Your TV GPS, Globe TV critic Matthew Gilbert’s look at the week ahead in television, appears every Monday morning on BostonGlobe.com. Today’s column covers Nov. 30-Dec. 6.
SHAMELESSLY MIXED FEELINGS
It’s the beginning of the end for the Gallagher family of Chicago’s South Side. Showtime’s “Shameless” returns for its 11th and final season Sunday at 9 p.m., which simultaneously saddens and cheers me.
I have loved the series since it premiered in 2011, and after almost a decade, I feel as though I actually know the characters. That’s one of my favorite things about series TV — the characters can start to feel real in a way, as their presence in our lives stretches across years. This is especially true of shows with gradual, and not binge, release schedules, like “Shameless.” They have weekly visits, as opposed to one visit a year.
I will, of course, write a fitting and longer farewell to the show later on. I’ll just say here that along with the elasticity of the tone, which seems to stretch from farce to moving drama and back again 10 times per hour, and along with the Dickensian awareness of the socio-economic realities and systemic problems that consistently fail the Gallagher children, I was consistently in awe of the acting.
It always struck me as peculiar that the Emmys never quite caught on to the cast, each of whom seemed to grow up before our eyes. I found myself complaining about it in the Globe every year at awards time. There were nominations for the amazing William Macy, and some guest acting nods for Joan Cusack; but ignoring Jeremy Allen White (Lip), Emmy Rossum (Fiona), Noel Fisher (Mickey), and others was really too bad. You could sense that, at some point early on, the writers were writing for that specific set of actors, and the results were a collection of memorable and authentic performances. Too good for Emmy voters, that’s how I wound up feeling — especially regarding Rossum.
Why am I cheered by the end of the series? Because the show is a season or two past its prime — Rossum’s departure in season nine being perhaps the moment it all started to feel played out. Alas, regardless of all the pleasure it has brought me, “Shameless” is not leaving me wanting more.
WHAT I’M WATCHING THIS WEEK
1. Bryan Cranston is returning to TV, and his new character, like Walter White, is a man who, at least initially, breaks bad for his family. He stars in the 10-episode Showtime miniseries “Your Honor” as a judge who tries to protect his teen son, who has been involved in a hit-and-run accident. The thriller is set in New Orleans, and it costars Michael Stuhlbarg, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Carmen Ejogo, Hope Davis, Amy Landecker, and Sofia Black-D’Elia. It’s based on the Israeli show “Kvodo,” and it was written by Peter Moffat (“The Night Of”). It premieres Sunday at 10 p.m. Here’s the trailer.
2. Many found “Almost Family,” a 2019 Fox series that ran for one season, extremely offensive. It was a soap opera about the bonds among people who find out they were children of a fertility doctor who used his own sperm without the knowledge of their mothers — a nightmare for anyone facing the same situation in real life. The new HBO documentary “Baby God,” which premieres Wednesday at 9 p.m., provides the real side of the story, as it profiles Nevada fertility specialist Dr. Quincy Fortier, the children he raised, and those he fathered. In her Globe review, Kate Tuttle wrote that the film “urges us to think about the role of biology in identity, the formulation of family, and the terrible toll of secrets.”
3. Apple TV+’s “Earth at Night in Color,” due on Friday, is what it says it is. The six episodes (with six more due later) use next-gen cameras to capture the nocturnal lives of animals, in color HD. Yeah, we’re spying! The action takes place across six continents, from the Arctic Circle to the African grasslands, and features, as the streamer promises, “never-before-seen behaviors.” Tom Hiddleston narrates.
4. The cult craze continues, for reasons I simply can’t imagine, as TV continues to serve as a home for documentary studies of cult leaders and their obsessed followers. This Thursday brings HBO Max’s “Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults,” a four-parter about the infamous UFO cult as seen through the eyes of its former members and loved ones. It started in 1975 and ended in 1997 with the largest mass suicide on US soil.
5. This week’s “Saturday Night Live” will be hosted by Jason Bateman (it will be his second time), and country singer Morgan Wallen will be the musical guest. Wallen was scheduled to appear in October, but “SNL” took back the invite after he was spotted partying without a mask in a TikTok video. All is apparently forgiven.
6. Christmas approaches, and TV isn’t about to let us forget it. The Christmas specials! The Hallmark, Lifetime, and Netflix Christmas movies! The commercials for products to buy your friends and family for Christmas! Here are only some of this week’s Christmas programs, for your pre-Christmas pleasure.
6a. Kara-hokey, anyone? ABC is airing “The Disney Holiday Singalong” on Monday at 8 p.m. Celebrities including Andrea Bocelli, BTS, Michael Bublé, Adam Lambert, and Katy Perry, as well as the Broadway casts of “The Lion King” and “Aladdin,” will all sing carols with on-screen lyrics so that we can sing, too.
6b. Martina McBride, Pentatonix, LeAnn Rimes, and Darius Rucker are among the performers on “CMA Country Christmas.” The holiday songfest, hosted by Jennifer Nettles, is on Monday at 9 p.m. on ABC.
6c. NBC’s “The 88th Annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center” is due Wednesday at 8 p.m. Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Craig Melvin, and Al Roker will host, with performances by Kelly Clarkson, Goo Goo Dolls, Jimmy Fallon, and more.
6d. NBC’s “Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes” starts after Wednesday’s tree lighting, at 10 p.m. There will be leg kicks, with Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie as hosts.
6e. On Thursday, HBO Max will deliver “My Gift: A Christmas Special from Carrie Underwood.” Basically, it’s a ‘mercial for her holiday album.
6f. “Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special” arrives 25 years after she released her “Merry Christmas” album. Available Friday on Apple TV+, it will include songs, dance, and animation, with guests including Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande, Tiffany Haddish, Billy Eichner, and Misty Copeland.
6g. On “A Holly Dolly Christmas,” Sunday at 8:30 p.m. on CBS (and CBS All Access), the queen will perform a candlelit set of holiday songs, as a follow-up to her movie “Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square,” already on Netflix. Parton will also share her memories of holiday seasons past.
CHANNEL SURFING
“Euphoria” To tide us over until season two, a Christmas episode of one of TV’s darkest shows. HBO, Sunday, 9 p.m.
“The Hardy Boys” A 13-episode adaptation of the classic children’s book series about sleuthing brothers. Hulu, Friday
“Selena: The Series” A biographical drama about the Tejano singer’s rise to fame. starring Christian Serratos. Netflix, Friday
“The Holiday Movies That Made Us” The stories behind iconic Christmas blockbusters, with cast interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. Netflix, Tuesday
RECENTLY REVIEWED
“My Psychedelic Love Story” Errol Morris’s documentary follows Joanna Harcourt-Smith’s five-year affair with Timothy Leary during his exile. Showtime
“The Flight Attendant” The thriller starring Kaley Cuoco takes you for a ride that doesn’t always track but almost always entertains. HBO Max
“Black Narcissus” A three-part miniseries about nuns in the Himalayas, based on the novel by Rumer Godden. FX and Hulu
“Between the World and Me” A star-studded adaptation of the bestseller by Ta-Nehisi Coates. HBO
“The Crown” An eventful and poignant fourth season tracks the punishing Thatcher era and the courtship and marriage of Charles and Diana. Netflix
“Moonbase 8” Fred Armisen, John C. Reilly, and Tim Heidecker have great chemistry in this comedy series, but the scripts mostly fall flat. Showtime
Matthew Gilbert can be reached at matthew.gilbert@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewGilbert.
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This week’s TV: One last ‘Shameless’ season, a Bryan Cranston thriller, and Christmas! Christmas! Christmas! - The Boston Globe
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