe (Joel McCrea), with whom she shares an attraction, despite being engaged to another man; Out of the Blue (1947) requires a man (George Brent) to ask a neighbor (Turhan Bey) he detests to help him move the body of a woman who has passed out in his guest room and appears to be dead. Pillow Talk (1959) throws together womanizer Brad Allen (Rock Hudson) and high-strung Jan Morrow (Doris Day), who share a telephone party line. After Jan unsuccessfully lodges a complaint against Brad, he goes about trying to seduce her by posing as an upstanding Texas rancher. Finally, in The Swimmer (1968), a rich advertising executive (Burt Lancaster) notices the abundance of pools that populate a friend’s upscale suburb and attempts to travel back the eight miles to his house by swimming across every pool. An allegory of midcentury upper-middle-class life, this film is based on a classic John Cheever short story of the same name and is still adored by critics, though it was met with lackluster reception at the box office.
A New Diva’s Christmas Carol
VH1, 8pm
Original Film!
Ashanti has a Dickens of a holiday in this romp as a coldhearted R&B icon turned reality show judge who is visited by three ghosts (Vivica A. Fox, Eva Marcille and Robin Givens) hoping to show her that life can be like a love song again.
Shaq
HBO, 9pm
Series Finale!
The sports documentary series about the life and career of basketball great Shaquille O’Neal concludes tonight with “From Shaq to Shaquille.”
Property Brothers: Forever Home: “Midwest Charm in Pasadena”
HGTV, 9pm
A couple knew they found their forever home when they purchased a historical house that reminded her of the Midwest childhood home she grew up in. Jonathan and Drew Scott reconfigure the layout so the family can enjoy this beloved home for decades to come.
NOVA: “Rebuilding Notre Dame”
PBS, 9pm
In April 2019, the world watched as a devastating fire almost destroyed Paris’ iconic Notre Dame Cathedral. Now, go behind the scenes with a team of engineers, masons and timber workers who are tackling the daunting challenges of restoring this historic landmark.
Finding Harmony
ABC, 10pm
John Legend wanted to do something amazing for the people in his hometown of Springfield, Ohio, so he enlisted chorus director David Brown, founder of the Harmony Project, to bring complete strangers together by inviting them to join a chorus. This one-hour special follows Legend and Brown over the course of a week as they try to heal divisions and unite people in song.
Designing Christmas
HGTV, 10pm
Interior designer Stella (Jessica Szohr) and contractor Pablo (Marco Grazzini) have charmed millions as cohosts of their popular home renovation show. Although Stella is planning her wedding with fiancé Jack (Mykee Selkin), a last-minute production change means that she and Pablo must work overtime to keep their hit show on schedule. Stella confides in her mentor Freddy (Hilary Farr) about her complicated feelings for Pablo that could jeopardize everything.
“That’s My Jam” Holiday Special
NBC, 10pm
Jimmy Fallon hosts a holiday-themed special episode of this music/variety series, which features former Saturday Night Live fan-favorite cast members Fred Armisen, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer and Melissa Villaseñor competing for charity in a night of festive music-based games, performances and musical impressions.
Thursday, Dec. 15
Blackjack Christmas
BET+
Original Film!
Cowriter/director Victoria Rowell was inspired by the real-life experiences of one of her foster mothers to make this family holiday drama. It tells the story of two sisters — one who immigrated to and built a nice life in the United States, while the other stayed behind in their native Jamaica. When addiction threatens to tear the family apart, the sisters find their way back to one another and rebuild their bond. Dawnn Lewis, Charmin Lee and Adam Lazarre-White star.
Call Me Miss Cleo
HBO Max
This documentary revisits the era of corded phones and 1-900 numbers to chronicle the rise, fall and reinvention of controversial and revered ’90s television psychic Miss Cleo (born Youree Dell Harris), the self-proclaimed voodoo priestess known for her larger-than-life persona and memorable accent, and whose popular telephone hotline eventually came under fire for its alleged deceptive practices. The film features testimonials from those closest to Miss Cleo, as well as from actresses Raven-Symoné and Debra Wilson.
