SoCal TV, Nov. 17-23: ‘Dune: Prophecy,’ ‘Leonardo da Vinci,’ ‘Interior Chinatown,’ ‘The CMA Awards’ and more
TV shows, movies, sports and specials on broadcast, cable and streaming this coming week
Welcome to an all-new TV or Not TV roundup of new and noteworthy programming on broadcast, cable and streaming this coming week. I’m Matt Cooper, former listings coordinator for the Los Angeles Times’ Calendar.
Sunday — Nov. 17
And up through the ground came a-bubblin’ crude — oil that is, black gold, Texas tea — in “Landman,” the latest western-themed drama from “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan. With Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Hamm and Demi Moore. Anytime, Paramount+
An Oscar-winning filmmaker is your guide to some of history’s most hallowed in the new docuseries “Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints” First up: the Maid of Orleans a.k.a. Joan of Arc. Anytime, Fox Nation
A quilting instructor snuggles up with a hunky firefighter in the new TV movie “A Cozy Christmas Quilt.” With Amy Walker. 5 p.m. GAF
CNN’s resident medical expert weighs the pros and cons of the weight loss drug everyone’s talking about in the new special “Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: Is Ozempic Right For You?” 8 p.m. CNN
Angela Kinsey heads the cast and Brian Baumgartner, her former co-star on “The Office,” puts in a cameo in the new TV movie “Confessions of a Christmas Letter.” 8 p.m. Hallmark Channel
A real estate developer hooks up with a hunky local historian in the new TV movie “Holiday in Happy Hollow.” With Tamara Almeida. 8 p.m. Lifetime
“How It Really Happened with Jesse L. Martin” revisits 1982’s “Tylenol murders,” which changed the way medications and other products were packaged going forward, in the first of two new episodes. 9 and 10 p.m. CNN
Bene … Bene … Bene and the Gesserit! The origins of the secretive female-led religious sect featured in the writings of Frank Herbert are revealed in the new sci-fi drama “Dune: Prophecy.” With Emily Watson and Mark Strong. 9 p.m. HBO
“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” pops up on a Sunday with a special post-game episode featuring Lindsay Lohan, Pharrell and the aforementioned Jon Hamm. 10 p.m. NBC
Monday — Nov. 18
“Cake Boss” star Buddy Valastro pulls double duty as the host of the new competition “Cake Toppers” and co-host, alongside Samantha Seneviratne, of the new competition “Cookie, Cupcake, Cake.” Anytime, Hulu
Belizean American rapper turned politician Moses “Shyne” Barrow has a thing or two to say about his former mentor, Sean “Diddy” Combs, in the new documentary “The Honorable Shyne.” Anytime, Hulu
Not-so-new kid on the block Joey McIntyre stars as a widower who gets a second chance at romance in the new TV movie “Jingle Bell Love.” Anytime, Roku
“ER’s” Parminder Nagra is back in scrubs as a doctor returning to her job with Britain’s National Health Service following maternity leave in the new drama “Maternal.” Anytime, Acorn TV
Who watches the Watchmen? You will if you tune in to “Watchmen: Chapter I,” a new animated series based on Alan Moore’s 1980s-era comics about deeply flawed superheroes in a dystopian America. Anytime, Max
Renaissance man: “Leonardo da Vinci,” a new two-part documentary from Ken Burns and company, illuminates the life and times of the influential 16th-century artist and inventor. 8 p.m. KOCE; concludes Tuesday
The reality TV franchise entry “Love & Hip-Hop Miami” serves up a sixth season. 8 p.m. VH1
Tuesday — Nov. 19
A mild-manned waiter (“Crazy Rich Asians’” Jimmy O. Yang) gets caught up in a mystery in “Interior Chinatown,” a fantastical new comedy drama from “Jojo Rabbit” filmmaker Taika Waititi. With Chloe Bennet. Anytime, Hulu
The Dickens, you say! The popular ventriloquist and his irreverent puppet pals get into the spirit of the season in “Jeff Dunham’s Scrooged-Up Holiday Special.” Anytime, Prime Video
Cult leader and convicted murderer Charles Manson, who died in 2017, is seen and heard in rare archival footage discussing his life and crimes in the new docuseries “Making Manson.” Anytime, Peacock
Comic Adam Ray dons the guise of a certain balding, mustachioed daytime talk-show host in the new comedy special “Dr. Phil Live!” With special guests Patton Oswalt and “SNL’s” Jay Pharoah. Anytime, Netflix
“The French Montana Story” is not a documentary about life in Big Sky Country prior to the Louisiana Purchase, but rather a profile of the chart-topping Moroccan American rapper. Anytime, Paramount+
Trash will be talked, drinks thrown, etc., etc., as the franchise entry “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” returns for a 14th season. 8 p.m. Bravo
