This Week in TV: Disney+ Debuts, ‘The Crown,’ CMA Awards

The second major streaming platform launch of the month takes place in the week of Nov. 11, as Disney+ debuts a massive library and a good-sized roster of originals. A streaming favorite welcomes a new cast, a couple of veteran cable shows return and country music honors its best in the week as well.

Here is The Hollywood Reporter‘s rundown of some of the coming week’s highlights. It would be next to impossible to watch everything, but let THR point the way to worthy options each week. All times are ET/PT unless noted.

The Big Show

Disney enters the streaming game in a big way Tuesday with the debut of Disney+, which will gather a huge library of programming from (among others) Marvel, Pixar, National Geographic and the Star Wars franchise. It will also become the exclusive streaming home for 30 seasons of The Simpsons; thousands of hours of programming will be available on day one.

Among the originals debuting Tuesday are The Mandalorian, a live-action Star Wars series starring Pedro Pascal; High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, based on the movie franchise; the unscripted shows Encore! and The World According to Jeff Goldblum; a CGI update of Lady and the Tramp; and the holiday movie Noelle, starring Anna Kendrick. Watch the trailer for The Mandalorian below.

Also on streaming …

Returning: The third season of The Crown (Sunday, Nov. 17, Netflix) begins in and introduces a new set of actors playing the British royal family, led by Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II (taking over for Claire Foy) and Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip (previously played by Matt Smith). Despite the changes, THR chief critic Daniel Fienberg says the series “remains a model for carefully crafted episodic storytelling.”

Also returning: Amazon debuts the final season of its alt-history drama The Man in the High Castle on Friday.

New: Hulu’s Dollface (Friday) stars Kat Dennings as a woman who has to reconnect with her female friends after coming out of a long-term relationship. Brenda Song, Shay Mitchell and Esther Povitsky also star.

On broadcast …

Awards: The 53rd CMA Awards (8 p.m. Wednesday, ABC) will pay tribute to women in country music, beginning with an opening performance featuring three generations of performers, including Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, host Carrie Underwood, the Highwomen, Martina McBride, Crystal Gayle and Jennifer Nettles, among others. Maren Morris is the leading nominee.

On cable …

New: Docuseries The Preppy Murder: Death in Central Park (9 p.m. Wednesday, AMC and Sundance) re-examines the 1986 murder of Jennifer Levin at the hands of Robert Chambers in New York City, placing the inherent sexism and elitism of the time front and center. It will air over three consecutive nights.

Returning: New seasons of Floribama Shore (8 p.m. Thursday, MTV) and Ray Donovan (8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17, Showtime), plus an update of Food Network’s Good Eats Thanksgiving Special (8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17). The second half of Ambitions‘ first season debuts at 10 p.m. Tuesday on OWN.

In case you missed it …

The third season of Atypical finds lead character Sam (Keir Gilchrist), a young man on the autism spectrum, heading to college and both he and his family (Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Rapaport and Brigette Lundy) adjusting to the change. All three seasons of the dramedy are streaming on Netflix.