The Sex Lives of College Girls
HBO Max
Season Finale!
Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble’s acclaimed comedy that follows four roommates at a prestigious New England college concludes its second season.
Sonic Prime
Netflix
New Series!
The action-packed adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (voice of Deven Christian Mack) go into overdrive in this animated series when a run-in with Dr. Eggman (Brian Drummond) results in a literal universe-shattering event. Desperate to piece his prime reality back together and save his old friends, Sonic races through the Shatterverse, discovering strange worlds and enlisting new friends in an epic adventure of a lifetime.
Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery
Netflix
This special holiday installment of the Murderville comedic murder mystery series featuring some improv elements from the actors again stars Will Arnett as detective Terry Seattle, with celebrity guest detectives Jason Bateman and Maya Rudolph. Together, they are on a mission to find out who killed Santa, but the catch is that Bateman and Rudolph aren’t being given the script, and have no idea what’s about to happen to them. They will have to improvise their way through the case, and it will be up to both of them to name the killer.
Criminal Minds: Evolution
Paramount+
Midseason Finale!
Following the episode released today, this reinvention of the Criminal Minds franchise will go on hiatus for about a month, picking up again with new Season 1 episodes available Thursdays starting Jan. 12.
The Game
Paramount+
Season Premiere!
The first two episodes are available today; new episodes drop Thursdays.
Love for the Ages
Peacock
New Series!
This original unscripted series is produced under Peacock’s Tplus content brand from Telemundo, and comes from the producers behind Love Is Blind and Married at First Sight. Hosted by Adrienne Bailon, it follows three middle-aged Latino couples in Los Angeles, all at personal and emotional crossroads in their marriages, who find themselves granted the wish of a lifetime. What will they do with the chance to turn back time and swap their current spouses for much younger partners during a month of real-life change? As this social and psychological “age-gap” experiment progresses, audiences find out whether the original couples opt to remain together, for better or worse, or dare to embark on a new life alone or with a sexy new partner. The first four episodes drop today; the remaining batch of four installments is available next Thursday, Dec. 22.
Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration
ABC, 8pm
Starring H.E.R. as Belle and Josh Groban as The Beast, ABC’s live-action Beauty and the Beast will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Academy Award-winning children’s classic by pairing the original film with a live musical on air. Also includes Joshua Henry as Gaston, Shania Twain as Mrs. Potts and Martin Short as the charismatic candelabra, Lumiere.
Ghosts: “The Christmas Spirit”
CBS, 8pm
You aren’t the only one who loves Hallmark Christmas movies! In tonight’s two-parter, fan Sam (Rose McIver) wants to play merry matchmaker when her sister-in-law Bela (Punam Patel) brings her hopelessly devoted platonic pal Eric (Andrew Leeds) to haunted Woodstone Mansion for the holidays. But jealous ’90s finance bro Trevor (Asher Grodman), who got his ghost flirt on with Bela last season, has a different plan we won’t spoil: “Things never go quite the way that Sam anticipates,” McIver says in an understatement, “but there is a happy ending of sorts.” The hour is also a big one for Revolutionary War captain Isaac (Brandon Scott Jones), who takes his relationship with redcoat Nigel (John Hartman) “to another level,” Jones hints. And Wisocky, who plays sexually awakened Gilded Age socialite Hetty, teases “a shocking moment that is the manifestation of some of these unleashed new feelings.” Do not miss the final seconds!
Christmas Around the USA
The CW, 8pm
Hosted by Dean Cain and Laura McKenzie, this all-new holiday special showcases how Christmas is celebrated around the U.S., highlighting different holiday traditions and seasonal displays from all corners of the country.