Hear ye, hear ye! The rebooted sitcom “Night Court” is back in session for a third season. With Melissa Rauch, Wendie Malick and John Larroquette. 8:30 p.m. NBC
Like father, like daughter: Cuban pro-democracy activist Rosa Maria Paya, daughter of the late Nobel Peace Prize nominee Oswaldo Paya, is profiled in “Night is Not Eternal,” a new documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Nanfu Wang. 9 p.m. HBO
It wasn’t all smiles behind-the-scenes of “America’s Next Top Model,” as detailed on the season finale of the docuseries “Dark Side of Reality TV.” 10 p.m. Vice Network
The new special “Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked” promotes the upcoming release of the two-part big-screen adaptation of the smash Broadway musical inspired by L. Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz.” 10 p.m. NBC
“The Curse of Oak Island” begets a spin-off, “Tales From Oak Island,” exploring other accounts tied to the long-running search for the fabled treasure on that small island off the coast of Nova Scotia. 10 p.m. History Channel
#$@&%*! The late, great taboo-breaking standup comic Richard Pryor is remembered on a new episode of “Black Comedy in America.” 10 p.m. Vice Network
Wednesday — Nov. 20
They have ways of making you spend: The new documentary “Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy” takes a look at the machinations and manipulations used by manufacturers and marketers to help empty your wallet. Anytime, Netflix
And now for something not so completely different: Monty Python’s Michael Palin and Terry Jones are your guides to “The Complete and Utter History of Britain” in this 1969 sketch-comedy show. Anytime, Britbox
God rest “The Merry Gentlemen.” A big city gal stages an all-male exotic dance revue in an effort to save her parents’ small-town nightclub in this new holiday romance. With Britt Robertson and Chad Michael Murray. Anytime, Netflix
Water, water, everywhere: Former President Barack Obama is your narrator for the new globe-spanning five-part nature series “Our Oceans.” Anytime, Netflix
They hip-hop and they don’t stop! Ludacris, Latto and DJ Khaled take over as judges in a belated second season of the rap-fueled reality competition “Rhythm + Flow.” Anytime, Netflix
Let the “Wish List Games” begin! Contestants play for all the marbles — and whatever else is on their Amazon shopping lists — in this new game show hosted by Nick Cannon. Anytime, Prime Video
Country music’s Morgan Wallen leads the field with seven nominations and the legendary George Strait collects career kudos at “The 58th Annual CMA Awards” hosted by Luke Bryan, Peyton Manning and Lainey Wilson. 8 p.m. ABC
90-something naturalist and narrator David Attenborough is the man of the hour in the very special biographical episode “Attenborough’s Life Journey” on a new “Nature.” 8 p.m. KOCE
New phone, who dis? Investigative journalist Ronan Farrow sounds the alarm about the nefarious spyware that could be lurking on your smartphone as we speak in the new exposé “Surveilled.” 9 p.m. HBO
Return with us now to the jungles of Cambodia when “Secrets of the Dead” closes out its 22nd season with the conclusion of the two-part episode “Lost Treasures of Angkor.” 10 p.m. KOCE
There may still be gold in them thar hills, maybe, in a third season of the treasure-seeking series “Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch.” 10 p.m. Discovery Channel
Thursday — Nov. 21
It’s scrappy young space colonists versus acid-dripping xenomorphs — advantage, xenomorphs — in the rip-roaring 2024 sci-fi franchise entry “Alien: Romulus.” Fede Álvarez directs and Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson star. Anytime, Hulu
Amateur sleuths and true-crime podcasters Ava and Nathan (Kaley Cuoco, Chris Messina) are back, with their new baby in tow, in a second season of the mystery comedy “Based on a True Story.” Anytime, Peacock
Sexy step-siblings scheme and seduce their way through Washington D.C. high society in “Cruel Intentions,” a new series based on the 1999 film based on the 1782 novel “Les Liaisons Dangereuses.” With Sarah Catherine Hook. Anytime, Prime Video
Getting warmer: “black-ish” star Anthony Anderson, “Curb Your Enthusiasm’s” Susie Essman and “SNL’s” Vanessa Bayer are among the contestants in a new edition of “The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Holiday.” Anytime, Roku
It’s “Human vs. Hamster” — advantage, hamster — in this goofy new competition series co-hosted by sportscaster Kyle Brandt and “SNL’s” Sarah Sherman. Anytime, Max
Where everybody knows his name… Ted Danson plays a widower who goes undercover at an assisted-living facility to assist a private eye in her latest investigation in the new comedy series “A Man on the Inside.” Anytime, Netflix
