Originally posted Sunday, December 8, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
With just two weeks until Christmas, there are plenty of Christmas-themed specials such as three nights of Ellen DeGeneres in prime time, the ABC holiday baking competition, a special "Beat Shazam" episode and a Christmas caroller's competition show on the CW.
But there's also a bio about Mel Brooks, the series finale of Hulu's "Marvel's Runaways" and the return of Amazon's "The Expanse." And Scarlett Johansson will be returning to "SNL" for a sixth time Saturday on the heels of her Netflix film "The Marriage Story."
Plus, HBO’s “The Watchmen” ends season one after just nine episodes.
This covers Monday, December 9 through Sunday, December 15, 2019
MONDAY
"Beat Shazam" 8 p.m. Fox — A special holiday edition.
"The Neighborhood" 8 p.m. CBS — Calvin reluctantly agrees to let Marty create a website for his auto shop in the hopes of drumming up more business.
"The Voice" 8 p.m. NBC — The Top 8 live performances including Lithonia's Hello Sunday.
"Black Lightning" 9 p.m. the CW — The Pierce family is scared for Jennifer's life.
"His Dark Materials" 9 p.m. HBO — Lyra discovers the horrific truth behind the Gobbler's activities in the North.
"All Rise" 9 p.m. CBS — Lola exercises a rarely used judicial power when she fires a lawyer for failing to provide a robust defense for his client.
TUESDAY
"The Conners" 8 p.m. ABC —Dan is disappointed when everyone but Becky forgets about his birthday.
"Ellen's Greatest Night of Giveaways" 8 p.m. NBC —Ellen kicks off a new holiday tradition packed with heartwarming surprises.
"Belichick & Saban: The Art of Coaching" 9 p.m. HBO — The documentary explores the four-decade-long friendship between two of the most successful and revered coaches in football history
"The Voice" 9 p.m. NBC — The top 8 eliminations.
"Mixed-ish" 9 p.m. ABC — Alicia and Paul strive to maintain their winter solstice traditions from the commune, but their parents want to have a more traditional Christmas with the kids.
"Treadstone" 10 p.m. USA — Tara gets answers. Soyun has a plan. Doug preps for a mission. Bentley is a prisoner again.
WEDNESDAY
"Survivor" 8 p.m. CBS — Noura remains both infuriating and entertaining.
"Ellen's Greatest Night of Giveaways" 8 p.m NBC — Robert Downey Jr. is a guest.
"The Goldbergs" 8 p.m ABC —Hoping to outdo the Kremps, Beverly decides the Goldbergs must do a better family holiday card, but Geoff is surprised he is not invited to be in the photo.
"The Masked Singer" 8 p.m Fox — The semifinals!
"Modern Family" 9 p.m. ABC — Cameron is hoping to keep everyone happy for their annual Christmas dinner as he hides and prepares for his big interview for a head coaching position out of state
"Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements" 9 p.m. HBO — A look at a close-knit family's experience with deafness explores the meaning of loss through the stories of a deaf boy growing up, a deaf man growing old and composer Ludwig van Beethoven, who wrote "Moonlight Sonata."
"Seal Team" 9:01 p.m. CBS — Jason leads Bravo Team on his first mission back following surgery, and Ensign Davis faces disciplinary action.
"Stumptown" 10 p.m. ABC — Dex goes undercover as a substitute teacher to find out who planted drugs on a friend's daughter.
THURSDAY
"Young Sheldon" 8 p.m. CBS — Sheldon fakes being sick to avoid a swim test at school.
"Ellen's Greatest Night of Giveaways" 8 p.m. NBC (first season finale) — Justin Timberlake is a guest.
"The Great American Baking Show" 9 p.m. ABC (fifth season debut) — The most festive and friendliest competition on television returns with new host, Emma Bunton (Spice Girls), Anthony "Spice" Adams, veteran judge Paul Hollywood ("The Great British Bake Off") and pastry chef Sherry Yard.
"Mom" 9:01 a.m. CBS — Bonnie is forced to relive painful Christmas memories when Christy recounts tales from her childhood to Bonnie's sponsee,
"Superstore" 9:01 a.m. NBC — Jonah and Sandra represent the Cloud 9 employees at union contract negotiations with corporate.
"A Legendary Christmas with John and Chrissy" 10 p.m. NBC — John Legend and Chrissy Teigen celebrate the season of joy and laughter alongside the couple's family and talented celebrity friends. This originally aired in 2018.
FRIDAY
"The Expanse" 3:01 a.m. Amazon (fourth season debut) — As the Rocinante crew digs deeper into the search for Prax's missing daughter, the war between Earth and Mars turns deadly in ways the solar system has never seen. But a new threat in the outer reaches of the Belt could prove much more dangerous, threatening to test the very future of humanity.
"Marvel's Runaways" 3:01 a.m. Hulu (series finale) — The Runaways frantically search for their captured friends Chase, Gert, and Karolina.
"Hawaii Five-O" 8 p.m. CBS — Five-0 investigates a tourist helicopter that was shot down by a missile.
"The 88th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade" 8 p.m. the CW — Mario Lopez is the host. Dionne Warwick, Phil Vassar, David Archuleta, and Bret Michaels perform.
"The Blacklist" 8 p.m. NBC—Red and the Task Force pay a visit to a former blacklister, as an explosive confrontation leads Liz to make a critical choice.
"Magnum P.I." 9 p.m. CBS— Magnum is called up from the reserves for a top secret mission, but his friends are stunned when they learn that the mission is a lie and Magnum has been set up.
"Mel Brooks Unwrapped" 9 p.m. HBO — A spotlight on comedy legend Mel Brooks' life and career features archival interviews and clips from some of his most memorable works, including "Young Frankenstein" and "The Producers."
WEEKEND
"Saturday Night Live" 11:29 p.m. Saturday NBC — Scarlett Johansson hosts.
"The 42nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors" 8 p.m. Sunday CBS— Earth, Wind & Fire, Sally Field, Linda Ronstadt, Sesame Street, and Michael Tilson Thomas will be honored.
"The Christmas Caroler Challenge" 8 p.m. Sunday the CW (new series) —Twelve Christmas carol groups, each with their own stylized brand of performance.
"Ray Donovan" 8 p.m. Sunday Showtime — Ray and Terry travel to Coney Island to track down Ray's missing car.
"Shameless" 9 p.m. Sunday Showtime— Frank and Liam get wined and dined by potential baby buyers.
"Watchmen" 9 p.m. Sunday HBO (first season finale) — Everything ends—for real this time.
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