Christina on the Coast: “More of the Warm Hug Home”
HGTV, 8pm
Christina Hall and her fellow designer and project manager James Bender revisit clients Mark and Michelle. Their kitchen and living room makeover are complete, and now they want to carry the relaxing, warm-hug vibe into their two bathrooms. Christina also gives her contractor Mike and his family the pool of their dreams.
Record Breaking Christmas
Lifetime, 8pm
Original Film!
An adjudicator for the World Record Bureau (Michelle Argyris) is forced to travel to a small town during the Christmas season to investigate its plans to break multiple world records, falling for the town’s hunky doctor (Andrew Bushell) along the way.
Star of the Month: Ava Gardner: “’60s Siren” & “Ava and the Armed Forces”
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!
Tonight’s Turner Classic Movies lineup saluting legendary actress Ava Gardner only consists of four titles, but they encompass nearly all of the star’s film work during the 1960s. They demonstrate how, even if her star may not have been as bright as it had been during the previous decade, her acting skills were still terrifically on point. First, she stars with Dirk Bogarde and Joseph Cotten in The Angel Wore Red (1960), an Italian American production set during the Spanish Civil War. The next film, The Night of the Iguana (1964), cowriter/director John Huston’s acclaimed adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ play, earned the actress BAFTA and Golden Globe award nominations for her lead performance alongside Richard Burton and Deborah Kerr. Gardner and Burt Lancaster, who both had breakout roles in 1946’s The Killers, re-teamed for this evening’s next film, director John Frankenheimer’s Seven Days in May (1964), whose screenplay was written by The Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling. Kirk Douglas and Fredric March also star in this tense political thriller about a military plot to take over the United States. Finally, Gardner stars with Charlton Heston and David Niven in director Nicholas Ray’s 55 Days at Peking (1963), a historical drama set during China’s Boxer Rebellion.
Luxe for Less: “Home Fit for a Princess”
HGTV, 9pm
Princess and Dean are young parents who have great taste but are trapped in a dated home. Michel Smith Boyd and team come in with amazing ideas and hacks to make their dream home a reality while sticking to the couple’s budget. With some imagination Michel is able to create a kitchen with an island big enough to seat over 10 people, a built-in food station for the family dog and an office space fit for a mogul.
Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love
NBC, 9pm
This 2016 film is the second production based on the life and works of Dolly Parton. It finds Dolly’s beloved daddy (Ricky Schroder) scheming to surprise Mama (Jennifer Nettles) with a Christmas gift that he could never afford. Young Dolly (Alyvia Alyn Lind) and her siblings excitedly join in the scrimping and saving in a selfless act of love.
Dr. Pimple Popper: “With Every Cyst-Mas Card I Write”
TLC, 9pm
In this one-hour special, dermatologist Dr. Sandra Lee (aka “Dr. Pimple Popper”) and her medical assistant, Kristi, are rockin’ around the Christmas tree as they re-create scenes from their favorite holiday movies and make cards for their patients. In between the holiday cheer, Dr. Lee and her staff help patients look their best for the upcoming festivities, and bring joy as they help them look and feel their best festive selves.
The Parent Test
ABC, 10pm
New Series!
Ali Wentworth emcees this experiment. Twelve families allow cameras into their homes to capture their child-rearing style. To determine which method works best, they take part in challenges. Tonight, kids brave the high dive!
Top Gear: “Driving Home for Christmas”
BBC America, 11pm
Season Finale!
Freddie, Chris and Paddy take a festive road trip across Britain, transporting a giant Christmas tree as they head to Top Gear’s very own winter wonderland.
Friday, Dec. 16
Judy Justice
Amazon Freevee
Midseason Finale!
Following the episode released today, Season 2 of Judge Judy Sheindlin’s courtroom series will go on hiatus, with a second installment of episodes coming in 2023.