Cristiano Ronaldo is among the superstar soccer players taking to the pitch in Saudi Arabia in the new sports docuseries “Saudi Pro League: Kickoff.” Anytime, Netflix
They still just wanna have fun when the saucy sitcom “The Sex Lives of College Girls” returns for a third season. With Amrit Kaur, Reneé Rapp, Pauline Chalamet and Alyah Chanelle Scott. Anytime, Max
Our trusty tank engine and his pals make their appointed rounds in the kid-friendly animated tale “Thomas & Friends: The Christmas Letter Express.” Anytime, Netflix
Bill Murray, Wayne Gretzky, et al. get up off their duffs and hit the links in “The Match: Superstars,” a two-night celebrity edition of the biannual golfing competition. 4:30 p.m. TNT & TruTV; also Friday
Crikey! An Aussie family’s beloved pup is feeling a might poorly in the lighthearted live-action TV movie “Nugget is Dead? A Christmas Story.” 8 p.m. CBS
Friday — Nov. 22
“Little Women’s” Saoirse Ronan stars as a mother desperately seeking her young son, who went out and about in WWII London just as the Nazis began bombing the city, in Steve McQueen’s 2024 historical drama “Blitz.” Anytime, Apple TV+
The 2023 documentary “Bread & Roses” follows three Afghan women whose lives were radically altered by the return of the repressive Taliban regime following the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan in 2021. Anytime, Apple TV+
“Jim Gaffigan: The Skinny” catches the “clean” comic cracking wise about appetite suppressants, parenting teenagers and more in Hulu’s first-ever stand-up comedy special. Anytime, Hulu
The fact-based 2024 drama “Joy” salutes the trio of British medical professionals who pioneered the practice of in vitro fertilization in the 1960s and 70s. Bill Nighy, James Norton and “Jojo Rabbit’s” Thomasin McKenzie star. Anytime, Netflix
This sixth grader isn’t going to let a little thing like cerebral palsy keep her from realizing her full potential in the 2024 coming-of-age tale “Out of My Mind.” With Judith Light, Jennifer Aniston and newcomer Phoebe-Rae Taylor. Anytime, Disney+
The fight over one family’s beloved piano leads to disharmony in a 2024 adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1987 play “The Piano Lesson.” John David Washington, Samuel L. Jackson and Danielle Deadwyler star. Anytime, Netflix
A princess leaps into action after a curse turns her parents into monsters in the family-friendly 2024 animated tale “Spellbound.” With the voices of Rachel Zegler, Nicole Kidman, John Lithgow and Javier Bardem. Anytime, Netflix
Beaters, junkers and jalopies continue to get the TLC they so sorely need in a second season of the automotive makeover series “Tex Mex Motors.” Anytime, Netflix
Kristin Chenoweth, Pat Benatar, Beverly D’Angelo and Wynonna are among the stars singing the praises of a country music legend in “Patsy Cline: Walkin’ After Midnight” on a new “Great Performances.” 8 p.m. KOCE
An emergency room doctor (Sara Canning) hooks up with a hunky EMT in the new TV movie “Christmas on Call” which includes a cameo by NFL mom Donna Kelce. 8 p.m. Hallmark Channel
“The New York Times Presents” also examines the rise of appetite suppressants like the aforementioned Ozempic in the new episode “Weight of the World.” 10 p.m. FX
Saturday — Nov. 23
The Peanuts gang gathers ’round the table for “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” in this animated 1973 special which will stream for free to non-subscribers this weekend only. Anytime, Apple TV+
The new docuseries “On the Rise: JuJu Watkins” gets up close and personal with the college basketball phenom making a name for herself playing for your USC Trojans. Noon, NBC, Peacock
The March sisters get a modern-day makeover in “A Little Women’s Christmas,” a new TV movie based on Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel. With Jen Lilley, Laura Osnes and Gladys Knight. 5 p.m. GAC
The crosstown rivalry between your USC Trojans and your UCLA Bruins continues as the two hometown teams meet at the Rose Bowl in their first-ever Big Ten Football matchup. 7:15 p.m. NBC
“Three Wise Men and a Baby” are now “Three Wiser Men and a Boy.” Andrew Walker, Paul Campbell and Tyler Hynes reprise their roles from the 2022 holiday movie in this new sequel. 8 p.m. Hallmark Channel
A superstar pop singer hooks up with a hunky pro football player — hey, it could happen — in the new TV movie “Christmas in the Spotlight.” With Jessica Lord. 8 p.m. Lifetime
Broadway veteran, educator and activist Robert Hartwell refurbishes a 19th century plantation-style home in Massachusetts in the new renovation series “Breaking New Ground.” 9 p.m. OWN
Pardon the interruptions: A British comic happily engages with audience members who mouth off during his set in the new standup special “James Acaster: Hecklers Welcome.” 10 p.m. HBO
(All times Pacific; programming subject to change without notice)