Rueben's Ramblings

Here is the long list of the programming options to expect on TV this coming week:

On December 5, the third and final season of His Dark Materials will premiere on HBO at 9 PM; meanwhile, that same night, the fall finales of NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i will air on CBS at 9 and 10 PM respectively.

The People’s Choice Awards will air on both E! and NBC at 9 PM on December 6. Also that night, The Mysterious Benedict Society will air its season finale on Disney at 7 PM. And, that same night, the fall finales of The Resident and Monarch will air on FOX at 8 and 9 PM respectively.

On December 7, the fall finales of Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. will air at 8, 9 and 10 PM respectively on NBC; that same night, Big Sky will air its fall finale on ABC at 10 PM. Also that night, the series finale of DC’s Stargirl will air on The CW at 8 PM; and also on December 7, the finale of The Mysterious Benedict Society will air online on Disney+ today

The VH1 movie All I Didn’t Want for Christmas will debut on December 7 at 8 PM. Emily Harris is not doing great. In a desperate attempt to improve her life and make this Christmas not totally suck, Emily writes a letter to Santa. Fortunately and unfortunately, her wine-soaked wishes start coming true. P.S. She definitely doesn’t remember most of what she wrote in the letter, so she is in for some uncomfortable surprises. Which eventually leads to some Christmas-fueled soul searching about what she actually wants/needs. The cast includes Gabourey Sidibe, Andrew Bushell, Kel Mitchell, Karen Knox and Loretta Devine.

On December 8, the fourth season of Doom Patrol will premiere online on HBO Max; and that same night, the fall finales of Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Organized Crime will air on NBC at 8, 9 and 10 PM respectively.

The following movies will also debut on December 8:

* A Miracle Before Christmas on BET+. A relationship therapist must use the magic of Christmas to save her own marriage. The movie stars LeToya Luckett, Keith David, Paula Jai Parker and Porscha Coleman.

* Scentsational Christmas on Lifetime. Bright-eyed beauty and perfumer Ellie Reddy (Nanzeen Contractor) is tasked by her boss to create a holiday scent that will impress, so she decides to return to her quaint and festive family home for Christmas to find inspiration. There she meets handsome yet bookish writer, Logan Osborne (Mykee Selkin), who is staying with her father at the family’s historic property, which includes her mother’s former candle-making cottage. After finding her father struggling to keep her late mother’s candle business afloat, Ellie and Logan decide to complete the orders and inadvertently bring Christmas cheer back to the town, all while falling in love.

Also on December 8, the CMA Country Christmas special will air on ABC at 9 PM. The 13th annual holiday special will feature performances by Steven Curtis Chapman, Dan + Shay, Scotty McCreery, Maren Morris, Old Dominion, Carly Pearce, Molly Tuttle, and The War And Treaty.

The following movies will debut on December 9:

* Something From Tiffany’s on Amazon. Based on the novel by Melissa Hill, the film watches as a woman’s life is upended, when an engagement ring meant for someone else leads her to the person she’s meant to be with. Nothing compares to the magic and excitement of the holidays in New York City, where the streets blaze with lights, windows dazzle, and a special box from Tiffany could change the course of a person’s life. Or several lives. Rachel and Gary (Zoey Deutch and Ray Nicholson) are happy enough, but not quite ready for that big commitment. Ethan and Vanessa (Kendrick Sampson and Shay Mitchell), the perfect picture, are just about to make it official. When a simple mix-up of gifts causes all of their paths to cross, it sets off a series of twists and unexpected discoveries that lead them to where they’re truly meant to be. Because love — like life — is full of surprises.

* Emancipation on Apple TV+. The movie tells the triumphant story of Peter (Will Smith), a man who escapes from slavery, relying on his wits, unwavering faith and deep love for his family to evade cold-blooded hunters and the unforgiving swamps of Louisiana on his quest for freedom. The film also stars Ben Foster.

