Josh Charles Practices ‘Best Medicine,’ When Calls the Heart, Critics Choice Awards, Wrapping up ‘Paper’

Best Medicine

SUNDAY: He’d prefer to be called “Dr. Best” and not “Doc Martin.” But the confusion is understandable. Best Medicine is an Americanized reimagining of the long-running and popular British dramedy Doc Martin, familiar to many PBS viewers. Josh Charles (of The Good Wife and more recently The Handmaid’s Tale‘s fame) steps into Martin Clunes‘ shoes as Martin Best, a Boston surgeon who relocates to the quaint seaside town of Port Wenn, Maine, to be their town doctor. It’s not an easy fit, because as the gruff and emotionally aloof Martin is the first to admit, “I don’t like people.” The quirky residents of Port Wenn test his patience, and sometimes vice versa, but what they don’t know is that he’s left the fast lane because of a paralyzing aversion to blood. Abigail Spencer (Timeless) costars as skeptical schoolteacher Louisa, with Young Sheldon‘s Annie Potts as Martin’s feisty Aunt Joan. After Sunday’s preview broadcast, the show moves into its regular time period on Tuesdays at 8/7c.

When Calls the Heart

SUNDAY: The heartwarming period drama returns for a 13th season, which could be a lucky one for Elizabeth (Erin Krakow) and Nathan (Kevin McGarry) when they return to Hope Valley after a summer in Camp Fullerton, where they’ve been staying at the boarding house run by Charlotte Thornton (guest star Brooke Shields), the mother of Elizabeth’s late husband, Jack. A new diabetes clinic awaits them, the better to treat Little Jack, but first it needs to be sanctioned by an inspector before it can open, and a railroad strike might make the family’s homecoming a brief one. While Elizabeth laments the notion of being away when school starts up again in the fall, the town prepares for the grand opening of Goldie National Park.

Critics Choice Awards

SUNDAY: Chelsea Handler is back to host for the fourth year in a row as the 2026 awards season gets underway, with awards given to film and TV series. Sinners leads the film categories with 17 nominations, with One Battle After Another close behind with 14. The Netflix limited series Adolescence leads the TV nominees with six nominations, with Nobody Wants This the most nominated comedy (five), and Ghosts and Hacks tied with four. For drama, The Pitt, The Diplomat, and Severance are tied with four each.

The Paper

SATURDAY: The workplace mockumentary’s first season (which debuted on Peacock) ends its network run with three consecutive episodes. Journalistic integrity is at stake when Mare (Chelsea Frei) gets a scoop that could damage the reputation of their corporate owner. And in the finale, new editor-in-chief Ned (Domhnall Gleeson) tries to act nonchalant when his newspaper competes at the Ohio Journalism Awards. Could there actually be a win in store for these underdogs at the Toledo Truth Teller?

Landman

Widowed oil tycoon Cami (Demi Moore) has to make a tough choice: Risk $400 million on drilling with only a 10% chance of striking it rich with no guarantees, or face a lawsuit. Tommy (Billy Bob Thornton) and cutthroat lawyer Rebecca (Kayla Wallace) favor playing it safe for the good of the company, but Cami’s got a stubborn streak. That’s a constant with the women in Tommy’s life, including his kind-of ex-wife Angela (Ali Larter), who borrows $10,000 to take her nursing home friends to a casino. And back home, Tommy finds a novel way to get his depressed dad, T.L. (Sam Elliott), some much-needed physical therapy.

INSIDE WEEKEND TV:

• NFL Week 18: Key matchups include three division clashes: the Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Saturday at 4:30 ET, ABC and ESPN) for the NFC South, the Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers (Saturday at 8 pm/ET, ABC and ESPN) for the NFC West, and the Sunday Night Football clash of the Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers on NBC (8:15 pm/ET) for the AFC North.
• Lost in Paradise (Saturday, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel): In her 44th Hallmark film, Lacey Chabert stars as fashion exec Sophia, whose private jet crash-lands on a deserted South Pacific isle, stranding her, her dog, and a handsome chef (Ian Harding). Talk about your love islands!
• Stolen Girl (Saturday, 8/7c, Lifetime): Kate Beckinsale stars in a fact-based thriller as Maureen, a mom whose daughter is abducted by her ex-husband and taken to the Middle East. To get her back, Maureen teams with an ex-Marine (Scott Eastwood) with a history of child rescues.
• Aaron Spelling Sundays (Sunday, 2 pm/1c, MeTV): It’s a nostalgic blast from the 1970s with a weekly four-hour lineup of vintage escapism, featuring Charlie’s Angels, Hart to Hart, Fantasy Island, and The Love Boat.
• Home Town (Sunday, 8/7c, HGTV): Entrepreneur sweethearts Ben and Erin Napier return with 16 new episodes of overhauling homes in their hometown of Laurel, Mississippi. Their first project, encompassing two episodes, is their largest overhaul to date, updating a historic property for a five-decade homeowner while preserving the building’s original charm.
• Worst Cooks in America: Reality Check (Sunday, 8/7c, Food Network): Chefs Jeff Mauro and Tiffany Derry guide celebrity recruits, most with a reality-TV pedigree, through a cooking boot camp, with an opening-night challenge to try their hand at a spicy Piri Piri chicken dish. Contestants include Real Housewives of Salt Lake City‘s Lisa Barlow, Dancing With the Stars alum Val Chmerkovskiy, Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, Shahs of Sunset‘s Reza Farahan, MTV VJ Downtown Julie Brown, RuPaul’s Drag Race‘s Manila Luzon, Love & Hip Hop Miami‘s Amara La Negra, rapper Romeo Miller, The Challenge‘s CT Tamburello, and former 7th Heaven star Beverley Mitchell.
• Krapopolis (Sunday, 9/8c, Fox): The ancient kingdom is invaded in the animated comedy’s Season 3 finale. Followed by The Simpsons (9:30/8:30c), which offers a parody of Severance with Zach Cherry (a Severance Emmy nominee) and Oscar-winning Julianne Moore as guest voices.