TV shows, new DVDs, movies and books you’ll want to check out this week!
(All times Eastern.)
MONDAY, Dec. 7
The Great Christmas Light Fight
The third season of the popular holiday home-decorating competition series returns with all-new celebrity judges, Carter Oosterhouse from HGTV’s Million Dollar Rooms and Tania Nayak from Food Network’s Restaurant Impossible, as 20 couples across America decorate their houses to winter-wonderland extremes (8 p.m., ABC).
TV’s Funniest Animated Stars: A Paley Center for Media Special
The 40 most iconic animated TV stars of all time are counted down and saluted in this special tribute, along with the vocal actors who brought time to life. Among the honorees: Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Homer and Bart Simpson, Spongebob Squarepants and Scooby-Doo (8 p.m., Fox).
Things to Be Thankful for: Holiday Cartoons!
TUESDAY, Dec. 8
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show
Fashion, fantasy and entertainment intersect on the runway in this spectacle featuring lingerie Angels in the latest “evening” fashions and performances from Rihanna, Selena Gomez and The Weeknd (10 p.m., CBS).
Photos: The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Angels on the Runway
Born This Way
New original docu-series follows a group of seven young adults born with Down syndrome, along with their families and friends, as they pursue their dreams and passions, explore romantic relationships and share their lives with the cameras (10 pm., A&E).
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 9
Finding My Father
Sixteen young men and women embark on a leap of faith and hope of connecting with their biological fathers for the first time, using social media, distant family connections and the assistance of private investigators (9 p.m., Oxygen).
The Illusionists
One of the hottest shows on Broadway comes into your living room as seven of the most incredible magicians in the world take to the stage in this mind-blowing, hour-long spectacular, filmed at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles (10 p.m., NBC).
Showbiz Analysis with Illusionist Michael Grandinetti
THURSDAY, Dec. 10
Toy Story 20th Anniversary Special
This hour-long documentary look at how Pixar’s early beginnings led them to take the bold leap of making the first full-length, computer-animated movie will be followed by the delightful Toy Story itself (8 p.m., ABC).
Michael Bublé’s Christmas in Hollywood
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter breaks out the holiday cheer for the fifth consecutive year, with musical guests Celine Dion, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings and Tori Kelly, and appearances by Jay Leno, William Shatner, Blake Shelton, Kylie Jenner and other celebs (8 p.m., NBC).
Michael Bublé on Fatherhood: ‘I Haven’t Slept in Nine Days’
FRIDAY, Dec. 11
Muppet Marathon
Get all warm and fuzzy with this film fest starring Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and all their pals in The Muppet Movie, A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, Muppet Treasure Island and The Great Muppet Caper (7 p.m., AMC)
The Hollywood Christmas Parade
Grand marshals Penn and Teller, the world-famous magicians, set the theme of the “Magic of Christmas” for this 84th annual event, which will feature musical performances by Clay Aiken, Mark McGrath, Natasha Bedingfeld, Taylor Hicks and Daughtry; a tribute to daytime soap operas with stars from The Young & Restless, The Bold & The Beautiful, Days of Our Lives and General Hospital; and a spotlight on the Marine Toys for Tots program (8 p.m. The CW).
Looking for more holiday TV? Check out our full listing of programs!
SATURDAY, Dec. 12
Home Made Simple
The Emmy-winning TV series featuring design ideas, recipes and money- and space-saving solutions returns with a new host, Jeremiah Brent, and a new team of experts. Today they help keep a grandfather’s older home “all in the family” with new design ideas that bridge the generations (9 a.m., OWN).
Undercover Boss
Bill Peduto, the mayor of Pittsburgh, goes undercover as a municipal employee in the Steel City as a garbage collector, a carpenter and a Public Works employee who cuts down dead trees (8 p.m., CNBC).
The Number of Women on Undercover Boss May Surprise You
SUNDAY, Dec. 13
White House Christmas
A look at the months of prep, the First Lady’s theme, the official Blue Room tree, the iconic gingerbread White House, and other behind-the-scenes details as volunteers and staffers get 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for its Christmas close-up (6 p.m., HGTV).
Photos of the 2015 White House Christmas Trees
Married by Mom and Dad
Four singles who’ve been unable to find love in the world of modern dating now agree to put their matrimonial futures in the hands of their parents, whose opinions they seek in finding, meeting and vetting their kids’ potential future spouses (10 p.m., TLC).
Then and Now With Andy Cohen
Host Andy Cohen explores memorable moments from significant years in history, beginning tonight with 1994 and O.J. Simpson, the launch of Amazon.com, the debut of TV’s Friends and the death of Kurt Cobain (10 p.m., Bravo).
NEW ON DVD & BLU-RAY
The Minions (Universal Home Entertainment), the little yellow sidekicks from Despicable Me, get their own movie—and they’re terrific in it! There are loads of fun bonus features, and Sandra Bullock is a hoot as the voice of villainess Scarlett Overkill.
Keanu Reeves finds out that no good deed goes unpunished in Knock Knock (Lionsgate), a sexy thriller about a devoted husband whose dark fantasy becomes his worst nightmare.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Rocker Tom Petty lays it all on the line for writer-musician Warren Zanes in Petty: The Biography (Henry Holt), a candid ride-along from his childhood in south Florida to his emergence as a ’70s arena rocker, and beyond.
Pop songstress Carly Simon tells her story in the delightful Boys in the Trees (Flatiron Books), which details her folk-music roots in Greenwich Village, her early days of dues-paying in Southern California, and her rise to superstardom—including her union to fellow ’70s soft-rock troubadour James Taylor, which was a marriage made in musical heaven…until it wasn’t.
The new Disney/Pixar movie The Good Dinosaur is an imaginative story about a big-hearted dino and his “human,” and The Art of The Good Dinosaur (Chronicle) offers a colorful collection of the sketches, storyboards, sculptures and other creative inspirations that went into its crafting.
James Bond movie buffs be in 007th heaven with Some Kind of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond Films (Trafalgar, Matthew Field & Ajay Chowdhury), a mother lode of trivia, insight and back-story nuggets about the franchise, gleaned from interviews with the stars, directors, writers, studio execs and the men who played the world’s most dashing secret agent.
But wait…there’s more—Bond, that is. The James Bond Archive (Taschen) is a treasure trove of on-the-set photos, rare stills, storyboards, production memos and oral histories of every Bond movie ever made, from Dr. No to the new Spectre, provided by stuntmen, directors, producers and others who worked on them.
Want to look like a movie star—or at least a million bucks? Burlesque queen and international style icon Dita Von Teese shows you how in the photo-packed coffee-table book Your Beauty Mark (Dey Street), divulging a spectrum of do-it-yourself beauty and glamour tips.
THIS WEEK AT THE MOVIES
Chris Hemsworth stars in the Ron Howard-directed In The Heart of the Sea, a ripping seafaring saga inspired by the true whaling tale from the early 1800s that inspired novelist Herman Melville to write Moby-Dick.
Chris Hemsworth Tackles a Whale of a Tale: In the Heart of the Sea
A group of financial outsiders blow the whistle that popped the bubble on Wall Street’s big-banking housing bubble of the mid-2000s in The Big Short, starring Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell and Christian Bale.
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