What's On Tonight (Thursday): Happy Dolly Days!

 

Courtesy Parade/NBCUniversal

Tonight's Top Pick is Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas, which appears to be a hybrid of a Christmas special and a Christmas TV movie. Futon Critic describes it as a telefilm, and it is scheduled for two hours, but the description also sounds like a long special. Christmas is a time for unique entertainment!

Let's see what else TV has to offer us for Thursday, Dec. 1. All times are EST.

STREAMING

Rolling Into Christmas, 3:01 a.m., BET+. Premiere. "Two childhood sweethearts who shared a passion for roller skating are reunited 15 years later during the holidays, forcing them to question their love and life choices."

A Hollywood Christmas, 3:01 a.m., HBO Max. Premiere. "A successful Christmas movie director (Jessika Van) begins living her own Christmas movie when a handsome network exec (Josh Swickard) shows up threatening to halt production on her latest film."

Sesame Street's "The Nutcracker", 3:01 a.m., HBO Max. Premiere. "The classic story is retold Sesame Street-style in an animated special that follows Elmo and his puppy Tango on a fantastical adventure filled with new music and friends, where Tango speaks for the first time. This 30-minute festive feature is a celebration of the greatest gift of all: friendship." Aw, animated? That's kinda a bummer. I wanted to see some Muppets doing ballet.

The Masked Scammer, 3:01 a.m., Netflix. Premiere. "Featuring interviews with his accomplices and victims alike, this deep dive explores how a master con man scammed French elites out of millions of euros."

Gossip Girl, 3:01 a.m., HBO Max. Second season premiere. 

The Sex Lives of College Girls, 3:01 a.m., HBO Max. Two episodes available.

Criminal Minds: Evolution, 3:01 a.m., Paramount+. "Moose." 

Fleishman Is in Trouble, 12:01 a.m., Hulu. "God, What An Idiot He Was!" "Toby investigates Rachel's disappearance. Libby invites him on a trip to New Jersey."

TALKIN' 'BOUT TALK (Sherri has reruns this week.)

Today, 7 a.m., NBC. Trevor Noah (Trevor Noah: I Wish You Would and for one more week, The Daily Show), Dolly Parton (Mountain Magic Christmas), Shop Today with Jill Martin and a linzer torte and cookies from Brian Lewis. Later, a look at sleep and stress during the holidays, Neil deGrasse Tyson (Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization), more holiday deals, a plan for kicking off December and as part of the Citi Music Series, Mckenna Grace ("Self Dysmorphia"). After that, Hoda and Jenna compete in a pie-off, plus Today Food and even more with Jill Martin.

The View, 11 a.m., ABC. Mindy Kaling (The Sex Lives of College Girls). LeAnn Rimes was scheduled to perform, but I see that she's canceled a Dec. 2 concert due to sickness. I also see that Broadway's Almost Famous is performing Thursday on Good Morning America, so maybe ABC will have them hang around for The View. Also, the 12 Days of Holidays. 

The Kelly Clarkson Show, times and stations vary. Dolly Parton.

Karamo, times and stations vary. "You Cheated With Strippers!" and "Mom, You're Abusive."

via Giphy.

PRE-PRIMETIME SPORTS (All are LIVE.)

FIFA World Cup 2022, 10 a.m., FOX/Telemundo. 120 mins. Croatia vs. Belgium.

FIFA World Cup 2022, 2 p.m., FOX/Telemundo. 120 mins. Japan vs. Spain.

Women's College Basketball, 6:30 p.m., ESPN2. 120 mins. Maryland at Notre Dame.

College Basketball, 7 p.m., ESPN. 120 mins. Creighton at Texas.

NBA Basketball, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV. Dallas Mavericks vs. Detroit Pistons.

PRE-PRIMETIME MOVIES

Dr. Seuss' The Grinch, 7 p.m., FXM. 2018 film, encore at 8:45 p.m.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, 7 p.m., FX. Encore at 10 p.m.

Godzilla, 7 p.m., HBO Family. 2014 film.

The House Bunny, 7 p.m., MTV2.

Pitch Perfect 2, 7:30 p.m., USA.

8 P.M.

Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas, NBC. Premiere, 120 mins. "Inspired by the hopeful spirit of the Great Smoky Mountains, Dolly Parton returns to Dollywood to star in a new holiday musical with special guests Jimmy Fallon, Willie Nelson, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jimmie Allen, Zach Williams, Miley Cyrus and many more." Also appearing are Tom Everett Scott, Angel Parker and Ana Gasteyer among others.

