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All Times Eastern. PBS programming varies regionally.
Thursday, Dec. 14
The Crown
Netflix
Series Finale!
In the final six episodes of this acclaimed drama about the British royal family during Queen Elizabeth II’s (Imelda Staunton) reign, Elizabeth reflects on her time as queen and looks ahead to a time when her successors will take the throne. There will also be royal wedding bells for Prince Charles (Dominic West) and Camilla (Olivia Williams), as well as a budding university romance between Prince William (Ed McVey) and Kate Middleton (Meg Bellamy).
Yu Yu Hakusho
Netflix
New Series!
The beloved 1990s Japanese manga gets a live-action adaptation in this series, which Netflix says breathes new life into the story and allows fans old and new to encounter their favorite characters in ways that have never been seen before.
The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip
Peacock
Season Premiere!
This fourth installment of Ultimate Girls Trip reunites Kelly Killoren Bensimon, Luann de Lesseps, Dorinda Medley, Sonja Morgan, Ramona Singer and Kristen Taekman over a decade after they first appeared on The Real Housewives of New York City. The women jet off to St. Barts for an epic adventure, returning to the infamous house on Saline Beach — aka the Pirate House — featured in Season 5 of RHONY. The first three episodes are available today; new episodes drop Thursdays.
Captain Blood
TCM, 4pm
Catch a Classic!
Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland were relative unknowns when Warner Bros. took a chance on casting them to lead this 1935 swashbuckler that finds Flynn portraying a 17th century doctor who, with other prisoners, escapes his cruel island imprisonment in the West Indies and becomes a pirate. The studio’s gamble paid off — Captain Blood became a hit and established Flynn as a dashing screen hero; he and de Havilland’s pairing was so effective and popular that they went on to costar in seven more films; and the film received two official Oscar nominations. Director Michael Curtiz was not officially nominated for an Oscar but received the second-greatest number of votes solely as a write-in candidate. Likewise, composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold — who somehow was not officially nominated by the Academy for his rousing, romantic and iconic musical score — was third on the final ballot due to a write-in campaign, as was screenwriter Casey Robinson in his category. The film did not win any Oscars but remains an action classic.
CMA Country Christmas
ABC, 8pm
Filmed in Nashville in front of a live audience, this 14th annual event will feature one-of-a-kind musical performances of festive classics from country music’s biggest stars.
Son of a Critch: “Spirit Week”
The CW, 8pm
The kids are allowed to wear jeans at school for Spirit Week, but Mark (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) doesn’t own a pair.
Heaven Down Here
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 8pm
Original Film!
Four people — Imami (Krystal Joy Brown), a widowed mother of two with financial troubles; her irritable boss, Dan (Richard Harmon); Felix (Juan Riedinger), a local pastor; and Clara (Tina Lifford), a hospice nurse — become stranded in a local diner on Christmas Eve after a snowstorm and form an unexpected bond.
That Clip Show: Holiday Edition
NBC, 8pm
Hosts Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila lend their commentary to a variety of viral holiday videos.
Children Ruin Everything: “Arguments”
The CW, 8:30pm
James (Aaron Abrams) and Astrid (Meaghan Rath) find themselves at a boiling point with a growing list of frustrations.
Ghosts UK
CBS, 9pm
The BBC comedy that inspired the CBS series Ghosts continues with two episodes tonight. In “Redding Weddy,” Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) and Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) grapple with the latest obstacle to booking an event at the house. Then in “The Thomas Thorne Affair,” a discovery in the house leads Thomas (Mathew Baynton) to go down memory lane.
LEGO Masters
FOX, 9pm
Season Finale!
Find out which team is crowned the LEGO Masters for Season 4 of the brick-building competition series. FOX has renewed LEGO Masters for Season 5.
A “Saturday Night Live” Christmas Special
NBC, 9pm
Enjoy two hours of the most memorable Christmas-themed sketches from SNL’s long history.
SEAL Team: “What’s Past Is Prologue”
CBS, 10pm
The Paramount+ military drama series continues on CBS with “What’s Past Is Prologue.” As Bravo returns to Afghanistan to continue the fight against the Taliban, the team members think about America’s involvement in the long War on Terror.
A Christmas Carol
TNT, 10pm
TNT’s 1999 A Christmas Carol is an original adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens tale of heartless Ebenezer Scrooge and the haunting Christmas Eve that sets him on a path to redemption. The film features state-of-the-art special effects and a stellar cast that includes Richard E. Grant as Bob Cratchit, Joel Grey as the Ghost of Christmas Past and Patrick Stewart as the incomparable Scrooge.
