Oscar Buzz for ‘May December,’ Eddie Murphy on ‘Candy Cane Lane,’ Kanan’s ‘Power Book,’ TCM’s Month of Cary Grant

Movie Premiere

“It’s the moral gray areas that are interesting,” explains actress Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) about her decision to take on the role of a real-life subject: Gracie Atherton (Julianne Moore), who made tabloid headlines years ago when at 36 she had an affair with seventh-grader Joe Yoo (played as an adult by Riverdale’s Charles Melton). After serving time, Elizabeth is married with children to Joe, but their seemingly happy relationship unravels when Elizabeth arrives to research their troubling past for a movie. The psychological drama, directed by Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven), has earned critical raves and Oscar buzz for all three lead performances.

Movie Premiere

Eddie Murphy reunites with director Reginald Hudlin (Boomerang) for a holiday fantasy comedy that might serve as a cautionary tale for contestants on ABC’s The Great Christmas Light Fight. Murphy is Chris Carver, a Christmas enthusiast who’s desperate to win the neighborhood’s holiday home-decoration contest—so much so that he signs a mysterious document that allows a devious elf (Jillian Bell) to unleash havoc all around Candy Cane Lane, including bringing The 12 Days of Christmas to life.

Season Premiere

8/7c

The Power crime franchise continues to deliver for Starz, with the third season of the Raising Kanan spinoff continuing the evolution of teen drug scion Kanan Stark (Mekai Curtis) into the amoral antagonist played on the original Power by executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. As the new season begins, Kanan’s mother Raq (Patina Miller) has second thoughts about her dangerous line of work after last season’s Mafia ambush, prompting Kanan to pursue his own path.

For December’s Star of the Month, TCM puts its spotlight on one of Hollywood’s most enduring talents: Cary Grant, with a weekly tribute on Fridays launching with some of his best comedies, including Frank Capra’s 1944 adaptation of the hit Broadway mystery comedy. Other highlights include 1935’s Sylvia Scarlett (4:30 pm/3:30c), featuring Katharine Hepburn in the title role of a con artist disguised as a boy; 1952’s raucous screwball comedy Monkey Business (8/7c), co-starring Ginger Rogers and Marilyn Monroe; and 1940’s The Philadelphia Story (midnight/11c), another Broadway adaptation featuring Hepburn again and Oscar winner James Stewart. (Archie, a biographical docudrama about the movie star, born Archibald Leach, begins streaming next week on BritBox.)

The Yule Log: Holiday movies come in all shapes and sizes. Consider the inspirational 38-minute drama The Shepherd (streaming on Disney+), starring and executive produced by John Travolta, who has long wanted to film Frederick Forsyth’s fable. Ben Radcliffe stars as a Royal Air Force pilot whose Christmas Eve flight across the North Sea in 1957 is imperiled by mechanical problems—until a good Samaritan (Travolta) in a WWII-era bomber plane appears to guide him to safety.

For a more conventional choice, Hallmark Channel’s My Norwegian Holiday (8/7c) stars Rhiannon Fish as JJ, who explores the origin of a troll figurine from Norway with the help of Henrik (David Elsendoorn), a native Norwegian. Apple TV+ offers special holiday episodes of The Snoopy Show, Frog and Toad and Shape Island, plus a sing-along version of last year’s comedy film Spirited. For a perverse alternative, It’s a Wonderful Knife (streaming on Shudder) rethinks the Frank Capra classic It’s a Wonderful Life into a horror film about Winnie (Jane Widdop), who wishes she’d never been born a year after saving her town from a psycho killer on Christmas Eve. Bad idea. Where’s Clarence the angel when you need him?

INSIDE FRIDAY TV:

• Pac-12 Conference Championship (8 pm/ET, ABC): No. 6 Oregon takes on No. 6 Washington in Las Vegas for what could be the Pac-12’s final football championship. (Ten member schools are switching leagues next season.)
• The World According to Football (8/7c, Showtime): To be more specific, soccer is the focus of a five-part docuseries that explores how teams and fans in different countries confront social issues including women’s and LGBTQ+ rights, mental health, racism, labor and income inequality through the prism of sports. The series opens in Brazil, with future episodes set in the U.S., U.K., France and Qatar.
• Dateline NBC (9/8c, NBC): Andrea Canning reports on the 2001 disappearance of 17-year-old Alissa Turney in Phoenix and the investigation and courtroom drama that followed.
• The UnBelievable with Dan Aykroyd (10/9c, History Channel): The Saturday Night Live veteran hosts a weekly look at strange-but-true stories about bizarre people, places and things, opening with a survey of “strange places” including the Lake Michigan Triangle and “the most haunted place in the U.S.”

ON THE STREAM:

• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (streaming on Disney+): The final installment in the legendary action-film series begins streaming, paired with a feature-length documentary, Timeless Heroes, celebrating Harrison Ford’s long run as the intrepid archaeologist.
• The Exorcist: Believer (streaming on Peacock): The latest in a very different film franchise, marking 50 years of Exorcist horror, makes its streaming debut. Ellen Burstyn reprises her role from the original film as Chris MacNeil.
• For All Mankind (streaming on Apple TV+): International tensions strain NASA’s relationship with Russia’s authoritative new regime after a tragic accident on Mars. Ed (Joel Kinnaman) orders a security sweep of the base, which probably won’t be good news for Helios worker Miles (Toby Kebbell), who’s expanding his black-market activities to scouring the surface for rare Mars rocks.