TV Guide Magazine November 7, 2022

SEE ME I hope everyone is watching CBS’s So Help Me Todd. It has witty scripts, a marvelous cast and fun plots. This is one of the best new shows, and I hope it returns for many seasons. —Janet MOVING MOMENT The first Season 13 episode of CBS’s Blue Bloods on October 7 brought tears to my eyes when Jamie was released from the hospital and everyone from the police station was outside to salute him. It was so very touching. This show just keeps getting better and better. —Carol FATHER FIGURE Matt Czuchry’s Dr. Conrad Hawkins on Fox’s The Resident is the best TV dad I’ve seen in a very long time. His doting personality and chemistry with daughter Gigi is something special to watch. Thank you for exploring that relationship.…

Smart Watch If you have 30 minutes, watch this retro pick Sit back and take in the original 1966 story of everyone’s favorite mean, green holiday recluse with Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Saturday, Nov. 12, 6:27/5:27c, TNT If you have an hour, check out this premiere Life Below Zero’s 20th season kicks off with a bit of warmth as the Arctic sun returns, bringing with it hunting and food oppor-tunities for the women living off the grid. Tuesday, Nov. 15, 8/7c, National Geographic If you have a free evening, watch this documentary Fire of Love unravels the stunning legacy of French scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft, who devoted their lives to uncovering—and capturing—the explosive mysteries of volcanoes. Friday, Nov. 11, Disney+ If you have a free day, binge this treat Past contestants are back to…

@TVGMMattRoush The White Lotus Sundays, 9/8c, HBO A GUARANTEE: YOU’RE going to want to book a trip to Sicily, pronto, after devouring the dazzling new season of The White Lotus. Let’s just hope you get an upgrade when it comes to your traveling companions. Once again, Emmy-winning writerdirector Mike White gathers a fascinating but emotionally fraught ensemble of world vacationers who can’t get over themselves long enough to savor the scenery. And what scenery. The glorious Ionian sea churns, storm clouds gather and a distant volcano smolders ominously as if Mother Nature is biding her time waiting for human nature, in all of its moral ambiguity and capricious carnality, to erupt. “Whenever I stay at a White Lotus, I always have a memorable time,” understates last season’s wacky basket case, half-billionaire heiress Tanya (Emmy winner…

@TVGMMattRoush I did a double take when I saw the writing credit for Ava Coleman in the October 19 episode of Abbott Elementary. That’s also the name of the fictional principal played by Janelle James. Is it a coincidence, or did series creator Quinta Brunson name the character after the writer? I know she named the series after one of her teachers. —Jake MATT ROUSH: Strange but true. In an interview with the Awardist podcast, Brunson revealed that she met the real Ava (then a writer and story editor for Girls5Eva) before ever making Abbott, and the name stuck when creating the hilarious character of Ava. Brunson hired Coleman when she was available to join the writing staff for Season 2 of the ABC comedy, which probably makes it interesting when they’re…

Yellowstone SEASON PREMIERE Sunday, Nov. 13, 8/7c, Paramount Network CIRCLE THE WAGONS! America’s favorite dysfunctional dynasty returns bigger and more powerful than ever in Yellowstone’s fifth season. The next phase of the Duttons’ all-out war to keep their massive ranch opens with a twohour premiere—and a several-month time jump. Patriarch John (Kevin Costner) has won the race for Montana governor and is flexing like a king with a royal court: His audacious, loyal daughter Beth (Kelly Reilly) is his new chief of staff, and his less devoted, more tortured adopted son Jamie (Wes Bentley) is attorney general. “John’s trying to blow it all up,” Bentley says of how government functions in Big Sky Country. He’s determined to use his authority to stop any development progress. “That becomes a clash of state versus corporate power—ironically,…

The Santa Clauses SERIES PREMIERE Wednesday, Nov. 16, Disney+ WHAT DOES IT take to be Santa in the modern era, with Christmas spirit in low supply and Amazon Prime magically dropping off presents within 24 hours? That’s the question driving Disney+’s new six-episode series, which revisits the world of the Santa Clause feature films. (Two installments debut November 16, followed by weekly drops.) When we return to the North Pole, the ever-jolly sugar-guzzling Santa/Scott Calvin (Tim Allen, taking on the memorable role he last played in 2006) is questioning his nearly 30-year run delivering gifts to the children of the world—and he’s interviewing replacements. One of the not-so-impressive auditions comes from former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, who cameos as himself. While the football star brought plenty of magic to his gridiron career, his lackluster…