Innholdsfortegnelse for December 5, 2022 i TV Guide Magazine

YULETIDE CHEERS Christmas at the Golden Dragon [premiered Nov. 13] was one of the best Hallmark Channel movies ever. So many words of wisdom for all to hear. —Linette GOODBYE BAYOU While watching reruns of NCIS: New Orleans and admiring the setting, the writing and the characters, I’m also wondering why this show was discontinued by CBS. It was not only the best of the NCIS series, it was also one hell of a show. —Joan A+ CAST Please, more seasons of American Gigolo on Showtime. The story and cast—Jon Bernthal, Rosie O’Donnell, Gretchen Mol and Wayne Brady, to name a few—are stellar. —Renee ROYAL COMPLIMENT The best-cast character over all the seasons of Netflix’s The Crown has to be Princess Margaret! Vanessa Kirby, Helena Bonham Carter and Lesley Manville…

TVGMMattRoush I only recently watched the original CSI series after enjoying CBS’s CSI: Vegas reboot. I was dismayed that they brought back Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger), who annoyed me. Why do they have to keep bringing back original characters? Can’t the show stand on its own? —Simone MATT ROUSH: Not sure what about Catherine (or Marg) bugs you, so assume it’s a matter of taste. But for longtime CSI fans, having original cast members interact with the new team honors the history of a show that changed TV with its approach to forensic crime-solving, laying the groundwork for the many procedurals to come. Having watched the last episode of The Good Fight on Paramount+, I’m hoping the ending has left open the possibility of a sequel? The creativity, relevance and acting were…

A Very Perry December 8/7c, FETV Call it “The Case of the Robust Reboot.” Nearly two decades after Perry Mason ended its nine-season run in 1966, Raymond Burr reprised his iconic character—and kept on generating TV movies for another eight years, until his death in 1993 at 76. FETV celebrates the brilliant defense attorney by airing 23 of those titles this month, Sundays through Fridays, with six on Christmas starting at noon/11am c, when Debbie Reynolds joins Burr (above) in 1989’s The Case of the Musical Murder. (Paul Sorvino fills in for a 24th film.) Tonight, guest star Geraldo Rivera plays a sleazy talk show host (and homicide victim) in The Case of the Reckless Romeo. On December 12: the first movie, Perry Mason Returns—No. 1 for the week back…

Law & Order: SVU 9/8c, NBC Fans are still absorbing the shock after Kelli Giddish (right) confirmed in August she would turn in her badge, 11 years into her role as SVU’s Det. Amanda Rollins. The actress has called the job “one of the greatest joys and privileges of my life.” The nuanced cop brought justice to victims while managing toxic family members, a gambling addiction, relationship issues, single parenthood and her own trauma of rape. By tonight’s fall finale, showrunner David Graziano says, Rollins has resolved to “try her hand at teaching” after the wake-up bullet she took in the season premiere. First, she needs the OK of Capt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), her mentor and rock. “Benson must let her go,” he says, but not before some quality…

Bob’s Burgers 9/8c, Fox You never want to pick and choose which kid’s event to attend, but that’s just what parents Bob (above) 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. TODAY’S SPORTS PICKS NHL HOCKEY 3/2c, ESPN Colorado Avalanche at St. Louis Blues The Stanley Cup champs try to bury the Blues in St. Louis. FIGURE SKATING 3:30/2:30c,…

CLOCKING OUT FOR 2022! CBS’s FBI franchise works its last shift for the year with tonight’s winter finales (all three series return January 3). On FBI (8/7c), a seemingly innocent teen shows up at headquarters with a large bag of fentanyl, asking OA (Zeeko Zaki, above) 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. The Fly Team on FBI: International (9/8c) 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. And on FBI: Most Wanted (10/9c), three prosecutors are assassinated outside a bar in their small Arkansas town.…

ACROSS 1 Tallies up 5 Fraction 9 Número ____ 12 Swimming spot 13 Voice below soprano 14 Documentary ____! 15 Neil Patrick Harris Netflix comedy 17 Before, to poets 18 The View cohost Navarro 19 Sharp Objects star Amy 21 The Huckleberry ____ Show 24 Veep main character Selina 26 Ornamental vase 27 Mild Dutch cheese 29 ____ Search 32 Locator 33 The ____ O’Donnell Show 35 The White Lotus network 36 The Great star Fanning 38 Sam Malone, for Ted Danson 39 Slippery fish 40 Former American Idol judge Keith 42 Actor McDowall 44 OWN series Queen ____ 46 On the ____ 47 Unit of work 48 1999–2002 MTV anthology series 54 ____ to Me: former Tim Roth show 55 Give a hoot 56 Mr. Bill’s cry (2 wds.) 57 Nourished 58 ____ on the Prize 59…