Hell's Kitchen, FOX. 62 mins. "Game On!" "The chefs step up to compete one-on-one in an ingredient game show, where contestants who win can either choose the fate of that ingredient or sabotage the other team. Chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo join Gordon in the dining room."

Dio: Dreamers Never Die, Showtime. Premiere, 120 mins. "The extraordinary life and career of Ronnie James Dio, the iconic heavy metal singer of such bands as Black Sabbath, Dio and Rainbow."

Thursday Night Football, 8:15 p.m., Amazon. LIVE. Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots.

Women's College Basketball, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2. LIVE, 120 mins. NC State at Iowa.

College Basketball, ESPNU. LIVE, 120 mins. Valparaiso at Belmont.

Ice Road Killer, Lifetime Movie Network. Premiere, 120 mins. "During a road trip to a remote northern cabin, a mother and her teenage daughter pick up a young hitchhiker who turns out to be a thief fleeing a coldblooded killer, only to become his next target."

Serving Up the Holidays, Lifetime. Premiere, 120 mins. "A top chef falls for a handsome rival while on a holiday cooking getaway to regain her Christmas spirit."

Movie Night!

Frozen II, ABC.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, StarzEncore.

But I'm a Cheerleader, The Movie Channel Xtreme.

Mad Max: Fury Road, 8:15 p.m., BBC America.

See How They Run, 8:15 p.m., HBO.

via Giphy

9 P.M.

Call Me Kat, 9:30 p.m., FOX. "Call Me Fancy Puffenstuff." "Kat's murder mystery-themed friendsgiving dinner isn't a crowdpleaser. Phil has a romantic dilemma. Kat tries to encourage Max's career ambitions, but she worries that he has a bigger problem."

Cribs, MTV. "Iman Shumpert, Heidi & Spencer and Cesar Millan."

College Basketball, ESPN. LIVE, 120 mins. Seton Hall at Kansas.

Movie Night!

There's Something About Mary, IFC.

Pacific Rim, MoreMax.

The Wedding Ringer, MTV2.

Arrival, Starz.

The Secret Life of Bees, 9:04 p.m., HBO Family.

10 P.M.

Branson, HBO. Premiere, 62 mins. "Words and Music." "Exploring (Sir Richard) Branson's early years and the influence of his iconoclastic mother. As a dyslexic teenager, he leaves school at age 15 to create a magazine, leading to a mail-order record business and eventually Virgin Records and Virgin megastore."

The Territory, National Geographic. Premiere, 120 mins. "When a network of Brazilian farmers seizes a protected area of the Amazon rainforest, a young Indigenous leader and his mentor must fight back in defense of the land and an uncontacted group living deep within the forest."

College Basketball, ESPNU. LIVE, 120 mins. Washington at Oregon State.

College Basketball, 10:30 p.m., ESPN2. LIVE, 120 mins. UCLA at Stanford.

Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Bravo. Sally Field and Idina Menzel.

Johnny Carson, Antenna. 90 mins. Ann-Margret, Joan Rivers and Lou Holtz are the guests on this Dec. 13, 1978 episode.

Movie Night!

Pitch Perfect, USA.

Smokin' Aces, 10:02 p.m., Cinemax.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, 10:15 p.m., AMC.

The Usual Suspects, 10:30 p.m., Sho2.

Jurassic World, 10:30 p.m., TNT.

Courtesy Gif Abyss

LATE NIGHT TALK!

The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, 11 p.m., Comedy Central. Hasan Minhaj.

Hell of a Week With Charlamagne tha God, 11:30 p.m., Comedy Central.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, 11:34 p.m., NBC. Adam Sandler, Greta Gerwig, Dane Cook, Babyface Ray and Keke Palmer.

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, 11:35 p.m., CBS. John Krasinsky and Sarah Polley.

Jimmy Kimmel Live!, 11:35 p.m., ABC. Don Cheadle, Zoey Deutch and Chris Isaak.

The Late Late Show With James Corden, 12:37 a.m., CBS. David Harbour, Sarah Hyland and Dan Black.

LATE NIGHT PICK!

Mortal Kombat, 1:01 a.m., BBC America.

Sources: Futon Critic, zap2it, individual show websites, Interbridge and TV Everyday.