‘Tis the week of Christmas, and all through the TV business, streaming platforms are betting their viewers will want some time away from family to binge some shows. Several premieres are scheduled for right before or a couple days after the holiday, and as usual, ABC and ESPN will have a big slate of NBA games on Christmas.
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
After generating relatively light interest during its first run on Lifetime in 2018, You took off on Netflix, becoming one of the streamer’s bigger shows in the fourth quarter of the year. The company said 40 million user accounts watched at least part of the season in its first month.
The second season follows the obsessive Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) from New York to Los Angeles, where he sets his sights on a new object of affection/target in up-and-coming chef Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti). Season two premieres Thursday on Netflix.
Also on streaming …
New: Comedian Kevin Hart is the subject of Netflix’s docuseries Don’t F**k This Up (Friday). Cameras follow him as he deals with last year’s Oscars controversy, his marriage and his career as an actor, comic and producer.
Returning: The second season of Netflix’s Lost in Space launches Tuesday; cult comedy Letterkenny‘s eighth season drops Friday on Hulu.
Special: Comedian John Mulaney’s latest special is … for kids. John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch (Tuesday, Netflix) features music, comedy and a host of kids interacting with the comic.
On broadcast …
NBA: The annual Christmas hoops extravaganza on ABC tips off at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT with the Milwaukee Bucks at the Philadelphia 76ers, followed by the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT, then a primetime face-off between L.A.’s Clippers and Lakers (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT). A pair of games on ESPN (Boston-Toronto, 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT and New Orleans-Denver, 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT) bookend the day.
New: Ahead of its official premiere on Jan. 1, Fox gives its unscripted series Flirty Dancing a post-NFL preview at 8 p.m. ET Sunday, Dec. 29. The Jenna Dewan-hosted show has two singles learn half of a dance routine, then meet for the first time to perform it together.
Specials: Seth Rogen takes part in a primetime edition of The Price Is Right (8 p.m. Monday, CBS); PBS’ annual Call the Midwife holiday special is set for 9 p.m. Wednesday.
On cable …
Finale: The first season of His Dark Materials closes at 9 p.m. Monday on HBO and finds Lyra (Dafne Keen) assisting Asriel (James McAvoy) — but at a great personal cost.
New: The drama Dare Me (10 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 29, USA) is based on a novel by Megan Abbott and is set against the world of competitive high school cheerleading. It centers on two friends (Herizen Guardiola and Marlo Kelly) whose relationship is tested by the arrival of a new cheer coach (Willa Fitzgerald).
Revived: One of Food Network’s original competition series, Food Network Challenge, gets a new spin with host Ian Ziering at 10 p.m. Monday.
In case you missed it …
Soundtrack is a musical, but not in the traditional sense. When a big moment hits, the music swells and the characters … lip-sync. The unconventional approach comes from Josh Safran (Smash, Gossip Girl) and stars Callie Hernandez, Paul James, Madeleine Stowe, Campbell Scott, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Jahmil French and Jenna Dewan. It’s streaming on Netflix.
