‘The Golden Bachelor’s Wedding, 60 years of ‘General Hospital,’ ‘Society of the Snow’ and ‘Brothers Sun’ on Netflix, ‘Sanctuary’ for Witches

Special

8/7c

You are cordially invited to share the joy when Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner is joined in holy matrimony to the new love of his twilight years, Theresa Nist, with their respective families in attendance—and all of Bachelor Nation (and more than a few new recruits) tuning in. At 72 and 70 respectively, the couple opted to speed up the time from engagement (Nov. 30) to wedding for obvious reasons. Expect some of the runners-up to be there to cheer them on, including professional officiant Susan Noles, who will be presiding over the exchanging of vows during the two-hour TV event.

Special

10/9c

The celebratory mood continues on ABC with a prime-time salute to the network’s enduring daytime drama, at 60 the longest-running U.S. soap in production. With bloopers and behind-the-scenes insights, the special features cast members including Genie Francis, Finola Hughes, Kelly Monaco, Maurice Benard, Jane Elliot and Laura Wright, plus appearances by former GH stars including Rick Springfield, Emma Samms and Amber Tamblyn.

Movie Premiere

Spain’s selection for consideration in this year’s International Feature Film category at the Oscars is the latest to revisit the grisly yet emotional true-life story of the Uruguayan rugby team that crash-landed in the Andes in 1972, forced by tragic circumstance to feed on their friends’ corpses to survive in the snow-covered mountains. Director J.A. Bayona, working from Pablo Vierci’s non-fiction book, leans into the spiritual and physical challenges faced by these athletes during an unthinkable crisis.

Series Premiere

“Don’t tell Mom.” This impulse between two mismatched brothers fuels a comedic martial-arts thriller starring Everything Everywhere All at Once Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh as matriarch Eileen Sun, who hoped she’d put her triad family’s intrigues behind her when she left Taipei for Los Angeles years ago with younger son Bruce. Mayhem makes an unwelcome reappearance in the Sun household when elder son and legendary assassin Charles (Justin Chien) shows up to protect his family after his father is shot by a rival triad. Charles is steely and a formidable fighter, everything his younger brother Bruce (Sam Song Li) is not. This good-natured slacker would rather just study improv, but now he’s going to have to get real to survive attacks from relentless ninjas, while Mom gets to work on body disposal. Bruce knows her secret weapon, warning the prodigal son, “She will absolutely break you with passive aggressiveness.”

Series Premiere

Sarah Fenn (Elaine Cassidy) is not only a good witch, she’s a registered witch in the idyllic British village of Sanctuary (twinned with Salem in the U.S.), where the locals lean on Sarah to use her skills to help those in need. In a seven-part series based on a novel by V.V. James and produced by Poldark’s Debbie Horsfield, Sarah’s charmed existence takes a dark turn when the son of her best friend Abigail (Amy de Bhrun) dies in a mysterious accident at a high-school party, with Sarah’s non-magical daughter Harper (Hazel Doupe) implicated. With Abigail leading the charge in a modern-day witch hunt, Sarah begins to doubt Sanctuary is the safe haven it used to be.

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• Legends of the Stagecoach (8/7c, INSP): A Western documentary special celebrates the special skills of those drivers who managed the reins on treacherous journeys delivering pioneers and their precious cargo across America.
• The Power of Film (8/7c, Turner Classic Movies): UCLA film professor Howard Suber conducts a six-week seminar in classic movie appreciation, with host Dave Karger and filmmakers Doug Pray and Laura Gabbert. First up: a study of why certain films stand the test of time, with plentiful scenes from the movies to illustrate.
• Son of a Critch (8/7c, The CW): Young Mark (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) fakes being healthy to be able to attend the visiting Pope’s outdoor mass. Jay Baruchel guests as a local radio rival trying to lure Mike Jr. (Colton Gobbo) from his dad’s (Mark Critch) station.
• Hudson & Rex (8/7c, UPtv): In another Canadian import, John Reardon is detective Charlie Hudson, solving crimes with the help of his K9 partner, Rex the German Shepherd.
• Casey Anthony’s Parents: The Lie Detector Test (9/8c, A&E and Lifetime): The tabloid tragedy following the death of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony in 2008 has escalated into a family feud, with Caylee’s mother Casey (acquitted of murder charges in 2011) charging her father George molested her and her daughter and is responsible for Caylee’s death. In a two-hour special, George and wife Cindy Anthony agree to take polygraph tests on camera to address these issues, with journalist Tony Harris interviewing the couple.
• Transplant (9/8c, NBC): Bash (Hamza Haq) considers an unusual approach from his psychiatrist to cope with his PTSD, while Mags (Laurence Leboeuf) deals with a cantankerous patient whose health crisis is much like her own.
• Dateline NBC (10/9c, NBC): Andrea Canning reports on the 2011 murder of Rob Cantor, found dead by firefighters responding to the arson of his New Jersey home.
• Daughters of the Cult (streaming on Hulu): From ABC News Studios, a five-part true-crime docuseries explores the murderous activities of the polygamous Ervil LeBaron cult, led by a man dubbed the “Mormon Manson.”