6 things you have to watch on TV this Thanksgiving weekend
David Tennant returns to Doctor Who, Invincible drops its fall finale, and more
TV Lists Yasmin Finney
Welcome to the weekend edition of What’s On. Here are the big things happening on TV from Friday, Nov 24 to Sunday, Nov 26. All times are Eastern. [Note: The weekly What’s On publishes on Sundays.]
1. The Doctor Who specials begin
Disney+, Saturday, 3:01 a.m.: There’s nothing like the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who to bring David Tennant back to the franchise. He returns as the 14th Doctor in three new specials that will air weekly, starting with “The Star Beast.” (The other two, “Wild Blue Yonder” and “The Giggle,” air on subsequent Fridays.) Russell T Davies writes the episodes that follow the Doctor and his companion, Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), as they are drawn back into a world of mysterious events. Neil Patrick Harris plays the villain, and the cast also includes Yasmin Finney, Jemma Redgrave, and Miriam Margolyes.
2. Invincible wraps up (for now)
Prime Video, Friday, 12:01 a.m.: The bad news is that the animated superhero drama Invincible is ending after airing only four episodes this year. The good news is that season two’s remaining four outings are expected to arrive in early 2024—and a third season isn’t too far after that, according to series creator Robert Kirkman. The show closes out this week with a stellar episode focused on Mark Grayson’s (Steven Yeun) reunion with his villainous father, Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons).
3. Baz Luhrmann helms Faraway Downs
Hulu, Sunday, 12:01 a.m.: Baz Luhrmann has turned his 2008 film Australia, starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, into a six-part limited series. It follows English aristocrat Lady Sarah Ashley, who goes Down Under to sell a ranch only to discover that a baron is plotting to steal it. She teams up with a cattle drover to save the property and bonds with an Indigenous child battling discrimination in the town.
4. Brie Larson hangs up her lab coat in Lessons In Chemistry
Apple TV+, Friday, 12:01 a.m.: It’s been a busy spell for Brie Larson, who suited up as Carol Danvers once again for The Marvels. She also produces and leads Lessons In Chemistry, which wraps up its first season this week. Based on Bonnie Garmus’ novel, the ’60s-set show centers on lab technician-turned-cooking host Elizabeth Zott, who uses her new job as a way to educate housewives about all things science. Check out The A.V. Club’s review of the show and its celebration of TV’s women in STEM.
5. Cypher hits Hulu
Hulu, Friday, 12:01 a.m.: Cypher, a pseudo documentary that won Best U.S. Narrative Feature at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, makes its streaming debut. Directed by Chris Moukarbel, the film chronicles musician Tierra Whack’s rise to fame as a 15-year-old street rapper in Philadelphia.
6. Binge Swedish limited series A Nearly Normal Family
Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.: Mattias Edvardsson’s novel of the same name gets a TV adaptation from Netflix Sweden. A Nearly Normal Family is about the Sandells, whose seemingly simple suburban life is shattered when 19-year-old daughter Stella (Alexandra Karlsson Tyrefors) is accused of murder.
10 Comments
That’s a very confusing first image — it looks like Tennant and Tate are reacting to the animated character and I was wondering at first whether there was a “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” style episode of Dr. Who.
You mean it’s not just wall to wall Christmas movies for everyone from now until January 1st?
Doctor Who is airing on Disney+ at 130pm Saturday, not 301am.
So the Dr. Who special is posting to Disney+ at 3:01am ET Saturday, several hours before the UK? Hope this is correct!
So are you going to be doing reviews of the Who specials or are both of your television writers already assigned elsewhere?
Looks like it’s being covered on Gizmodo.
That… is a very odd decision but I guess G/O Media know what they’re I can’t even finish that sentence
4+4 episodes of Invincible. I remember when seasons were 22 for dramas and 26 for comedy. Now with atreaming, it fell to ten. Now it’s getting to be even less.
American TV seasons were/are 13 episodes (i.e. the length of a season like summer) with an extra amount added if given the green light.
Usually it just showed that more isn’t always better.
It’s hilarious how padded Invincible’s second season is so far. Plot progression has pretty much stopped. Is there a contractual obligation that they be ~40 minutes?