Friday, Dec. 15
The Family Plan
Apple TV+
Original Film!
Mark Wahlberg stars as a quiet suburban car salesman who was once an elite government assassin in this new comedy costarring Michelle Monaghan. After enemies from his past track him down, the father of three takes his family on the run under the guise of a spontaneous vacation, a road trip to Las Vegas during which he must use his dormant skills without revealing his true identity.
Carol & the End of the World
Netflix
New Series!
In this limited adult animated series, a mysterious planet hurtles toward Earth and spells extinction for humanity. While most feel liberated to pursue their wildest dreams, one quiet and always uncomfortable woman named Carol (voice of Martha Kelly) stands alone, lost among the hedonistic masses.
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
Netflix
Feature Film Exclusive!
This film is a sequel to 2000’s Chicken Run, the highest-grossing stop-motion animated film of all time. Having pulled off a death-defying escape from Tweedy’s farm, Ginger (voice of Thandiwe Newton) has finally found her dream — a peaceful island sanctuary for the whole flock, far from the dangers of the human world. But back on the mainland the whole of chicken-kind faces a new and terrible threat. For Ginger and her team, even if it means putting their own hard-won freedom at risk — this time, they’re breaking in.
Face to Face With ETA: Conversations With a Terrorist
Netflix
This documentary presents an exclusive interview with one of the key figures in ETA, a former Basque separatist group in Spain: Josu Urrutikoetxea, also known as Josu Ternera. Hosted by Jordi Évole, the film looks at the terrorist group and some of its more significant moments prior its dissolution in 2018.
Finestkind
Paramount+
Feature Film Exclusive!
This crime thriller from writer/director Brian Helgeland, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, is set in New Bedford, Massachusetts, America’s biggest commercial fishing port. It tells the story of two brothers (Ben Foster and Toby Wallace) from opposite sides of the tracks who are reunited as adults over one fateful summer. When desperate circumstances force them to strike a deal with a dangerous Boston crime syndicate, a young woman (Jenna Ortega) finds herself caught in the middle. Along the way, sacrifices must be made, and bonds between brothers, friends, and a father (Tommy Lee Jones) and his son are put to the test.
Reacher
Prime Video
Season Premiere!
Alan Ritchson returns as veteran military police investigator Jack Reacher in this action series’ eight-episode second season, which is based on Lee Child’s 11th Reacher novel, Bad Luck and Trouble. The story finds Reacher being pulled from his drifter lifestyle when he receives a coded message that the members of his former U.S. Army unit, the 110th MP Special Investigations, are being mysteriously and brutally murdered one by one. To investigate, he reunites with three of his former teammates turned chosen family: Frances Neagley (Maria Sten); Karla Dixon (Serinda Swan), a forensic accountant for whom Reacher has long had a soft spot; and fast-talking, switchblade-wielding family man David O’Donnell (Shaun Sipos). Together, they begin to connect the dots in a mystery where the stakes get higher at every turn, and that brings about questions of who has betrayed them — and who will die next. The first three episodes are available today; new episodes drop Fridays.
Star of the Month: Cary Grant
TCM, beginning at 3:30pm
Catch a Classic!
Today’s lineup in Turner Classic Movies’ monthlong Friday salute to Hollywood legend Cary Grant includes seven films: The Pride and the Passion (1957), a drama set during the Napoleonic Wars, costarring Frank Sinatra and Sophia Loren; the action classic Gunga Din (1939), also featuring Victor McLaglen and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.; screwball comedy favorites The Awful Truth (1937), with Irene Dunne, and His Girl Friday (1940), costarring Rosalind Russell and Ralph Bellamy; the ghostly comedy Topper (1937), also led by Constance Bennett; and a couple of Grant’s notable collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock: Suspicion (1941), costarring Best Actress Oscar winner Joan Fontaine, and North by Northwest (1959), which also features Eva Marie Saint and James Mason.
NBA Basketball
ESPN, beginning at 7:30pm Live
LeBron James leads the L.A. Lakers against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in San Antonio. ESPN’s second game has the N.Y. Knicks in Phoenix to face the Suns.
National Christmas Tree Lighting
CBS, 8pm
Light up the holidays with this beloved American tradition presented by the National Park Service and National Park Foundation. Tune in to celebrate the official tree lighting on the Ellipse in President’s Park in Washington, D.C., and experience an all-star lineup of musical performances.
The 91st Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade
The CW, 8pm
The annual Christmas parade will feature bands, character balloons, floats and performers.
The Secret Gift of Christmas
Hallmark Channel, 8pm
Original Film!
