‘Monk’ Back on the Case, Remembering Norman Lear, Netflix’s All-Star Apocalypse, Holiday Fun with Demi Lovato, ‘Mankind’s Gold Rush in Space

Movie Premiere

As a grieving client sobs on his shoulder, the chronically fastidious Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) offers the only condolence he knows how to express: “It’s OK. I have other jackets.” Fans of the former USA Network hit Monk (2002-09) will be thrilled to see Shalhoub return to the role that won him three Emmys, and he hasn’t lost a single quirk in the 14 years since his last episode. Monk, however, is in a very dark emotional space when his Last Case begins, still suffering depression from during the pandemic and feeling forgotten when his obsessive memoir is rejected by publishers. Restoring his sense of purpose, as the ghost of his wife Trudy (Melora Hardin) looks on, is stepdaughter Molly (Caitlin McGee), whose journalist fiancé dies in a bizarre bungee-jumping tragedy. From the time we meet the tech mogul (James Purefoy) the victim recently interviewed, we know who’s to blame. The fun is in watching Monk figure it out while overcoming his personal issues and coming to grips with a life well lived. It’s great to see him back, along with other familiar faces from the original series.

Special

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With rare material from the Entertainment Tonight vaults, a prime-time special pays homage to the great TV producer Norman Lear, who passed away this week at 101. His groundbreaking comedies on CBS (All in the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons, Good Times, One Day at a Time) and NBC (Sanford and Son) changed the face and possibilities of TV by injecting social commentary and satire into the sitcom format. Nischelle Turner hosts the hourlong tribute, with appearances by Jimmie Walker (Good Times) and Mackenzie Phillips (the original One Day at a Time) and excerpts from an in-depth interview conducted by Kevin Frazier to mark Lear’s 100^th birthday. Also of note, Catchy Comedy presents The 200^th Episode Celebration of All in the Family (8/7c), a replay of a 90-minute retrospective special of Lear’s greatest, most groundbreaking series. (MeTV will show it Sunday at 6/5c.)

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Mr. Robot’s writer-director Sam Esmail stages his latest version of a dystopian future at a luxurious Long Island rental home where an all-star cast gathers to welcome the apocalypse. Brooklynites Amanda (Julia Roberts) and Clay (Ethan Hawke) are the vacationers whose idyll is interrupted by the arrival of suave financier G.H. (Mahershala Ali) and his daughter Ruth (Myha’la Herrold), who claim to own the property, where they intend to take shelter while cyberattacks roil the outside world. What ensues is a harrowing psychological drama with an end-of-the-world backdrop. But hey, we should all look so good while the doomsday clock ticks.

Special

Like a twisted version of the celebrity Christmas special the likes of Judy Garland used to do on TV, Demi Lovato sings and cuts up with an eclectic gathering of friends in one of many yuletide-themed specials. Paris Hilton dishes with Demi in the kitchen, Tiffany Haddish brings her ugly sweater and comic attitude to the party, with Hailey Bieber, Jojo and Trixie Mattel among the guests, with commentary from Rich Eisen.

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The Yule Log: Everyone’s in the holiday spirit, including ABC’s Shark Tank (8/7c) with a themed episode. Netflix presents a sixth season of The Great British Baking Show: Holidays with judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood. Hallmark Channel provides Magic in Mistletoe (8/7c) as a publicist (Lyndie Greenwood) doing damage control for a popular but reclusive writer (Paul Campbell) helps him open up when he returns home for a festival celebrating his books. For the family audience, Disney+ streams the animated Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever, with accident-prone Greg Heffley’s anxiety at a peak when he’s snowed in with his aggravating family. On a darker note, The Sacrifice Game (streaming on Shudder) is set in 1971 at the Blackvale School for Girls in 1971, where two students are stuck spending the holidays alongside an invading gang of cult killers.

At the midway point of Season 4, the gripping alternative-history space drama sparks conflict on Mars and back on Earth after the discovery of an approaching asteroid brimming with precious metals. Though experts warn that the only way to harness the “Goldilocks” asteroid is for all nations to work together, a potential “gold rush” inflames diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and the Soviets and creates conflict on the Mars base between the commander Danielle Poole (Krys Marshall) and her XO Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman).

INSIDE FRIDAY TV:

• Baby Shark’s Big Movie (noon/11c, Nickelodeon; streaming on Paramount+): The preschool fan favorite gets its own feature-length musical movie, with Baby Shark adjusting to life in the big city when his family moves. Ashley Tisdale, Cardi B, Lance Bass and K-pop group ENHYPHEN are among the musical guests.
• FBoy Island (9/8c, The CW): Daniella, Hali and Katie have some tough choices to make regarding their final two in the season finale.
• True Crime Watch: ABC’s 20/20 (9/8c) features Deborah Roberts’ report on the 2018 murder of Angela Bledsoe in New Jersey, leading to an international manhunt that resulted in the extradition of her boyfriend James Ray III from Cuba. On Dateline NBC (10/9c), Keith Morrison reports on the 2020 murder of trumpeter Scott Sessions in Colorado, with a second killing leading investigators to the truth.
• Culprits (streaming on Hulu): A British thriller follows a band of elite thieves who went their separate ways after their last heist, but are now being targeted by an assassin, putting their new lives and families in danger.