Gordon Ramsay: Christmas Cookalong & Gordon’s Festive Home Cooking
BritBox
A few Gordon Ramsay Christmas specials make their BritBox premieres today. In Gordon Ramsay: Christmas Cookalong, featuring both holiday installments of Ramsay’s Cookalong Live series (from 2011 and 2012), the chef prepares holiday dishes while special guests pop in to help, and highlights tricks and tips on making the tastiest Christmas menu. Gordon’s Festive Home Cooking finds Ramsay inviting viewers into his home and sharing easy-to-follow recipes perfect for the season.
If These Walls Could Sing
Disney+
Mary McCartney directed this documentary about the history of London’s famed Abbey Road Studios, and the experiences and memories of musicians who have played there, including her father, Paul McCartney, who is among those featured in the film’s intimate interviews.
Le Pupille
Disney+
This live-action short film from writer/director Alice Rohrwacher and Oscar-winning producer Alfonso Cuarón is a tale of innocence, greed, fantasy and the anarchy that is capable of flowering in the minds of girls within the confines of a strict religious boarding school at Christmastime.
From the Source
Magnolia Network on discovery+
Season Premiere!
Award-winning chef and restaurateur Katie Button returns for a third season of her series in which she explores the stories and uses behind different delicious ingredients, and shares her knowledge of cooking techniques to inspire others to be more curious, creative and joyful cooks. The first episode is available today, with the remaining episodes expected to be available in early 2023.
The Kindness Project
Magnolia Network on discovery+
In this special, award-winning author, speaker and kindness expert Brad Montague drops into Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a big-hearted social experiment.
Ranch to Table
Magnolia Network on discovery+; also streams on HBO Max
Season Premiere!
The series returns for Season 3, continuing to follow seventh-generation cattle rancher and entrepreneur Elizabeth Poett as she tackles the work of running her family’s 14,000-acre ranch while crafting regional dishes using her own fresh ingredients. The episode available today is a holiday installment. The remaining installments of the season are expected to be available in early 2023.
Storefront Stories
Magnolia Network on discovery+
New Series!
The shopkeepers of beautiful and unique shops all over the country reveal the heart, vision and history of their retail spaces. A special holiday installment drops today.
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
Netflix
Feature Film Exclusive!
Four-time Oscar winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman) cowrote and directed this epic, visually stunning and immersive Spanish-language dark comedy/drama. It’s led by Daniel Giménez Cacho as Silverio, a Mexican journalist and documentarian living in Los Angeles. When he is named the recipient of a prestigious international award and compelled to return to his native country to receive it, Silverio is unaware that the trip will push him to an existential limit in the form of dream-like visions.
Cook at All Costs
Netflix
New Series!
Chef/restaurateur Jordan Andino hosts this competition in which three home cooks put their money where their mouths are to bid on ingredients in a high-stakes, “auction-packed” cook-off. With $25,000 in their banks, the cooks will have to decide if they want to bid big for the best ingredients, save their money for the basics or gamble on a surprise — because, in the end, the one who best impresses the celebrity guest chef will win all the money left in their bank. Can the thrifty dish topple the pricey plate, or will the wildcard wow the guest judge for the win?
Dance Monsters
Netflix
New Series!
In what is described as a “feel-good” dance competition, amateur dancers disguised as CGI avatars bring their best moves, hoping to wow a panel of judges (consisting of Ne-Yo, Lele Pons and Ashley Banjo) and win $250,000. Ashley Roberts hosts.
Paradise PD
Netflix
Season Premiere!
In Season 4 of this adult animated comedy, without a functioning police force, the town of Paradise faces threats from scheming billionaires, vindictive artists, backstabbing AI and more.
The Recruit
Netflix
New Series!
This thriller centers around Owen Hendricks (Noah Centineo), a young CIA lawyer whose first week on the job turns upside down when he discovers a threatening letter by former asset Max Meladze (Laura Haddock), who plans to expose the agency unless they exonerate her of a serious crime. Owen quickly becomes entangled in a dangerous and often absurd world of power politics and mischievous players as he travels the world in hopes of completing his assignment and making a mark at the CIA.