@damianholbrook Cheers to Home Economics for a priceless casting move. ABC’s squabbling-siblings comedy earns major bonus points for bringing in Happy Endings alum Casey Wilson (above) to guest star as flaky, funny-as-hell Harmony, the Hayworths’ surprise half sister. Cheers to Days of Our Lives for giving us Hope—and Bo! At a recent fan event, Salem icons Kristian Alfonso and Peter Reckell finally confirmed their long-awaited return to Peacock’s soap. Cheers to Hallmark’s holiday upgrade. Funnier scripts, more diverse stories, cooler locations—has anyone else noticed how the network that turned “cheesy Christmas movies” into an annual event (and inspired industrywide wannabes) has gotten even better at making the season bright? Cheers to the Marcia Gay Harden-naissance. With her hilarious turns on Netflix’s Uncoupled, Apple TV+’s The Morning Show and CBS’s So…

25 TOP SHOWS Country Gold Luke Combs took home entertainer of the year and album of the year honors, while the awards show itself sang its way to its highest viewership since 2019. East-bound and Down? We’re betting that the series low for the freshman crime drama starring Amanda Warren and Jimmy Smits, already renewed for a full season, was only due to airing against the NFL’s primetime game on NBC. Cowabunga Ratings! Boosted by later-starting Sunday afternoon football games (Dallas vs. Green Bay and Arizona vs. Los Angeles), the animated family touched down with its best numbers since November 1, 2020. Goodbye, Grey Her last episode won’t be until 2023, but Meredith Grey (original cast member Ellen Pompeo) announcing her departure to Grey Sloan colleagues helped give the medical…

America can’t get enough of the Duttons. The November 13 Season 5 premiere of mothership series Yellowstone snagged a record 12.1 million viewers, a number that ballooned to nearly 16 million in Live+3 numbers (same-day ratings plus three added days of DVR, online and on-demand viewing). The two-hour event, which revealed patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner) as the new Montana governor, was the most watched show across all TV in 2022 and the top-rated cable premiere since The Walking Dead in 2017. And fans have double the reasons to be excited about Yellowstone’s supersized two-part season of 14 episodes. The second half premieres later in 2023.…

The Winchesters 8/7c, The CW The Supernatural spinoff’s Scooby gang is about to score a huge win: Mary Campbell (Meg Donnelly) finally finds her missing monster-slaying dad Samuel (Tom Welling, right) in tonight’s midseason finale. (Season 1’s six remaining episodes air in 2023.) But first, she and the other hunters have to destroy the arachnoid alien creatures known as the Akrida, along with their possessed leader, radio host Rockin’ Roxy (Bridget Regan), who has been using her show to lure rare beasts to Lawrence, Kansas. The good news: The group has a solid lead and is riding the broadcast waves straight to Roxy—as is Samuel. Tracking down Samuel, of course, is “really going to complicate things,” says exec producer Robbie Thompson, for both Mary and her hunter-in-training love interest John…

The Most Colorful Time of the Year MOVIE PREMIERE 8/7c, Hallmark Channel A widowed optometrist (Katrina Bowden) is determined to help her daughter’s color-blind teacher (Christopher Russell) see what he’s missing at Christmas. No surprise, her efforts pay off vividly. HIGH-STAKES RESCUE! Fire Country 9/8c, CBS 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. Battle of the Bling SERIES PREMIERE 10/9c and 10:30/9:30c, HGTV 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. MOVIES 12:15/11:15am c Spider-Man: No…

A Very Backstreet Holiday 8/7c, ABC The Backstreet Boys perform songs from their new Christmas album (“Silent Night” is a stunner!). Later, in the hour special Finding Harmony (10/9c), John Legend asks chorus director David Brown to unite his divided Ohio hometown by forming a choir. A New Diva’s Christmas Carol MOVIE PREMIERE 8/7c, VH1 Ashanti has a Dickens of a holiday in this romp as a cold-hearted 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. A Saturday Night Live Christmas Special 8/7c, NBC Let’s just put it this way: If the sketch featuring Ryan Gosling and Vanessa Bayer as the couple that really loves…

