Remembering Christopher Reeve, ‘Somebody Somewhere’ Finale, ‘Sugarplummed’ and More Holiday Movies, Sherlock and His Creator

Documentary Premiere

SATURDAY: An admiring and moving documentary attests to the nearly superhuman resilience of Superman superstar Christopher Reeve, who almost died in a 1995 horse-riding accident that left him paralyzed—yet emboldened to spend the rest of his life, with wife Dana, dedicated to the cause of research and visibility for the disabled. His children recall the shadow cast by Reeve’s celebrity but also his endurance and Dana’s devotion. (After his death 20 years ago, she succumbed to lung cancer in March 2006.) The film also shows his Juilliard classmate and best friend Robin Williams standing by the Reeves through their ordeal. Along the way, the actor revised his theory of heroism: “I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”

Series Finale

10:30/9:30c

SUNDAY: Warm, witty and wise, this lowkey gem of a slice-of-life comedy ends its third and final season with characteristic grace, laughter and a few well-earned tears. As Sam, everyone’s friend—but sometimes her own worst enemy—Bridget Everett sums up the series’ theme when she accompanies her bestie Joel (Jeff Hiller) back to his old church, reminding him: “Sometimes you gotta go away to come back and realize where you’re supposed to be.” Somebody Somewhere feels like home as Sam and sister Trish (Mary Catherine Garrison) make peace with the memory of their late sister and then gather all of their friends at the local watering hole, where Everett sings us out as only she can, with a sweet twist leaving us satisfied yet wishing for more.

Movie Premiere

8/7c

The Yule Log: A Hallmark movie comes magically, and possibly disastrously, to life in Hallmark Channel’s meta comedy Sugarplummed (Saturday, 8/7c), in which wife and lawyer Emily (Psych’s winsome Maggie Lawson) conjures Sugarplum (Janel Parrish), a relentlessly peppy character from a “Harmony Home Network” Christmas movie series, into the real world to help her plan the perfect Christmas. Sugarplum’s antics don’t always sync with reality, but a happy ending is nonetheless guaranteed. Also on Hallmark Channel: Leah’s Perfect Gift (Sunday, 8/7c) stars Emily Arlook as Leah, a Jewish woman who experiences her first traditional Christmas when her boyfriend (Evan Roderick) invites her to spend the holiday with his Connecticut family, where cultures inevitably clash.

On Great American Family: Jill Wagner (Lioness) returns to family-friendly TV in Christmas Under the Northern Lights (Saturday, 8/7c) as a historian who gains new appreciation for her hometown, renowned for the Northern Lights, with the help of a local tour guide (Jesse Hutch). In Coupled Up for Christmas (Sunday, 8/7c), Sara Canning and Marcus Rosner are strangers who pretend to be a couple to get the attention of their supposed soulmates.

On Lifetime: A Very Merry Beauty Salon (Saturday, 8/7c) stars Tia Mowry as a salon owner who falls for a winery CEO (RonReaco Lee) while planning Atlanta’s annual Tinsel Ball. Teri Hatcher stars in How to Fall in Love by Christmas (Sunday, 8/7c) as a lifestyle brand CEO whose desperate ploy to save her company involves writing a column on finding love through the Take to Heart dating app, with a handsome photographer (Dan Payne) following her every move.

UPtv offers A Christmas Thief (Saturday, 7/6c), with Michelle Borth as a private eye looking into burglaries where Santa Claus is the prime suspect, and 12 Dares of Christmas (Sunday, 7/6c), starring Brittany Underwood as a teacher who accepts her sister’s “12 Dares” challenge while a French teacher (Sean Yves Lessard) helps her arrange a Christmas exchange program.

OWN’s holiday movie, A Season to Remember (Saturday, 9/8c), stars Michele Weaver as an ambitious sports reporter who lands a big story before Christmas with the help of a sports photographer (Nathan Owens).

