Dec. 22 – Dec. 28
‘Saltburn’ streams, Ricky Gervais spreads the bah-humbug spirit & country stars count down to Christmas
Barry Keoghan stars in ‘Saltburn,’ full of shocks and surprises.
All times Eastern.
FRIDAY, Dec. 22
Home for the Holidays
Tonight’s 25th anniversary of this holiday tradition presents inspirational stories of adoption from foster care and features performances from an array of stars (8 p.m., CBS).
Saltburn
If you missed it in theaters, catch one of the year’s most critically acclaimed films today as it hits the streaming service. Barry Keoghan stars in the twisty psychological drama as a misfit Oxford collegian who becomes obsessed with a fellow student (Jacob Eldori) and wrangles an invitation to summer at his wealthy family’s estate. Prepare to be shocked. With Rosamund Pike (Prime).
Rebel Moon Part One: A Child of Fire
Comic-book superhero filmmaker Zach Synder directs this new Star-Wars-y space opera (below) about a futuristic battle (of course) for the fate of the galaxy. Starring Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Jenna Malone and Anthony Hopkins (Netflix).
SATURDAY, Dec. 23
CMT Hot 20 Countdown: Christmas Special
Artists Jon Pardi and Cody Johnson share Christmas traditions, swap holiday stories and present their favorite Christmas tunes—and the legendary Brenda Lee intros her brand-new video for a timeless holiday classic (9 a.m., CMT).
SUNDAY, Dec. 24
A Christmas Carol
Catch this marathon of Christmases past with back-to-back repeats of A Christmas Carol (1951) and FX’s own later version, from 1999, starring Guy Pearce as Ebenezer Scrooge (2:30 p.m. thru Christmas Day, FXM)
Home Alone
Settle in for this modern Christmas classic (below), about a little boy accidentally left behind when the rest of his family flies away for an overseas holiday. Oops! But Kevin McCallister gets some unexpected Christmas company, and it’s not Santa! (8 p.m., ABC).
MONDAY, Dec. 25
Ricky Gervais: Armageddon
For all you Christmas bah-humbug-ers out there, the outspoken atheist presents another—caustically funny—viewpoint on the season (and other things) in this comedy special recorded on his standup comedy tour (Netflix).
Call the Midwife Holiday Special
Delicate situations make for uncertainty at the hospital in this Christmas-timed special set in 1968, in which the upcoming Apollo 8 launch, preparations for the holidays and a treacherous snowstorm all play a part (8 p.m., PBS).
Those midwives have their hands full this Christmas!
TUESDAY, Dec. 26
Superchef Grudge Match
It’s a food fight! In this new season of the all-star smackdown, hosted by Darnell Ferguson, top competing foodies from the culinary world face off in a series of matchups to air out their beefs, bury the hatchet and hopefully emerge with bragging rights…and a $10,000 cash prize (9 p.m., Food Network).
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 27
The Kennedy Center Honors
Billy Crystal, Renee Fleming, Barry Gibb, Queen Latifah and Dionne Warwick are this year’s honorees in recognition of their lifetime achievements, in tonight’s 46th annual event hosted by Gloria Estefan (9 p.m., CBS).
THURSDAY, Dec. 28
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever
The latest animated movie based on the wildly successful young-reader book series will again follow everyone’s disaster-prone middle-school student as he moves from one Christmas catastrophe after another (Disney+).
Seal Team
After an assignment lands the whole team in the hospital, Bravo creates a little chaos and Clay (Max Theierlot, above) tries to piece together what went wrong (10 p.m., CBS).
READ ALL ABOUT IT
It was a big year in baseball, with integration, the expansion of the major leagues, the rise of game’s first dynasty (the New York Yankees) and labor issues. Author Phil Coffin‘s When Baseball Was Still Topps (McFarland) chronicles the players of 1959—all 572 of them featured on Topps’ collectible cards. It’s a gold mine for baseball fans who got to know the heavy hitters, the star fielders and the hotshot hurlers through the iconic cards—like Mickey Mantle’s “rookie” card, in 1952, which fetched more than $12 million when it sold in 2022!
The Media Tourist 