What's On Tonight (Thursday): Hell No!

 

Via Giphy.

Tonight's Top Pick is Oprah and The Color Purple Journey, a Winfrey-hosted special that's partly a making of the new movie musical and partly a retrospective about the Alice Walker novel, original movie directed by Steven Spielberg, 2005 Broadway musical adaptation and its 2015 revival that led to this movie musical.

While I keep my eyes on Miss Celie, let's see what else TV has to offer us for Thursday, Dec. 28. All times are EST.


STREAMING (Talkin' 'Bout Talk is off this week.)

Oprah and The Color Purple Journey, 3:01 a.m., Max. Premiere. There's, uh, not much more to say here.

What If ...?, 3:01 a.m., Disney+. "What If ... Hella Found the Ten Rings?"

PRE-PRIMETIME SPORTS

College Football, 11 a.m., ESPN. Wasabi Fenway Bowl: SMU vs. Boston College.

College Football, 2:15 p.m., ESPN. Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers vs. Miami.

Premier League Soccer, 2:30 p.m., USA. Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Tottenham Hotspur.

College Football, 5:45 p.m., ESPN. Pop-Tarts Bowl: NC State vs. Kansas State.

Cornhole, 7 p.m., ESPN2. ACL National High School Championships.

NBA Basketball, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV. Detroit Pistons vs. Boston Celtics.

Courtesy YouTube.

PRE-PRIMETIME MOVIES (Expanded for today!)

Tarzan, 7 p.m., Freeform.

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, 7 p.m., HBO Family.

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, 7 p.m., MTV.

Southpaw, 7 p.m., Showcase.

All Eyez on Me, 7:05 p.m., MTV2.

Predator, 7:13 p.m., MoreMax. 1987 movie.

Deadpool 2, 7:30 p.m., FXM. Encore at 9:50 p.m.

Mercy, 7:30 p.m., The Movie Channel Xtra.

2 Fast 2 Furious, 7:32 p.m., Syfy.

Need For Speed, 7:45 p.m., Sho2.

PRIMETIME AND BEYOND

Son of a Critch, 8 p.m., The CW. "Old Friends, New Friends." "Mark and Ritche pretend to be Protestant to fit in with a cool group of kids from another school. Pop meets up with an old flame at a retirement home."

Children Ruin Everything, 8:30 p.m., The CW. "Momentum." "With potential buyers coming to look at their house sooner than they expected, Astrid and James try to rally the kids to clean and get out to the park before their open house begins, but their daughter Viv takes a vow to not ever leave their home."

Ghosts UK, 9 p.m., CBS. "Redding Weddy" and "The Thomas Thorne Affair." "Alison and Mike grapple with the latest obstacle to nailing down an event booking, but they're stymied by the Captain's past coming back to haunt him." Later, "A discovery in the house leads Thomas to go down memory lane, but as Alison comes to realize, memory and reality don't always go hand in hand, especially when there are ghostly witnesses eager to tell their own version of events." Two episodes airing.

Transplant, 9 p.m., NBC. "And So It Goes." "Bash's life is scrutinized during his citizenship interview. When treating survivors of a building fire, Theo needs Bash's help with a scared young boy. Mags helps a recovering addict who swallowed her keys. June and Bash treat estranged brothers."

Thursday Night Football, 8:15 p.m., Amazon. 17th season finale. New York Jets vs. Cleveland Browns.

College Basketball, 9 p.m., ESPN2. USC vs. Oregon.

College Basketball, 9 p.m., ESPNU. UC Santa Barbara vs. UC Davis.

College Football, 9:15 p.m., ESPN. Valero Alamo Bowl: Arizona vs. Oklahoma.

NBA Basketball, 10 p.m., NBA TV. Miami Heat vs. Golden State Warriors.

Johnny Carson, 10 p.m., Antenna. 90 minutes. Bob Hope, Carol Burnett, Joe Flynn and Dr. William A. Nolen are the guests on this Dec. 7, 1972, episode.

Movie Night! (Expanded Edition!)

Moneyball, 8 p.m., AMC.

Toy Story 3, 8 p.m., Disney.

The Croods: A New Age, 8 p.m., E!

Free Guy, 8 p.m., FX.

A Merry Christmas Wish, 8 p.m., GFAM.

The Sweetest Christmas, 8 p.m., Hallmark.

X-Men: Days of Future Past, 8 p.m., HBO.

My Wife's Hidden Lover, 8 p.m., Lifetime Movie Network. Premiere.

The Sea of Trees, 8 p.m., Cinemax.

Sing, 8 p.m., Nickelodeon.

The Counselor, 8 p.m., Showtime Extreme.

Pee-wee's Big Adventure, 8 p.m., TCM.

Aeon Flux, 8 p.m., The Movie Channel. 2005 movie.

Step Brothers, 8 p.m., TNT. Encore at 10 p.m.

Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, 8 p.m., VH1.

The Nun II, 8:02 p.m., HBO2.

Back to the Future, 8:30 p.m., Bravo.

Friday After Next, 8:30 p.m., IFC.

Gladiator, 8:45 p.m., BBC America. 2000 movie.

The Hunger Games, 9 p.m., StarzEncore. 2012 movie.

Elvis, 9 p.m., HBO Signature.

Golda, 9 p.m., Showtime.

Last Holiday, 10 p.m., BET.

The Longest Yard, 11 p.m., Comedy Central. 2005 movie.

Proud Mary, 11 p.m., Starz.

Horrible Bosses, 11 p.m., TBS. Encore at 1.

Courtesy YouTube.

LATE NIGHT PICK! (Late Night Talk is off this week.)

The Dark Knight Rises, 12:04 a.m., Paramount.

Sources: Futon Critic, zap2it.