Wallace & Gromit’s New Adventure, ‘Outlander’ Goes to Battle, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Returning ‘Home’ to Hallmark

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Butter me crumpets, the best news so far in 2025 is the return of that daffy British inventor Wallace and his suffering-in-silence dog Gromit, starring in a feature-length stop-motion-animation caper that reunites the adorable duo with their implacable nemesis, jailbird penguin Feathers McGraw (from the Oscar-winning short The Wrong Trousers). With gizmos aplenty and enough Looney Tunes-worthy slapstick action to thrill kids of all ages, Vengeance finds Feathers using Wallace’s latest invention, a robotic gnome servant, against them in his quest for the elusive blue diamond. It’s a riot.

Outlander

Military peril comes to the time-tripping historical romance when Jamie (Sam Heughan), Claire (Caitríona Balfe) and their Revolutionary War contemporaries are caught up in the mayhem of 1778’s pivotal Battle of Monmouth. As if that weren’t enough, Lord John (David Berry) and Ian (John Bell) are on a personal mission to save Jamie’s son William (Charles Vandervaart) from a Hessian trap. Before it’s all over, you’ll understand why this episode is titled (like the novel from which it’s adapted) “Written in My Own Heart’s Blood.”

RuPaul’s Drag Race

With contestants trumpeting names like Acadia Forgot, Hormona Lisa and Lucky Starzzz, it can mean only one thing: a new season of the exuberant and multi-Emmy winning RuPaul’s Drag Race. Katy Perry is guest judge, joining the regular panel of Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, Ross Mathews and Ts Madison as Season 17 gets underway with a Squid Game-inspired round of “RuLight, Green Light,” followed by the new cast of queens showing off their skills in a ”Drag Queens Got Talent” show. There’s a new twist this season, in which queens facing elimination can earn immunity with the Badonka Dunk Tank. If they choose one of the levers that dunks Michelle, they won’t have to sashay away!

The Way Home

We don’t get to say this often: Score one for linear TV. The third season of the time-travel romance, originally scheduled to stream exclusively on Hallmark+ this week, has been restored to its proper home on the Hallmark Channel after an outcry from fans reluctant to subscribe to yet another streaming service. Now they don’t have to wait to see what happens when Kat (Chyler Leigh) and a now-adult Jacob (Spencer Macpherson) walk into the Landry home after their Season 2 finale reunion.

Dexter: Original Sin

Young Dexter (Patrick Gibson) still has a lot to learn about the killing game, and his father/mentor Harry (Christian Slater) is convinced the 20-year-old isn’t ready to act on his dark impulses, especially after his encounter with hit man Mad Dog (Joe Pantoliano) ended so badly. While an oh-so-hungry Dexter is grounded at home, Miami detective Harry faces his own failings on the witness stand during a murder trial, and before you know it, Dex has a new target in his sights. (The episode airs Sunday on Showtime.)

INSIDE FRIDAY TV:

• The Greatest @Home Videos: Cedy Awards (8/7c, CBS): Cedric the Entertainer gets a jump on awards season with the third annual Cedy Awards, honoring the most entertaining viral home videos. His The Neighborhood co-star Max Greenfield lends an assist to announce the #1 video winner of the Golden Cedy.
• Happy’s Place (8/7c, NBC): Bobbie (Reba McEntire) battles bartender Gabby (Melissa Peterman) for the role of emcee at the tavern’s anniversary party. Followed by Lopez vs. Lopez (8:30/7:30c), where George (George Lopez) tries to keep his latest friendship a secret when he bonds with the ex of his ex-wife, Rosie (Selenis Leyva).
• Dallas, 2019 (9/8c, PBS): An immersive installment of Independent Lens airs in five chapters, two tonight and three on Saturday, depicting a cross-section of Dallas city workers, community organizers and everyday citizens as they face urban challenges and consider the city’s future.
• True Crime Watch: On ABC’s 20/20 (9/8c), Matt Gutman reports on his seven-year investigation into the 2018 hate-crime murder of 29-year-old University of Pennsylvania med student Blaze Bernstein, who was targeted for being Jewish and gay. Dateline NBC (9/8c) repeats its report from last January, “The Secrets of Birch View Drive,” about the 2015 murder of Connie Debate during what at first appeared to be a home invasion.
• They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce (1 am/12c, ESPN): The retired Philadelphia Eagles star joins the ranks of late-night entertainers with the first of five scheduled after-hours romps, mixing sports talk with comedy and celebrity guests.

ON THE STREAM:

• Silo (streaming on Apple TV+): In a pivotal episode of the sci-fi thriller, Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) searches for Solo (Steve Zahn), with the ominous realization that they may no longer be alone in Silo 17.
• The Agency (streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime): The moody spy drama takes another twist when agent Martian’s (Michael Fassbender) feelings for Samia (Jodie Turner-Smith) come under new scrutiny, while undercover agent Danny (Saura Lightfoot-Leon) executes a plan to ensure she gets picked to go to Iran.
• Selling the City (streaming on Netflix): We look because we can’t afford to buy, as a new reality series introduces agents at Douglas Elliman who represent high-end luxury real estate properties in New York City.
• Streaming movie premieres include Skincare (streaming on AMC+), a thriller starring Elizabeth Banks as a celebrity facialist who suspects someone is trying to sabotage her growing empire, and The Front Room (Max, airing on HBO Saturday at 8/7c), starring Brandy as a pregnant woman in a battle of wills with her berserk stepmother-in-law (Kathryn Hunter).