The year comes to an end this week, and a series of TV specials are queuing up to say goodbye (and a good trip) for 2020. The week also features a handful of premieres on the broadcast networks, the final episodes of two shows – including Vikings, which is debuting on Amazon, rather than its original home, History Channel – and the earlier-than-expected debut of Netflix Snake Kai.
Here it is The Hollywood Reportera summary of some of next week’s highlights. It would be almost impossible to watch everything, but let’s THR point the way to valuable options each week. All times are ET / PT, unless otherwise indicated.
The Big Show (s)
New Year’s Eve is typically one of the biggest TV nights of the year, and with big parties probably not happening this year, it can be even bigger than usual. Several chains have entire nights of coverage planned, even without the Times Square crowd as a backdrop.
ABC will have its annual Ryan Seacrest event Rockin ‘New Year’s Eve prime time (8 pm) and late night (starting at 11:30 pm) Thursday. Fox’s New Year’s Toast and Roast (8 pm and 11 pm) is presented by Ken Jeong and Joel McHale. At NBC, Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager present 2020 Escape at 8 pm, give the floor to Carson Daly at 10 pm and 11:30 pm Anderson Cooper, from CNN, will host the news channel festivities with Andy Cohen, starting at 8 pm
Before New Year’s Eve, Amazon will present a list of female comics praising 2020 in the special Annually (Wednesday). Netflix also has Death in 2020, which started airing on December 27th. A trailer for Annually is below.
Broadcasting …
New: Big Bang TheoryMayim Bialik plays the title character in Call Me Kat (8:00 pm, January 3, Fox) – and is turning 180 degrees from Amy Fowler. The series centers on Kat, who wants to prove to the world and her mother (Swoosie Kurtz) that she can live a good life as a single woman – and that she recently spent her savings to open a cafe for cats.
Also new: Animated series The great north, featuring a cast of voices led by Jenny Slate and Nick Offerman, opens at 8:30 pm on January 3.
Returning: The Beginner opens its third season at 10 pm, January 3, on ABC – and plans to resume the shift in conversation about policing and how it is portrayed on TV, which has resulted in protests for social and racial justice since the last May show. .
“We can’t do a special episode, where we feel good and resolve racism in the end, and then go back to normal next week,” said executive producer and writer Terence Paul Winter during a press event about changes in the a series led by Nathan Fillion. “We want to change things while we do this show.”
Also returning: Senior man standing begins her ninth and final season on Fox at 9:30 pm on January 3, before moving (along with Call Me Kat) to Thursdays the following week.
In streaming …
Returning: When Snake KaiThe first two seasons of moved to Netflix, the show accumulated a large number of views and the streamer quickly ordered a fourth season. The third season – which was filmed before Netflix acquired the show when YouTube went out of business with the long script – opens on Friday, a week before its initial programming.
Final season: Two series offer their final chapters this week. Sabrina’s chilling adventures (Thursday, Netflix) ends after four seasons (or “parts”, in the jargon of the show). The final 10 episodes of Vikings opens on Friday on Amazon after airing on History for more than five seasons since 2013. They will air on the cable channel in 2021.
New: Netflix’s newest cooking contest is not about fresh ingredients – in fact, the opposite of that. Inside Best leftovers of all time (Wednesday), three cooks are trying to win a $ 10,000 prize by turning what’s in the fridge into delicious new dishes. SHINEthe hosts Jackie Tohn.
On cable TV …
Special: Season 13 of Doctor who is still a long way away (production is in progress, but no date has been set), but the show’s holiday special, Daleks Revolution, is scheduled to air at 8 pm on Friday on BBC America. The episode features the return of Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) and, of course, the titular villains.
New: The clock (8 pm on January 3, BBC America) features part of Terry Pratchett’s extremely popular book Discworld novels for the screen. It is based on the “City Watch” subset of Pratchett’s books and follows a group of misfits policemen trying to reform a corrupt city. Richard Dormer (War of Thrones) leads the cast.
Returning: The 13th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race opens the new year at 8pm on Friday at VH1. The show will feature its first trans male contestant, Gottmik.
Sports: The college football season is in full swing, despite a shortened season for most teams and dozens of canceled regular season games. Seventeen games are scheduled to air this week, including the two semifinals of the College Football Playoff on Friday: Alabama vs Notre Dame at 4 pm ET / 1 pm PT and Clemson vs Ohio State at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT. Both are on ESPN.
In case you missed …
Bridgerton, Shonda Rhimes’ first series for Netflix, takes place in the London wedding market in the early 1800s – but Jane Austen is not. Adapted from Julia Quinn’s novels, by scandal veteran Chris Van Dusen, the show “really dazzles”, writes THR critic Inkoo Kang, “because of his clever plot of feminist criticism throughout his marriage plot, which not only builds on the process, but shapes the stories themselves.” The first season of eight episodes is now live.