A Storm for Christmas
Netflix
New Miniseries!
A star-studded Nordic cast leads this Norwegian limited series. As a group of characters arrive at the Oslo airport — some to welcome loved ones, some to travel home to their families, some to fly away and escape Christmas — each of their holiday missions goes awry in some way. They are all stranded at the airport, and the clock is ticking, with only 24 hours until Christmas. What do they do?
The Volcano: Rescue From Whakaari
Netflix
This documentary offers a close examination of the 2019 Whakaari/White Island volcanic eruption off New Zealand, in which 22 lives were lost. The film viscerally recounts a day when ordinary people were called upon to do extraordinary things, and places this tragic event within the larger context of nature, resilience and the power of our shared humanity.
LOL: Last One Laughing Mexico
Prime Video
Season Premiere!
In Season 5, host Eugenio Derbez again directs a group of reckless comedians on their way to madness by locking them in a house for six hours with only one rule: no laughing. This time, the featured comedians are ones who have lost in previous seasons of the series: Capi Pérez, Liliana Arriaga “La Chupitos,” El Diablito, Slobotzky, Ricardo Pérez, Ricardo Peralta, Juan Carlos “El Borrego” Nava and Isabel Fernández.
Nanny
Prime Video
Original Film!
In this psychological horror fable of displacement, Aisha (Anna Diop), a woman who recently emigrated from Senegal, is hired to care for the daughter of an affluent couple (Michelle Monaghan and Morgan Spector) living in New York City. Haunted by the absence of the young son she left behind, Aisha hopes her new job will afford her the chance to bring him to the U.S., but becomes increasingly unsettled by the family’s volatile home life. As his arrival approaches, a violent presence begins to invade both her dreams and her reality, threatening the American dream she is painstakingly piecing together.
Litvinenko
Sundance Now
New Series!
This four-episode (all available today) series dramatizes the decade-long struggle of Maria Litvinenko (Margarita Levieva) to prove the guilt of those responsible for the fatal 2006 polonium poisoning of her husband, Alexander Litvinenko (David Tennant), a former Russian security officer who defected and was a prominent critic of Vladimir Putin.
Frankenstein & The Bride of Frankenstein
TCM, beginning at 5:15pm
Catch a Classic!
Frankenstein, the timeless 1931 adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, kicked off Universal Studios’ famed run of iconic creature features and made Boris Karloff — the fourth-billed actor on the movie’s poster — into a household name, despite the fact that he was hidden beneath lots of brilliant Jack Pierce makeup effects as Dr. Henry Frankenstein’s (Colin Clive) creation. Karloff’s transformative acting, guided by James Whale’s masterful direction, helped make audiences feel some empathy for the lonely “monster” as he made his way through an unwelcoming world. Airing right after Frankenstein is its first follow-up, 1935’s The Bride of Frankenstein, a film that is at least as good as the original. Whale returns to helm this production that features Karloff (who had become so renowned he was billed here simply as “Karloff”) reprising his role as the monster and Clive back as his mad creator, with Elsa Lanchester joining the cast as both the monster’s bride and Shelley in the film’s intro. These two films are the culmination of a day on TCM billed with a “Dead and Loving It” theme, featuring other famed films about the living dead or ghosts; leading into these titles starting earlier in the morning are Topper (1937), Blithe Spirit (1945), Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), The Plague of the Zombies (1966), Frankenstein 1970 (1958), Isle of the Dead (1945) and The Body Snatcher (1945).
Snow Day
Nickelodeon, 7pm; also streams on Paramount+
Original Film!
This is a musical reimagining of the 2000 comedy film Snow Day. It follows a group of kids who are determined to achieve their dreams when their school closes for a snow day.
The 90th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade
The CW, 8pm
This star-studded annual Christmas parade will feature many Hollywood celebrities and award-winning bands from across the country, as well as equestrians, larger-than-life balloons, colorful floats and high-profile performers. Ushering in the holiday season, the parade will culminate with an appearance from Santa Claus himself, along with his reindeer.
