TV Guide Magazine December 6, 2021

STREAMING TRIUMPH Thanks for the great Cheer to Tubi [“Cheers & Jeers,” November 22 issue]! It’s amazing how much is available for free on that service. Everything from Golden Age classics (Father Knows Best, The Donna Reed Show) to 1990s syndicated series (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess) to more recent overlooked fare like Fox’s Rosewood can be found for no cost to enjoy at any time. Plus, their selection of British fare can outdo BritBox any day. —Michael WARM REGARDS PBS’s Call the Midwife is such a feel-good show. The cast is phenomenal. The episodes will touch your heart. —Gloria DIRECTIONS, PLEASE My wife and I have watched every episode, every season of CBS’s Survivor. We gave up one week ago. In an effort to “refresh” the concept, they’ve made…

@TVGMMattRoush When I started watching Ordinary Joe on NBC, I presumed this was a journey where viewers would eventually learn which path he actually chose, in the meantime getting invested in cheering on the one we hoped was real. I am very interested in this show and its uniqueness, but can you clarify the show’s vision on this? —Teri MATT ROUSH: I won’t pretend the premise of Ordinary Joe isn’t risky, because anything that dares to be different on broadcast TV faces an uphill battle. That said, one life path isn’t necessarily meant to be seen as more important than another. For as long as Joe lasts, we’ll follow these different versions of the character (Cop, Musician, Nurse) on their journeys, seeing how the consequences of his fateful choice after graduation continue…

20 TOP SHOWS Fall TV’s Top Winners and Losers Sizing up the new broadcast series that either exceeded expectations or fell far short WINNERS Nostalgia rules in ABC’s reboot of The Wonder Years, starring Dulé Hill and Elisha “EJ” Williams (below right). Over 8 million have watched the pilot since its September 22 debut, and the show keeps connecting with viewers. At CBS, there’s nothing ghoulish about the numbers put up by supernatural sitcom Ghosts, which has averaged 5.5 million viewers since its October 7 premiere. And who knew NBC’s disaster drama La Brea, about a massive sinkhole in Los Angeles, would rise in the ratings? It’s the No. 1 new series of the 2021–22 season in the 18–49 demographic, and it’s already gotten a second-season order. LOSERS Bringing original CSI cast members William Petersen and…

It is a time for new beginnings and renewed alliances as the fourth season of Cobra Kai premieres Friday, Dec. 31, on Netflix. When it gets underway, no bond is more crucial than the one between on-and-off rivals Johnny (William Zabka) and Daniel (Ralph Macchio, right, with Zabka). The pair try to put the brawl at the LaRusso home instigated by Cobra Kai students—led by Kreese (Martin Kove)—behind them and focus on prepping their own students for the upcoming All Valley Karate Tournament that’s months away. “Many of us used to be enemies, but rivalries don’t need to last forever,” Daniel says. Oh…but some do. The Movie We’re Talking About in the Office You will find yourself pressed deeply into your seat as the opening scene of The Harder They Fall unfolds, and…

@TVGMMattRoush Landscapers Gritty pathos blurs with fantasy in a wrenching true-crime/love story LIMITED SERIES PREMIERE Monday, Dec. 6, 9/8c, HBO JUST WHEN YOU think you’ve seen every variation on the true-crime drama, along comes a fascinating and heart-breaking specimen like Susan Edwards, whose fragile psyche informs every frame of the visually inventive four-part factbased drama Landscapers. The title is a bit of a pun, referring to the long-hidden secret that two bodies are buried in her dreadful parents’ Nottinghamshire backyard garden, in holes dug 15 years earlier by Susan’s devotedly milquetoast husband, Chris. It’s the landscape of Susan’s mind that proves most fascinating. Oscar and Emmy winner Olivia Colman continues to astonish with her emotional range in a peak performance of deep pathos as the childlike and chipper Susan, who regularly retreats from unpleasant reality into…

@Lindastvpicks FORGET THE SUPERHEROICS. The real draw of Marvel’s latest television adventure is New York City at Christmas. The setting is a smart choice since the title character, archer Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), has always been the most drab Avenger; the festive atmosphere is exactly what’s needed to liven him up. But even in his own series, Clint—stuck in the clichéd role of an often absent dad trying to make it home in time for the holidays—is rather peripheral. The plot instead revolves around fellow ace archer and new Clint protégée Kate Bishop, played with wit by Hailee Steinfeld. Clint has to step in when the impulsive 22-year-old accidentally becomes a target of unsavory criminals. While the two episodes released to the press focus on his efforts to clean up Kate’s mess,…