Early Edition Noon/11am c, Decades It took only two months for Kyle Chandler (below) to land on TV GUIDE MAGAZINE’s cover after the 1996 premiere of this CBS dramedy. This weekend’s marathon of the first two seasons will remind you why. He’s perfect as reluctant, brooding hero Gary Hobson, a disillusioned Chicago stockbroker who, after his wife leaves him, starts receiving tomorrow’s paper today and realizes he’s meant to stop tragedies before they happen. By the end of the stellar second hour, when he must choose whether to save a 6-year-old (young Mae Whitman!) or 190 doomed airplane passengers, you’ll be hooked. iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2022 8/7c, The CW Rockin’ around the Christmas tree in this year’s concert roundup: Lizzo, Dua Lipa, Backstreet Boys, Demi Lovato, Jack Harlow and more.…

Sagittarius (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) The full moon is triggering your love zone at the same time that sex planet Mars reverses in there as well. Add it all together and there are some “interesting’’ times in the forecast. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Are you trying to pack too much into your schedule? Then avoid adding even more! Everyone needs to move at a steady pace and get enough sleep. Your challenge now is to go easier on yourself. So slow things down! Birthday: Diego Luna 12/29/1979 AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Hang in there! You are nearing the end of what has been a very long and grueling cycle. If you can keep going until March (only a few months away), you will emerge from one of the most challenging cycles…

TVGMMattRoush Welcome to Chippendales Tuesdays, Hulu COME FOR THE dirty dancing, stay for the lurid drama. Throbbing to a disco beat that propels a familiar yet fascinating story of how quickly the American dream can curdle, Hulu’s eight-part Welcome to Chippendales docudrama is great fun. Until it isn’t. Primarily a character study of the glittery male-stripper club’s uptight and insecure founder, Indian immigrant Steve Banerjee (Silicon Valley’s Kumail Nanjiani in a nuanced performance), the series foreshadows his tawdry fall from the start of his giddy rise. A Playboy-lifestyle devotee who hero-worships Hugh Hefner, Steve is socially awkward with his robotic gait and inappropriately stuffy suits. He only comes alive in the presence of smarmy promoter Paul Snider (Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens), who, with doomed Playmate wife Dorothy Stratten (a touching…

Magnolia Table With Joanna Gaines 10:30am/9:30c, Food Network Daytime Pick After visiting a tortilleria in Waco, Texas, for inspiration, Gaines preps authentic Mexican sour cream enchiladas, next-level salsa, guac and tres leches cake. TODAY’S SPORTS PICKS COLLEGE FOOTBALL 3/2c, CBS Navy vs. Army; 8/7c, ESPN Heisman Trophy Ceremony Heisman hopefuls include QBs C.J. Stroud of Ohio State, Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker (above), North Carolina’s Drake Maye and USC’s Caleb Williams. Bryce Young of Alabama, last year’s tap, vies to repeat (the last two-time trophy winner was in 1974–75). Also in the hunt: Michigan running back Blake Corum. GOLF 7/6c, TNT Capital One’s The Match Tiger Woods–Rory McIlroy vs. Justin Thomas–Jordan Spieth. NBA BASKETBALL 8:30/7:30c, ABC Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors MOVIES 8am/7c Way Out West (1937) Movies! 10:33am/9:33c Hotel Rwanda (2004) OuterMax 12:30/11:30am…

Bones 5/4c, Cozi TV Crime-solving colleagues Booth and Brennan (David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel, above) share what fans thought was their first kiss in this puckish 2007 holiday episode, “The Santa in the Slush.” Dogs of the Year 2022 8/7c, The CW Everyone thinks their dog is the best, right? This annual special shines a spotlight on particularly impressive pups who’ve faced the impossible and left their pawprint on society. The Adventures of Saul Bellow 8/7c, PBS (check local listings at pbs.org) American Masters presents the first-ever major documentary on the Nobel Prize–winning author (The Adventures of Augie March), featuring interviews with Philip Roth, Salman Rushdie and others. Baking It 10/9c, NBC In this competitive holiday special, cohosts Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph challenge Fred Armisen, JB Smoove, Kristen Bell…

Hanukkah on Rye MOVIE PREMIERE 8/7c, Hallmark Channel Hallmark celebrates the first night of Hanukkah with this poignant rom-com about the star-crossed heirs to rival Jewish delis. After Jacob (Supergirl’s Jeremy Jordan) arrives in New York City to scout out a second location for his family’s L.A. favorite, he develops feelings for neighbor Molly (Jane the Virgin’s Yael Grobglas, above, with Jordan), who eventually learns of his plans—which could unintentionally put her family’s Lower East Side institution out of business. Complicating matters in the best way: Both of their bubbes have signed them up for a matchmaking service—which has the alleged soulmates handwriting letters to each other under pseudonyms. (We would’ve called this film The Deli Around the Corner.) Jordan and Grobglas are easy to root for, effortlessly trading barbs…