Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I finally got around to watching Black Adam—how did this even get released? Did no one at DC or Warner Bros. look it over before shipping it out to theaters? Not only is it the worst superhero movie ever made, but it might also be the worst movie, period. Anyway: Black Adam is available to rent or buy on VOD if you’re looking to blow $20.
This week’s What to Watch picks include country biopic George & Tammy, Big 12 Championship football action, the returns of Firefly Lane and Gossip Girl, the premiere of Disney+ revival Willow, and the first-ever Reno 911! Christmas movie. Stream the holidays!
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What’s premiering this week
George & Tammy | SHOWTIME | Drama, music
Miniseries premiere, Sunday, December 4: Six-part biopic series George & Tammy dramatizes the lives and loves of country music legends George Jones (Michael Shannon) and Tammy Wynette (Jessica Chastain), not that any extra drama was needed. The career and marriage of “Mr. and Mrs. Country Music” were as tumultuous as, well, a country song—perfect docudrama fodder. The first episode of George & Tammy will also premiere on Paramount+.
Big 12 Championship Game | ABC | Sports, football
Coverage begins Saturday, December 3, 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT: The TCU Horned Frogs and the Kansas State Wildcats face off at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to take home the 2022 Big 12 Championship trophy (which more resembles a Star Wars droid than an award—jocks and nerds unite). If you’re not following CableTV.com’s college ball coverage (which includes How to Watch College Football Bowl Games and College Football Schedule This Week), get on it.
What to watch on Netflix this week
Firefly Lane | Netflix | Drama
Season 2 premiere, Friday, December 2: The time-spanning tale of BFFs Tully (Katherine Heigl) and Kate (Sarah Chalke) concludes with Season 2 of Firefly Lane . . . eventually. Netflix is splitting the release of the final season in half, dropping nine episodes on December 2 with seven more arriving sometime in 2023. Fans will get at least some closure on the Season 1 cliffhanger that left the 30-year friendship of Tully and Kate hanging by a thread (prediction: they’ll be fine).
Lady Chatterley’s Lover | Netflix | Drama
Movie premiere, Friday, December 2: Author D.H. Lawrence’s 1928 novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover has been adapted to stage and screen countless times over the years, but never by a streaming service—the Lady has finally arrived. The story of upper-class Lady Chatterley (Emma Corrin from The Crown) having a love affair with working-class Oliver (Jack O’Connell) seems tame now, but it was scandalous in its day. Netflix’s version is unrated, FYI.
What to watch on HBO Max this week
Gossip Girl | HBO Max | Drama
Season 2 premiere, Thursday, December 2: When popular 2007–2012 The CW series Gossip Girl was rebooted by HBO Max last year, it became more “adult,” but not by much. Kristen Bell returned as the titular “Gossip Girl” narrator, but now she’s stalking/annoying a new crop of Upper East Side private-school teens via social media. The new Gossip Girl isn’t necessarily better than the original, but it is less straight and white, so . . . progress?
Docuseries premiere, Thursday, December 2: Maybe it’s not the best time for a documentary about an eccentric billionaire with a propensity for launching himself into space, but Branson has some serious doc cred behind the camera: director Chris Smith’s recent credits include Bad Vegan, 100 Foot Wave, and Fyre. Richard Branson’s 70-year journey from risk-taking kid to music-biz mogul to space-travel entrepreneur can’t possibly be dull.
What to watch on Disney+ this week
Willow | Disney+ | Drama, fantasy
Series premiere, Wednesday, November 30: Death, taxes, and reboots—the Holy Trinity of the unavoidable. Ron Howard’s 1988 film favorite Willow is no exception, with Warwick Davis returning in the title role as a dwarf sorcerer in this series set 20 years after the movie. As per fantasy tale law, Willow and a rag-tag band of young misfits set out on an impossible mission far from home to save their world. You expected them to just be hanging out in a coffee shop?
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules | Disney+ | Animation, comedy
Movie premiere, Friday, December 2: With mom and dad away, hapless middle-schooler Greg (the titular Wimpy Kid) is left in the care of his older brother Rodrick, a slacker whose only interests are hassling Greg and playing drums in his rock band. The fact that the band has the greatest name of all time, Löded Diper, doesn’t make them a lock to win the school talent show. Will Greg help out his big brother? Will Rodrick’s “rules” set in? Watch and learn.
W2W wildcards of the week
Irreverent | Peacock | Comedy, drama
Series premiere, Wednesday, November 30: A Chicago criminal (Colin Donnell of Chicago Med, coincidentally) runs afoul of the local mob and escapes to Australia, where he assumes the identity of a small-town reverend. We TV professionals will recognize this as nearly the same plot as Impastor, a 2015–16 TV Land series about a criminal who escapes to a small town in Oregon and pretends to be the new local pastor. Irreverent, ya burnt!
Reno 911! It’s a Wonderful Heist | Comedy Central | Comedy
Movie premiere, Saturday, December 3: The long, strange trip of Reno 911! continues with the series’ first-ever holiday movie, It’s a Wonderful Heist. As the title suggests, it’s a takeoff on It’s a Wonderful Life, wherein Lt. Dangle (Thomas Lennon) ponders a world without him, guided by Terry the Christmas Angel (Nick Swardson, finally reprising his role as Reno’s resident roller-skating sex worker). Will the Reno 911! crew shape up and change their ways for Christmas? Nah.
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