Series Premiere

8/7c

SUNDAY: Who doesn’t love Sherlock Holmes? Turns out the iconic sleuth’s creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, had a love-hate relationship with his most famous character. Popular historian Lucy Worsley explores this dichotomy in a three-part series, revealing how Doyle thrilled Victorian audiences with Holmes’ cutting-edge deductions before deciding to kill him off (for a time) at Reichenbach Falls and trying to distance himself from all things Holmes.

Season Finale

SUNDAY: Prolific creator Taylor Sheridan makes another cameo appearance (as he occasionally does on Yellowstone) in his military drama’s Season 2 finale as the sniper Cody, whose abilities are likely to come in handy when Joe (Zoe Saldaña) and her team execute a perilous mission on the Turkey-Iran-Iraq border. While they’re mired in the explosive fog of war, their bosses Kaitlyn (Nicole Kidman) and Byron (Michael Kelly) head to Costa Rica to get their cartel mission back on track.

Elsewhere in Sheridan’s TV universe: On Yellowstone (Sunday, 8/7c), Jamie (Wes Bentley) continues to spiral, while Beth (Kelly Reilly) makes a deal with Travis (Sheridan). And things get dicey on Landman (Sunday, streaming on Paramount Network) when Tommy (Billy Bob Thornton) tangles again with the cartel, then comes home to ex-wife Angela (Ali Larter) hosting a dinner party in the redecorated oil house. And for those who didn’t or couldn’t stream it, Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequel 1923, starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, begins a run on Paramount Network with episodes following Yellowstone (Sunday, roughly 9:25/8:25c).

INSIDE WEEKEND TV:

• Separated (Saturday, 9/8c, MSNBC): Oscar-winning filmmaker Errol Morris explores the impact of the U.S. family separation policy on migrant families.
• Saturday Night Live (Saturday, 11:30/10:30c, 8:30/PT, NBC): Gladiator II’s Paul Mescal is the first-time guest host, with Shaboozey the first-time musical guest.
• Meet the Press (Sunday, 9 am/ET, check local listings): Moderator Kristen Welker sits with president-elect Donald Trump in his first network interview since the election.
• CBS Sunday Morning (Sunday, 9 am/ET, check local listings): Reports include Seth Doane’s visit to the reopened Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Nancy Giles’ tribute to Harlem’s Apollo Theater, a behind-the-scenes look at Netflix’s Squid Game, and former CBS Sports president Sean McManus reflecting on his father Jim McKay’s coverage of the 1972 Munich Olympics terrorist attack, the subject of the new movie September 5.
• 60 Minutes (Sunday, 7/6c, CBS): In a 90-minute edition, Sharyn Alfonsi debriefs whistleblowers at embattled Boeing and travels to Thailand to depict the co-existence of elephants and humans, Margaret Brennen examines the politics of the cryptocurrency boom, and Anderson Cooper explores AI in the classroom.
• CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute (Sunday, 8/7c, CNN): Anderson Cooper and Laura Coates host the annual tribute to everyday people who go beyond to serve others, with packages introduced by Oprah Winfrey, Bradley Cooper, Pedro Pascal, Misty Copeland, Zachary Quinto, Kelly Ripa, and Danai Gurira. Michael J. Fox receives the second CNN Heroes Legacy Award.
• Sunday Night Football (Sunday, 8 pm/ET, NBC): The Los Angeles Chargers take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the prime-time match.
• The Equalizer (Sunday, 8:30/7:30c, CBS): McCall (Queen Latifah) is trapped in a harrowing triangle at Christmastime when she, Dante (Tory Kittles) and her ex-husband Miles (Stephen Bishop) are caught up in a hospital siege.
• The Primrose Railway Children (Sunday, 9:15/8:15, 6:15 pm/PT, BYUtv): Grey’s Anatomy’s Kevin McKidd returns to his native Scotland for a contemporary reimagining of the 1905 classic The Railway Children, about a family uprooted from the big city to a Scottish village after their father (McKidd) goes missing.