Grammys Salute Hip Hop, ‘Doctor Who’ and the Toymaker, ‘Gilded’ Tragedy, Yuletide Movies

A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip Hop

SUNDAY: All year long, the masters of hip hop have been marking a half-century of the revolutionary music genre. In a concert special filmed before a live audience at L.A.’s YouTube Theater, rap royalty including the Queen (Latifah) gathers to perform, with a reunion of “Fresh Prince” Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff among the highlights. The roster includes Arrested Development, Big Daddy Kane, Common, Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Doug. E. Fresh, GloRilla, LL Cool J, MC Lyte, Public Enemy, Questlove, Rick Ross, Roddy Ricch, 2 Chainz and many, many more.

Doctor Who

SATURDAY: After last week’s mind-blowing episode in the “Wild Blue Yonder,” Doctor Who alum David Tennant bids what for us will be a too-soon farewell as the Fourteenth Doctor—and taking Catherine Tate as beloved companion Donna Noble with him—as the stage is set for the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) to take over in the Christmas episode. In “The Giggle,” the Doctor’s adversary is the dastardly puppet master known as “The Toymaker,” a role nicely suited for guest star Neil Patrick Harris. Beyond that, the contents of the episode are mostly a mystery. The only certainty is that it will be wrenching to see Tennant hang up the Doctor’s wardrobe for a second time.

The Gilded Age

SUNDAY: Well, that was quick. Barely had he said his “I do’s” to lifelong spinster Ada (Cynthia Nixon) than genial clergyman Luke Forte (Robert Sean Leonard) was diagnosed with one of those Love Story-style fatal illnesses, softening even the heart of Ada’s starchy sister Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski). This tragedy occupies much of the penultimate episode of Season 2, though there’s also bad news for Agnes’ son Oscar (Blake Ritson) regarding his recent investments. And guess who’s having second thoughts about her unhappily public engagement? Agnes’ niece Marian (Louisa Jacobson), because there’s not enough turmoil already in this beleaguered household.

Science Fair: The Series

SUNDAY: Inspired by the acclaimed 2018 documentary, an uplifting three-part docuseries (airing in one night) follows students from around the world as they compete to qualify for the International Science and Engineering Fair. The journey begins with New Yorker Natasha exploring ways to predict and prevent teen suicide.

A Cowboy Christmas Romance

The Yule Log: The holiday-movie factory is operating on full cylinders this weekend. A sampling: Lifetime gives us A Cowboy Christmas Romance (Saturday, 8/7), with Jana Kramer as a real-estate closer who returns to her Arizona hometown to try to get a rancher (Adam Senn) to sell his family’s land. (We somehow think another sort of deal will be closed.) “Cake Boss” Buddy Valastro appears in Lifetime’s Yes, Chef! Christmas, as the former boss of culinary school instructor Alicia (Tia Mowry), who gets her cooking mojo back at the annual Kringle Cook Off with the help of a hunky chef (Luke Humphrey).

On Hallmark Channel, Christmas on Cherry Lane (Saturday, 8/7c) reunites The Good Witch stars Catherine Bell and James Denton as an empty-nester and her fiancé, one of three couples on the block facing life changes during the holidays; and in Round and Round (Sunday, 8/7c), Vic Michaelis is Rachel, who’s caught in a time loop at her parents’ Hanukkah party, with Bryan Greenberg as the “nice boy” she’s being set up with. On Great American Family: Meet Me Under the Mistletoe (Saturday, 8/7c) sends two rival realtors (Sarah Fisher, Simon Arblaster) into romcom territory, and Peppermint and Postcards (Sunday, 8/7c) brings love into the life of a mom whose Christmas letter goes viral. UPtv’s Christmas at the Amish Bakery (Sunday, 7/6c) finds a book editor (Alexandra Harris) heading back to her childhood Amish community for inspiration while rescuing the family bakery.

INSIDE WEEKEND TV:

• Heisman Trophy Ceremony (Saturday, 8 pm/ET, ESPN): Attending the 30th ceremony televised by ESPN: finalists Jayden Daniels (LSU quarterback), Marvin Harrison Jr. (Ohio State receiver), Bo Nix (Oregon quarterback) and Michael Penix Jr. (Washington quarterback). Followed by the 30 for 30 documentary The Great Heisman Race of 1997 (9 pm/ET), recounting the epic showdown between future Hall of Famers Peyton Manning (Tennessee) and Charles Woodson (Michigan).
• Funny You Should Ask (Saturday, 8/7c, CBS): Byron Allen’s syndicated comedy game show comes to prime time with four bundled episodes, with jokesters including Whitney Cummings, Vivica A. Fox, Billy Gardell, Jamie Kennedy, Natasha Leggero, Jon Lovitz and Jeff Ross.
• Saturday Night Live (Saturday, 11:30/10:30c, 8:30 pm/PT, NBC): Adam Driver returns for his fourth visit as guest host, with Olivia Rodrigo as musical guest for the second time.
• White House Christmas 2023 (Sunday, 6/5c, HGTV): The annual special is back to offer an inside look at how 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is transformed into a magical seasonal wonderland.
• 60 Minutes (Sunday, 7:30/6:30c, 7 pm/PT, CBS): Jon Wertheim interviews tennis star Novak Djokovic, Bill Whitaker profiles climate-conscious Wyoming governor Mark Gordon, and Scott Pelley visits the war-torn Ukrainian city of Kherson.
• CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute (Sunday, 8 pm/ET, CNN): Anderson Cooper and Laura Coates co-host a tribute to everyday heroes making a difference in their communities, with a bevy of celebrity presenters including Edie Falco, Sterling K. Brown, Amanda Seyfried, Rachel Zegler, Sharon Stone and Brooke Shields.
• MasterChef Junior: Home for the Holidays (Sunday, 8/7c, Fox): Nine young chefs get cooking to compete over two nights (concluding Monday) with a $25,000 grand prize and Viking Kitchen package at stake. Gordon Ramsay is joined by 22-year-old daughter Tilly on the judging panel, alongside Aarón Sánchez and Daphne Oz. In the opener, the young contestants find proteins hidden in snowmen and use the ingredients to prepare a dish reflecting their holiday traditions.
• Fellow Travelers (Sunday, 9/8c, Showtime): The emotional historical drama shifts to 1978, when Tim (Jonathan Bailey) reunites after 11 years with Hawk (Matt Bomer) on Fire Island during a time of personal crisis, and flash-forwards to 1986, where Hawk tends to an ailing Tim. Followed by The Curse (10/9c), where filming resumes on the fictional HGTV show Flipanthropy while Whitney (Emma Stone) struggles to find the perfect subjects to move into her “passive” homes, revealing more about her than them.