Holiday Heritage
Hallmark Channel, 8pm
Original Film!
The first Hallmark movie to celebrate Kwanzaa, this film stars Lyndie Greenwood as Ella, a woman who returns to her hometown to mend fences with her family. With the help of an ex-boyfriend (Brooks Darnell), she encourages her relatives to heal their past wounds before it’s too late.
A Christmas to Treasure
Lifetime, 8pm
Original Film!
A funeral reunites six estranged friends for a hometown holiday treasure hunt, and two former best friends (Taylor Frey and Kyle Dean Massey) find themselves falling for each other.
Lopez vs. Lopez: “Lopez vs. Christmas”
NBC, 8pm
What does it take to finally get your divorced parents to spend Christmas Eve together as a family? If you’re Mayan (Mayan Lopez), just some deception inspired by “The Gift of the Magi.” In order to bring her combative parents together for Nochebuena, she assures her dad George (George Lopez) and mom Rosie (Selenis Leyva) that they’re each giving up what they love most for the evening: George won’t drink the beer that Rosie believes he overly imbibes; Christmas fanatic Rosie won’t wear the crown that annoys George. But seeing how the celebration has gone on without him for the last 10 years may drive Pop to the bottle. “Holidays bring joy, but they also bring up all kinds of emotions,” Mayan tells us. And guests! The George Lopez Show alums Constance Marie, Valente Rodriguez, Belita Moreno and Luis Armand Garcia play visiting relatives. Mayan admits the real Lopez Nochebuena is even more over-the-top. Her mother, Ann Serrano, puts up eight trees (one decorated with pet photos and one topped by a Queen Elizabeth II star). George has been invited every year since the divorce and was finally going to come last December, until he caught COVID. Says Mayan, “I am going to make it happen this year. If TV Mayan can do it, so can I!”
Young Rock: “Dwanta Claus”
NBC, 8:30pm
Christmas is a time for giving, and if you’re Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (playing himself in the semiautobiographical comedy), also a time to reflect on gift-giving mishaps!
Metallica Presents: The Helping Hands Concert
Paramount+, 8:30pm Live; simulcast on Pluto TV and YouTube
Jimmy Kimmel hosts this concert event taking place live from Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater, and benefitting metal band Metallica’s All Within My Hands nonprofit foundation, which supports food banks, community colleges and other charity partners. The event kicks off with a special set from rock band Greta Van Fleet, followed by a unique performance from Metallica.
The First Noelle
BET & BET Her, 9pm
Original Film!
In this holiday rom-com, after 20 years of friendship, Terrance (Todd Anthony) and Noelle (Novi Brown) finally decide to date each other, but ultimately break up when Terrance moves to London for work. But now that Terrance is back in Atlanta for Christmas with his new girl (Lala Milan), who is also named Noelle, the OG Noelle is determined to get him back.
The Greatest @Home Holiday Videos
CBS, 9pm
From kids performing holiday music to heartfelt reunions and surprises, Cedric the Entertainer gifts us the best holiday-themed viral videos.
My Lottery Dream Home: “Lisa’s Little Luxuries”
HGTV, 9pm
After a lifetime of apartment living, a family can finally buy their first home after a $4 million lottery win. David Bromstad is tasked with finding a home with a backyard, a laundry room that doesn’t require coins and other little luxuries in Nashua, New Hampshire.
The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs: Joe Bob’s Ghoultide Get-Together
Shudder, 9pm
Horror movie host Joe Bob Briggs celebrates Christmas with The Last Drive-In’s third annual holiday charity auction and a double feature.
Battle of the Bling
HGTV, 10pm
In the first of back-to-back episodes, “Blast From the Blingy Past,” time-travel with Todrick Hall and Kim Myles as they check out homes from bygone bling eras, from a real-life castle in the Hollywood Hills to a whimsical Victorian mansion. In the second episode, “The Family Bling,” Todrick and Kim are on the hunt to find the wildest and blingiest dream brought to life when a family shares the same vision. From a Greek-inspired villa to a pirate’s den, it’s a battle between three families, but only one will be a finalist!