* The Most Colorful Time of Year on the Hallmark Channel at 8 PM. Ryan (Christopher Russell) is an elementary school teacher, who learns that he is colorblind. Michelle (Katrina Bowden), an optometrist and mother of one of his students, helps bring color into his life in time for the holidays.

* A Recipe for Joy on Lifetime at 8 PM. When ambitious food correspondent, Carly Hayes (Erin Agostino), gets a shot at her own TV show, nothing goes as planned. She’s sent to Angel Heights to help Grant Quinn (Dillon Casey), a perfectionist, attention-shy chef, reopen his family’s beloved diner and film it as a holiday special pilot for her television show. Thanks to Carly, Grant will not only re-open his restaurant, but most probably his heart too.

Also on December 9, S.W.A.T., Fire Country and Blue Bloods will all air their fall finales on CBS at 8, 9 and 10 PM respectively.

The following movies will debut on December 10:

* Christmas Class Reunion on the Hallmark Channel at 8 PM. High school classmates, who once dubbed themselves the “cursed class,” reconnect at Christmas for their 15-year reunion. Over the course of their time reconnecting, the classmates challenge each other to remember who they were, who they are, and who they want to be. The movie stars Aimee Teegarden and Tanner Novlan.

* The Art of Christmas on Great American Family at 8 PM. After her latest gallery exhibition literally goes up in flames, struggling artist Liv James (Brigitte Kingsley) accepts a teaching job at a local elementary school to make ends meet. Through this reluctant career move she discovers her true self, a new sense of purpose and a surprising romance. The film co-stars Joe Towne.

* The Gift of Peace on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries at 10 PM. Artist Traci (Nikki Deloach) is a once-devout Christian who has stopped believing in God after her husband tragically died despite her prayers. As her second Christmas without him approaches, she tries going to a support group for inspiration and comfort. Brennan Elliott co-stars.

* A Royal Christmas Match on UPtv at 7 PM. Princess Camille (Jordana Largy) travels to America to create a cross-cultural college exchange program and falls for Professor Rhett (Matthew MacCaull). But when she discovers he was hired by her father to escort her, aka babysit her, she wonders if he cares more about her or his career.

* Kirk Franklin’s The Night Before Christmas on Lifetime at 8 PM. Caught in a blizzard on Christmas Eve, estranged mother and daughter Journee (Naturi Naughton) and Nia (Lorea Turner) are forced to take refuge inside a church where a handful of also-trapped parishioners are reeling from the cancellation of their annual holiday concert. The spirit of the season takes hold as Journee and Nia weather the wintry storm together with the other churchgoers, including handsome youth pastor Adam (Luke James) and a heavenly music teacher (Kirk Franklin), who motivate the mother and daughter to reconcile their differences through music, faith, and love. With the help from this unlikely yet spirited group of strangers, Journee and Nia band together to help the church salvage not only their holiday traditions, but also their show-stopping Christmas day performance, despite the raging storm outside.

* A Christmas Fumble on OWN at 9 PM. The “queen of crisis management,” Nicole Barnes (Eva Marcille) gets the toughest assignment of her career when she’s asked to handle a breaking scandal for former pro footballer turned TV commentator Jordan Davies (Devale Ellis), whose network contract isn’t going to be renewed because of a violation going back to his college days. However, Nicole fails to disclose that she and Jordan were once boyfriend and girlfriend — a conflict of interest that could end her own hopes of being made partner at her firm. To make matters worse, Nicole’s efforts to rehabilitate Jordan’s image are constantly undermined by Jordan’s shallow entertainment reporter fiancée.

On December 11, the season finale of Family Law will air on The CW at 8 PM while that same night the season finale of Mood will air on BBC America at 10 PM. Also on December 11, Let the Right One In will air its season finale on Showtime at 10 PM and also the season finale of The White Lotus will air on HBO at 9 PM.

Lastly, the following movies will debut on December 11:

* Christmas in Rockwell on Fox Nation. A famous Hollywood actress (Trish Stratus) returns to her hometown where she is enlisted to participate in a Christmas play which threatens her small peaceful village with the chaos of Hollywood. Stephen Huszar and Sheila McCarthy co-star.

