What's On Tonight (Friday): Not Much New, Just Some Holdovers...

       

The Holdovers

The premiere pickings are slim today but that doesn't mean there isn't anything good.  Case in point, today's Top Pick: Alexander Payne's The Holdovers.  It stars Paul Giamatti as a teacher forced to babysit a handful of students with nowhere to go over the holidays.  Da'Vine Joy Randolph also stars as a school cook who lost her son in Vietnam.  There's been a lot of Oscar talk around this one, and the trailer makes it look like a fun but heartfelt throwback of a film.  I don't get Peacock though so it's probably What If...? and Reacher for me.

TOP PICK

⭐🎥 The Holdovers (Peacock, 3:01 AM) STREAMING PREMIERE. 'Follows a curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. He forms an unlikely bond with one of them -- a damaged, brainy troublemaker -- and with the school's head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam.  Starring Paul Giaatti and Da'Vine Joy Randolph.  Directed by Alexander Payne.'

*Seriously, there's almost nothing premiering today, at least not compared to normal Fridays.  Hopefully next Friday will have a bit better of a bounty.  Happy holidays, everyone!

PREMIERES

🔨 Restoring Galveston: The Inn (Discovery+, 3:01 AM) 'Michael and Ashley restore a 1912 boarding house in Galveston, Texas.'

🔔 Berlin (Netflix, 3:01 AM) SEASON ONE. 'During Berlin’s golden age, love and money are what drive him in life. His next big heist? A jackpot of jewels worth 44 million.  From the world of Money Heist.'

🎥 Prepare to Die (Tubi, 3:01 AM) 'A young man trains in the ways of martial arts to seek vengeance on the corrupt landowner who murdered his family.'

🎥 A Podcast to Die For (Lifetime, 8:00 PM) 'When the host of a true crime podcast stumbles upon an unsolved local murder, she quickly finds herself entangled in a deadly game of cat and mouse that exposes the horrible truth behind the killings.'

RETURNING SHOWS

🔔 Celebrity Hunted - France (Amazon, 12:01 AM) SEASON FOUR PREMIERE.

🏠 The Established Home (Discovery+, 3:01 AM) SEASON THREE PREMIERE.

🔔 Craft in America (PBS, 9:00 PM) SEASON FIFTEEN PREMIERE.

💰 Outback Opal Hunters (Discovery, 10:08 PM)

STREAMING

🔔 Reacher (Amazon, 12:01 AM) 

🚀 For All Mankind (Apple, 12:01 AM) "Legacy" 

👹 Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (Apple, 12:01 AM) "Birthright" 

🦸‍♂️ What If...? (Disney+, 3:01 AM) "What If... The Avengers Assembled in 1602?" 

💖 Love Island: Australia (Hulu, 3:01 AM) 

🔔 The Curse (Paramount, 3:01 AM) "Down and Dirty" 

😈 My Demon (Netflix, 8:01 AM) 

🔔 Undead Unluck (Hulu, 2:01 PM)  

Berlin

LIVE SPORTSBALL TODAY/TONIGHT

🏈 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: Clemson vs. Kentucky (ESPN, 12:00 PM)

⚽ Italian Serie A Soccer: Napoli vs. Monza (CBSSN, 12:30 PM)

⚽ Italian Serie A Soccer: Genoa vs. Inter Milan (CBSSN, 2:30 PM)

🏈 AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Memphis vs. Iowa State (ESPN, 3:30 PM)

🌽 Cornhole: ACL National High School Championships (ESPN2, 7:00 PM)

🏀 College Basketball: University of St. Thomas at North Dakota (CBSSN, 8:00 PM)

🏈 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: Missouri vs. Ohio State (ESPN, 8:00 PM)

🌽 Cornhole: ACL National College Championships (ESPN2, 8:00 PM)

🏀 College Basketball: San Diego State at Gonzaga (ESPN2, 9:00 PM)

🏀 College Basketball: Washington at Colorado (ESPNU, 9:00 PM)

🏀 College Basketball: Arizona State at Stanford (ESPN2, 11:00 PM)

🕗 EARLY PRIMETIME 🕗

😂 Ridiculousness (MTV, 7:00 PM) 

🕗 8:00 EASTERN / 🕖 7:00 CENTRAL

🔔 Power Book III: Raising Kanan (Starz, 8:00 PM) 'Tension between Ronnie and Unique comes to a head while Kanan clashes with both Raq and Famous; Juke bonds with her bandmate, and Lou works to revitalize Cafe Vous. Howard's attempt to manipulate the Task Force backfires.'