Urban Legend
Travel Channel, 10pm; also streams on discovery+
Season Finale!
The first season of this series, which re-creates famous urban legends, concludes with “The Scuba Diver.” When a scuba diver tests his new equipment in a lake, a freak accident launches him on a life-and-death journey to reunite with his young daughter.
Saturday, Dec. 17
2022 FIFA World Cup: Third Place Match
FOX, 10am Live
The consolation match to determine the FIFA World Cup’s third-place team takes place at Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar.
Religious Favorites
TCM, beginning at 2:15pm
Catch a Classic!
Based on the popular novel by Franz Werfel, The Song of Bernadette (1943) tells the story of a young French woman (Jennifer Jones) in the 1850s who claims to have visions of the Virgin Mary. Eventually Bernadette is labeled a saint and becomes a nun at a local convent, where other nuns are jealous of her status. King of Kings (1961), narrated by the great Orson Welles, is a reenactment of the life and death of Jesus Christ, who is played by Jeffrey Hunter; the same premise inspires the next film, The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), which cast Max von Sydow as Jesus and originated as a U.S. radio series in 1947. Other acting credits include John Wayne, Martin Landau and Sidney Poitier.
College Basketball: CBS Sports Classic
CBS, beginning at 3pm Live
The CBS Sports Classic at New York City’s Madison Square Garden features Kentucky vs. UCLA and North Carolina vs. Ohio State.
Sappy Holiday
UPtv, 7pm
Original Film!
Stranded in a small town after her car breaks down, Joy (Vanessa Sears) meets the charming James (Jon McLaren), a local trying to save his family’s maple farm.
Holiday Hideaway
BET Her, 8pm
Original Film!
Carly (Camille Winbush) is the queen of holiday celebrations, but a mistletoe misstep sends her running to a holiday hideaway that teaches her the importance of family, forgiveness and fighting for love. Vivica A. Fox costars.
iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2022
The CW, 8pm
This star-studded 90-minute holiday concert will feature performances by the year’s biggest recording artists.
’Twas the Night Before Christmas
Hallmark Channel, 8pm
Original Film!
Chicago Med’s Torrey DeVitto stars as a former actress who is trying to break into directing with a town’s annual Christmas Eve courtroom production, where the origins of the famous poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” are debated.
The Holiday Dating Guide
Lifetime, 8pm
Original Film!
A dating coach (Maria Menounos) with little interest in her own love life is challenged to find a romantic interest in order to prove to a publisher that the how-to guide for dating she wrote actually works. Things take an unexpected turn when she finds herself falling for a man (Brent Bailey) in return.
Sherri Papini: Lies, Lies & More Lies
Oxygen, 9pm
Sherri Papini seemed to have the picture-perfect life. A home nestled in a safe Northern California community, two beautiful children and a loving husband. However, the unimaginable happened in 2016 when Sherri vanished while jogging. She reappeared three weeks later — battered, bruised and branded, telling the horrific tale of her kidnapping. As investigators worked tirelessly to catch her captors, they uncovered a web of lies and deception unlike anything they had seen before.
Five More Minutes: Moments Like These
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 10pm
Original Film!
Starring Ashley Williams as a young widow whose Christmas wish for her son is answered in unexpected ways after returning home for the holidays, this is the second holiday story inspired by Scotty McCreery’s song “Five More Minutes.”
Saturday Night Live: “Austin Butler/Yeah Yeah Yeahs”
NBC, 11:30pm Live; also livestreams on Peacock
SNL’s last new show of 2022 features Elvis star Austin Butler making his hosting debut, joined by Grammy-nominated indie rockers Yeah Yeah Yeahs in their second appearance as musical guest.
