HBO’s Gloomy ‘Dune’ Prequel, Billy Bob Thornton in ‘Landman,’ Martin Scorsese’s Saints, ’60 Minutes’ Revisits 9/11

Dune: Prophecy

SUNDAY: The Dune franchise comes to TV in a handsome though oppressively solemn prequel, dating back 10,000 years from Denis Villeneuve’s hit movies to reveal the origin story of the sisterhood of mystics that became known as the Bene Gesserit. Emily Watson stars as the ambitious Valya Harkonnen, a Mother Superior intent on maintaining her tribe’s influence with the Imperium’s leadership. She faces a daunting challenge after the arrival from planet Arrakis (seen only briefly) of a charismatic soldier (Travis Fimmel) whose mysterious power threatens the sisterhood’s dominance. (See the full review.)

Landman

SUNDAY: Taylor Sheridan adds to his library of rugged sagas from America’s heartland with Landman, starring Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris, a tough guy with a dry wit who spends his eventful days putting out fires—sometimes literally—as a fixer and negotiator for the bosses who control the booming oil fields of Texas. This is very much a man’s world—Tommy’s nubile daughter and shrewish ex-wife are played largely for laughs, and a cutthroat litigation lawyer is paralyzed when she spies a rattlesnake. Thornton rises above with a droll attitude and thick skin, observing on the scene of one explosive disaster, “You wouldn’t want to have my job any week.” Jon Hamm co-stars as his ruthless boss, with Demi Moore as his pampered wife. Launches with two episodes, the first being made available Sunday at 9/8c on Paramount Network following a new episode of Sheridan’s megahit Yellowstone (8/7c).

Lioness

SUNDAY: Here’s a quick rundown of what else is happening in Taylor Sheridan’s TV universe. His uncompromising military thriller delivers another tense episode, in which the Lioness team is rocked after their warehouse raid with the DEA uncovered not drugs but children being trafficked from Mexico. Joe’s (Zoe Saldaña) bosses in D.C. forbid the team to intervene, at risk of blowing their primary mission of infiltrating a cartel, and tough choices must be made—at the same time sending the latest Lioness, helicopter pilot Josie (Genesis Rodriguez), into the lion’s den of her cartel-associated family, with veteran Lioness Cruz (Laysla De Oliveira) watching her every move. Also streaming on Paramount+: the Season 2 finale of the crime dramedy Tulsa King, with Dwight (Sylvester Stallone) tying up loose ends while his empire grows. And Yellowstone (Sunday, 8/7c, Paramount Network) continues its march to the end with Beth (Kelly Reilly) coming to grips with the family’s latest crisis, while Jamie (Wes Bentley) meets with those villains at Market Equities.

Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints

SUNDAY: The famed filmmaker hosts, narrates and serves as an executive producer of an ambitious anthology that dramatizes the lives of eight Catholic saints. (Four episodes drop weekly, followed by four more in April to coincide with the holy season.) The series opens with the story of Joan of Arc and continues with John the Baptist (Nov. 24), the martyred Saint Sebastian (Dec. 1) and Maximilian Kolbe (Dec. 8), a Polish priest who sacrificed himself to save a prisoner at Auschwitz during the Holocaust.

60 Minutes

SUNDAY: Another 90-minute edition of the venerable newsmagazine 60 Minutes features two double-length segments, including Scott Pelley’s report on continuing efforts to search for and identify remains of victims lost when the World Trade Center was attacked and destroyed on 9/11. Lesley Stahl travels to the Buddhist land of Bhutan, facing a population shortage, and Jon Wertheim explores the pop-culture phenomenon of Australian prominence in the movie industry, in front of and behind the screen.

Jingle Bell Run

The Yule Log: So many holiday movies. On Hallmark Channel: Jingle Bell Run (Saturday, 8/7c) stars Ashley Williams and Andrew Walker as teammates who get very acquainted while traveling the country on the Amazing Race-style reality competition The Great Holiday Dash. In Confessions of a Christmas Letter (Sunday, 8/7c), The Office’s Angela Kinsey is a matriarch who hires a novelist (Alec Santos) to help her win a holiday letter-writing contest, with complications ensuing when rumors link him romantically with her daughter.

Lifetime’s “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime” movie series gets started with Christmas at Plumhill Manor (Saturday, 8/7c), starring Maria Menounos as an architect who finds romance across the pond when she inherits an English countryside estate. In Holiday in Happy Hollow (Sunday, 8/7c), a real-estate developer (Tamara Almeida) discovers that the Christmas tree farm she bought includes small deeds belonging to local families.

On Great American Family: A Christmas Less Traveled (Saturday, 8/7c) stars channel favorite Candace Cameron Bure as Desi, who discovers an audiocassette in her late dad’s truck with directions for a road trip to romance. In A Christmas Quilt (Sunday, 8/7c), Ferelith Young is a quilting teacher who bonds with a firefighter (Harmon Walsh) when she makes a quilt for his sister’s Christmas wedding.

On UPtv: Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays (Saturday, 7/6c) features Vivica A. Fox in the story of a social influencer whose puppy is kidnapped, with her assistant and a local vet growing close while joining the search. In A Very English Christmas (Sunday, 7/6c), Kimberly Nixon scrambles to help plan her sister’s impromptu Christmas Eve wedding in England.

INSIDE WEEKEND TV:

• 48 Hours (Saturday, 10/9c, CBS): Peter Van Sant reports on the 2020 murder of Texas mother Alyssa Burkett during a child custody dispute.
• Saturday Night Live (Saturday, 11:30/10:30c, 8:30 pm/PT, NBC): Bratty musician Charli XCX makes her third appearance as musical guest, doing double duty for the first time as guest host.
• Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: Is Ozempic Right for You? (Sunday, 8/7c, CNN): The medical correspondent reports on a yearlong investigation into the weight-loss drug.
• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Sunday, 8/7c, ABC): The fifth and final film in the adventure franchise makes its broadcast debut.
• How It Really Happened with Jesse L. Martin (Sunday, 9/8c, HBO): The docuseries returns with two episodes (and a third next Sunday), including an investigation into 1982’s murders by cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules and a report on the crimes of con-artist killer Sante Kimes and her son Kenny.
• The Marlow Murder Club (Sunday, 9/8, PBS): Amateur sleuth Judith (Samantha Bond) puts her life in danger as she gets closer to the killer’s identity during a storm in the mystery series’ Season 1 finale.
• The Franchise (Sunday, 10:10/9:10c, HBO): A location shoot in Armenia leads to chaos during the filming of a stunt involving the destruction of a local bridge.
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (Sunday, approximately midnight/11c, NBC): Following the Bengals-Chargers game on Sunday Night Football (8:15 pm/ET), a special edition of the late-night show features guests Jon Hamm, Lindsay Lohan and Pharrell.