🤼‍♂️ WWE's Friday Night Smackdown (Fox, 8:00 PM) 
💰 Gold Rush (Discovery, 8:00 PM) 
🎥 A Podcast to Die For (Lifetime, 8:00 PM) 
🚗 Roadkill Garage (Motortrend, 8:00 PM) 
😂 Ridiculousness (MTV, 8:00 PM) 
💖 Ready to Love: Make a Move (OWN, 8:00 PM) 
🏈 The World According to Football (Showtime, 8:00 PM) SEASON FINALE. 

🕗 9:00 EASTERN / 🕖 8:00 CENTRAL

🔔 Craft in America (PBS, 9:00 PM) 'From puppets to pinatas to unicorns, exploring the intersection between play and artistry as craft artists draw upon the tools of childhood to inspire imagination; Calder Kamin, Lorena Robletto, Roberto Benavidez, Schroeder Cherry and Chris Green.'

🍴 Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Food, 9:00 PM) 'Guy Fieri returns to some of his favorite diners, drive-ins and dives. Whether they've opened new locations, expanded their old ones or added to their menus, these DDD veterans are always pushing the boundaries of their culinary comfort zones.'

💀 Dateline NBC (NBC, 9:00 PM) 
🚗 Hot Rod Garage (Motortrend, 9:00 PM) 
😂 Ridiculousness (MTV, 9:00 PM) 
🔔 Belle Collective (OWN, 9:00 PM) 
🔔 Sister Wives (TLC, 9:00 PM) 
💖 Love After Lockup: Life After Lockup (WE, 9:00 PM) 
💰 Gold Rush (Discovery, 9:07 PM) 

🕗 10:00 EASTERN / 🕖 9:00 CENTRAL

🔔 Craft in America (PBS, 10:00 PM) 'From folk art and marionettes to tiny furniture, exploring the world of tiny objects and the artists who create them; featuring the International Folk Art Market, Leandro Gomez Quintero, Mark Murphy, Alexander Girard and Gustave Baumann.'

🤼‍♂️ All Elite Wrestling: Rampage (TNT, 10:00 PM) SEASON FINALE. 
💰 Outback Opal Hunters (Discovery, 10:08 PM) 
💖 Love After Lockup: Innocent After Lockup (WE, 10:30 PM) SEASON FINALE. 

LATE NIGHT

🔔 The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (NBC, 11:34 PM) 'Actress Scarlett Johansson; actress Hunter Schafer; comic Tina Friml.'

🔔 Late Night with Seth Myers (NBC, 12:35 PM) 'Actor Bowen Yang; producer Jason Blum; Greg Clark Jr. sits in with the 8G Band.'

🤼‍♂️ All Elite Wrestling: Rampage (TNT, 11:00 PM) 
🔔 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS, 11:35 PM) 
🔔 Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC, 12:05 PM) 
🔔 Nightline (ABC, 12:37 AM)
🔔 The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS, 12:37 AM) 

📺Broadcast/Cable/Satellite - RETRO BINGE📺

The Andy Griffith Show (Sundance, 6:00 AM - 1:00 PM); Law & Order (Pop, 6:00 AM - 8:00 PM); Seinfeld (Comedy Central, 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM); M*A*S*H* (TVLand, 8:30 AM - 11:00 AM); Roseanne (CMT, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM); Living Single (TVOne, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM); Hawaii Five-0 (Ion, 10:00 AM - 1:00 AM); Gunsmoke (TVLand, 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM); The Andy Griffith Show (TVLand, 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM); Family Ties (Antenna, 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM); One Day at a Time (Antenna, 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM); Three's Company (Antenna, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM); Everybody Loves Raymond (TVLand, 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM); The Jeffersons (Antenna, 8:00 PM -9:00 PM); Barney Miller (Antennae, 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM); The King of Queens (TVLand, 11:00 PM - 2:00 AM); Designing Women (Antenna, 11:30 PM); Becker (Antenna, 12:00 AM - 1:00 AM); Wings (Antennae, 1:00 AM - 2:00 AM); Alice (Antenna, 2:00 AM - 3:00 AM); Mom (TVLand, 2:00 AM - 4:00 AM); Benson (Antenna, 3:00 AM - 4:00 AM)

📺 Johnny Carson (Antenna, 10:00 PM) 'Joan Rivers; Orson Bean; Charles Nelson Reilly; Scatman Crothers.'

Restoring Galveston: The Inn

Key Sources: The Futon Critic; Zap2it; Netflix; Wikipedia; Horrornews.net; Sysfy.com; hollywoodreporter.com

⭐: Top Pick
💲: Game show
🎥: Movie
📺: Throwback
✔️: Video/gif/photo included