Worth Watching: ‘Undoing,’ Candidates on ’60 Minutes,’ Early Christmas Movies, ‘Flesh and Blood’ Finale
A selective critical checklist of notable weekend TV:
The Undoing (Sunday, 9/8c, HBO): A radiant Nicole Kidman and debonair Hugh Grant star in a glossy six-part thriller from David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies) set amid New York’s glamorous high society. They’re a golden couple whose charmed life begins to unravel in the wake of a shocking crime that’s connected to their son’s private school. Donald Sutherland co-stars as Kidman’s imperious father, who’d go to any lengths (or depths) to protect his family. (See the full review.)
60 Minutes (Sunday, 7:30/6:30c, 7/PT): TV’s most prominent newsmagazine often makes headlines — witness last week’s interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci — but this week’s made news even before it aired, when the president cut his interview with Lesley Stahl short. What remains will air as part of a 60 Minutes tradition dating back to the last three presidential elections, in which the candidates from both parties submit themselves to tough questions in a special election edition. Stahl sits with Donald Trump (for as long as it lasts) and Vice President Mike Pence, while CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell grills Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Yuletide Before Halloween: It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas — even before the Halloween decorations have been taken down. Believing it’s never too early to start the festivities, TV’s leading factories of feel-good holiday films begin the deluge. On Hallmark, Jingle Bell Bride (Saturday, 8/7c) stars Julie Gonzalo (the Dallas reboot) as a wedding planner who finds love while tracking down a rare flower in Alaska, and Chateau Christmas (Sunday, 8/7c) is about a pianist (Merritt Patterson) whose ex (Luke Macfarlane) helps rekindle her love of music. On Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Christmas Tree Lane (Saturday, 9/8c) stars Alicia Witt as a store owner who falls for the developer (Andrew Walker) threatening to demolish the titular shopping district, and Deliver by Christmas (Sunday, 9/8c) pairs Alvina August with Eion Bailey as a bakery owner and widower with a young son. Not to be outdone, Lifetime chimes in with Christmas Unwrapped (Saturday, 8/7c), executive produced by Tiffany Haddish, which stars Amber Stevens West as a reporter investigating a local character who insists all his gifts come from Santa; and Forever Christmas (Sunday, 8/7c), about a reality TV producer (Chelsea Hobbs) who falls for her latest subject (Christopher Russell), a guy who celebrates Christmas every day of the year. And it’s just getting started, folks.
Flesh and Blood (Sunday, 9/8c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): In the climax ofMasterpiece‘s yummy tale of domestic intrigue, we finally learn just what happened the night of Vivian’s (Francesca Annis) 70th-birthday party that left someone in the hospital. Detectives continue their interrogation in the aftermath, including her offspring, all of whom were dealing with their own personal or professional traumas that night. None of them are much fond of their mum’s new husband, Mark (Stephen Rae), but their intervention only makes Viv more determined to stand by her man. And where does nosy neighbor Mary (the terrific Imelda Staunton) fit into all of this?
Fear the Walking Dead (9/8c, AMC): With the heroes scattered to the winds, the sixth season of the Walking Dead spinoff is playing out like a succession of short stories. The latest focuses on camera-at-the-ready Al (Maggie Grace) and folksy Dwight (Austin Amelio) as they follow the orders of a thankfully unseen Virginia on a thankless task that leads them to an overrun office building where we discover there’s something almost as scary as zombies: plague-carrying rats. While Al ponders an escape scenario, the episode turns into one of the most thoughtful and hopeful ruminations on survival in a while. It’s refreshing to see characters working with each other for a change, not just reacting to a cartoonish villain.
Fargo (Sunday, 10/9c, FX): In the most intense episode to date of the terrific fourth season, Loy Cannon (Chris Rock) retaliates after last week’s bloody move by the Fadda family, and the consequences look bleak. Nutjob nurse Oraetta Mayflower (Jessie Buckley) doesn’t take it well when a whistle-blower emperils her latest position, and Rabbi (Ben Whishaw) steps up when he believes his charge, young Satchel (Rodney L. Jones III) is in danger from the mob-war fallout. Let’s just say the body count is rising in Kansas City.
Inside Weekend TV: CBS moves its docudrama miniseries Manhunt: Deadly Games to Saturday, airing back-to-back episodes starting at 8/7c, as the FBI’s search for Atlanta Olympics bomber Eric Rudolph (Jack Huston) intensifies… CNN’s Randi Kaye travels through the politically divided battleground state of Florida for the CNN news special Divided We Stand: Inside America’s Anger (Saturday, 10/9c)… Adele has performed twice as a musical guest, the first time right before the 2008 election of Barack Obama, and now she’s the guest host of NBC’s Saturday Night Live (11:30/10:30c) for the first time. H.E.R. is first-time musical guest… TLC’s I Love a Mama’s Boy (Sunday, 10/9c) profiles couples struggling with one of the more nagging relationship triangles, when a boyfriend’s other woman is his mother.
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