A personal shopper (Meghan Ory) helps a widowed client (Christopher Russell) reconnect with his young daughter while Christmas shopping.
Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors
NBC, 8pm
This 2015 film based on Dolly Parton’s tender tune of a family’s love and resilience is introduced and narrated by the music legend, and stars Ricky Schroder and Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles as Parton’s parents Robert Lee and Avie Lee, with sparkling 8-year-old Alyvia Alyn Lind as the young Dolly.
50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards
CBS, 9pm Live
Entertainment Tonight’s Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner host the Daytime Emmy Awards at the Westin Bonaventure Los Angeles. Susan Lucci will receive her Lifetime Achievement Honors at the gala awards ceremony.
Filthiest Flips
HGTV, 9pm
From gross hoarder houses and vandalized nightmares to homes infested with roaches, rats and every insect known to man, David Bromstad reveals the most disgustingly dirty digs in HGTV’s history that turned into total stunners!
Lookingglass Alice
PBS, 9pm
Created and performed by Chicago’s Tony-winning Lookingglass Theatre Company, this exhilarating and acrobatic theatrical adaptation of Alice in Wonderland takes audiences down the rabbit hole to a circus-infused playground for a thrilling adventure.
Joe Bob’s Creepy Christmas
Shudder & AMC+, 9pm Live
Joe Bob Briggs and Darcy deck the bloody halls with a double-helping of Yuletide horror while raising money for the less fortunate. This year, they even get a little help from Old Saint Nick himself.
Saturday, Dec. 16
“Friends” Holiday-Themed Episodes Marathon
TBS, beginning at 8:30am
From “The One With Phoebe’s Dad” (Season 2) and “The One With the Inappropriate Sister” (Season 5) to “The One With All the Candy” (Season 7), “The One With the Holiday Armadillo” (Season 7) and more, it’s a nonstop Friends holiday marathon that is bittersweet with the recent passing of Matthew Perry.
College Football
ESPN & ABC, beginning at 11am Live
College football’s postseason bowl games kick off today with the Myrtle Beach Bowl (ESPN), the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (ESPN), the Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl (ABC), the New Mexico Bowl (ESPN), the LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk (ABC) and the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl (ESPN).
Musical Matinee: “Meet Me in St. Louis”
TCM, 12pm
Catch a Classic!
Early 1900s St. Louis and its World’s Fair is the setting for director Vincente Minnelli’s beloved 1944 musical adaptation of Sally Benson’s short stories. Judy Garland stars as Esther Smith, a young woman whose romance with the boy next door (Tom Drake) is endangered when her father announces the family is moving to New York. Margaret O’Brien and Mary Astor also star in this film that was nominated for four Oscars, including one for “The Trolley Song” — one of the enduring Hugh Martin/Ralph Blane musical standards introduced by Garland in the film, along with “The Boy Next Door” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” She also memorably performs the film’s title tune.
College Basketball: CBS Sports Classic
CBS, beginning at 3pm Live
Legendary hoops programs are in Atlanta for this showcase pitting Ohio State vs. UCLA and preseason No. 19 North Carolina vs. No. 16 Kentucky.
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.
Designing Christmas With You
Great American Family, 8pm
Original Film!
With her career on the line, a decorator (Susie Abromeit) must work with an unexpected partner (Liam McIntyre) to showcase a house for an upcoming Christmas gala.
Sealed With a List
Hallmark Channel, 8pm
Original Film!
During the holiday season, Carley (Katie Findlay) sets out to conquer her list of abandoned resolutions, aided by a dreamy coworker (Evan Roderick).
The Holiday Proposal Plan
Lifetime, 8pm
Original Film!
Travel columnist Sonny Kravitz (Tatyana Ali) and her ex-boyfriend Kip (Jesse Kove) are forced to team up to help their best friends Bree (Whitney Able) and Jarod (Geovanni Gopradi) get engaged. To set the backdrop, the four return to Sonny’s parents’ snowy chalet and set up 12 holiday traditions that are celebrated around the world to nudge a proposal.
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 Intern
Lifetime, 10pm
Original Film!
With the holidays approaching, Cecilia (Jackée Harry) discovers that retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, so she decides to make a surprise visit to her daughter Alexis (Ciarra Carter), who created and runs “Cyber Santa,” an online gift-giving business, where she takes on an internship. Also stars Vivica A. Fox.
Saturday Night Live: “Kate McKinnon/Billie Eilish”
NBC, 11:30pm Live; also livestreams on Peacock
Former SNL cast member Kate McKinnon returns to make her hosting debut tonight, joined by Billie Eilish in her third appearance as musical guest.