* Must Love Christmas on CBS at 9 PM. A renowned romance novelist (Liza Lapira) famous for her Christmas-themed books finds herself snowbound in the charming town of Cranberry Falls. There, she unexpectedly becomes involved in a love triangle with her childhood crush (Nathan Witte) and a reporter (Neal Bledsoe) determined to interview her to save his dying magazine.

* The Holiday Sitter on the Hallmark Channel at 8 PM. Sam is a workaholic bachelor who babysits his niece and nephew before the holidays when his sister and her husband have to go out of town. Completely out of his element, he recruits help from their handsome neighbor Jason and finds himself in an unexpected romance. The cast includes Jonathan Bennett, Chelsea Hobbs and George Krissa.

* Crown Prince of Christmas on Great American Family at 8 PM. Madison (Cindy Busby), an aspiring musician, jokingly tells her overbearing family that she is dating the prince of a small European nation. The joke goes too far as her friend and co-worker Sebastian is roped into impersonating the prince while visiting her family in New Jersey. Little does Madison know that Sebastian happens to be hiding a royal secret. Jilon VanOver also stars.

* Santa’s Got Style on UPtv at 7 PM. When department store executive Madison (Kathryn Davis) is charged with coming up with a fresh idea for the holiday season, she decides that instead of a classic Santa, this year they would hire a young Santa with lots of fashionable style. But when she has a difficult time finding the perfect model, her long-time best friend Ethan (Franco Lo Presti) [who has been in love with her for years] throws on a beard and disguises himself as the Santa of her dreams.

* A Prince and Pauper Christmas on ION at 8 PM. When her down-on-his luck confidential informant in a criminal investigation suddenly goes missing, a desperate young federal agent, Sydney (Brittany Underwood), recruits his doppelgänger to play his role. But her job gets even harder when she falls for the criminal’s stand-in, who just happens to be a European prince visiting the states for Christmas. Tom Arnold makes a guest appearance.

* Single and Ready to Jingle on Lifetime at 8 PM. Emma Warner (Natasha Wilson) feels like she lives Christmas year-round. As the SVP of a successful toy company in Chicago, she spends 12 months a year focusing on Christmas, leaving no time for dating…or much of anything else. By the time the actual holiday rolls around, she has had enough. She asks her assistant and friend Lucy to find a tropical singles resort – somewhere she can find a guy and not think of Christmas. But due to a booking mix-up, Emma ends up in her worst nightmare – a town devoted to everything Christmas. Will Emma be able to find her joy?

Mark your calendars!

Trying to figure out what to watch tonight? Be it new episodes of the TV season, reairs of cable series or a movie, here are some suggestions

6 PM:
The Royal Nanny movie on Hallmark Channel (Encore)
Santa Bootcamp movie on Lifetime (Encore)
Unlocking Christmas movie on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (Reair)

8 PM:
The Walton’s Homecoming movie on The CW (Reair)
Rogue Heroes on EPIX (Encore)
George & Tammy on Showtime (Encore)
We Wish You a Married Christmas movie on Hallmark Channel (Encore)
Six Degrees of Santa movie on Lifetime (Encore)
Time for Us to Come Home for Christmas movie on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (Reair)
The Polar Express (animated) movie on AMC
The Shawshank Redemption movie on Paramount Network
The Wizard of Oz (classic) movie on TNT

9 PM:
NCIS on CBS (NEW – Fall Finale)
The Cleaning Lady on FOX (NEW)

10 PM:
NCIS: Hawai’i on CBS (NEW – Fall Finale)
Next Stop, Christmas movie on Hallmark Channel (Reair)
Maggie’s Christmas Miracle movie on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (Reair)
Secretly Santa movie on Lifetime (Reair)

10:15 PM:
The Wizard of Oz (classic) movie on TNT

Enjoy!