It’s a big weekend for fans of classic rock and contemporary music, with HBO’s annual broadcast of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, the Soul Train Awards on BET and ABC’s telecast of the American Music Awards. On The Simpsons, Smithers finally gets a boyfriend (Victor Garber!), but for how long? Season finales include two Masterpiece mysteries and Starz’ gangster drama BMF.
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Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
SATURDAY: Long overdue women rockers take the spotlight in the music-filled ceremony, filmed earlier this fall at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse arena. Honorees include Tina Turner, Carole King, The Go-Gos, plus Foo Fighters, Jay-Z and Todd Rundgren. Among the superstars presenting and performing: Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, Eminem and Jennifer Lopez. Try beating that lineup.
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Soul Train Awards
SATURDAY: Marking the legendary TV show’s 50th anniversary, Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold return to host Soul Train’s celebration of soul, R&B and hip-hop, held for the first time in New York’s iconic Apollo Theater. Ashanti receives the Lady of Soul Award and Maxwell reaps Legend Award honors.
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American Music Awards
SUNDAY: Fans vote for the winners in the annual music bash, hosted by irreverent five-time AMA winner Cardi B from L.A.’s Microsoft Theater. Olivia Rodrigo leads the nominations with seven and is also up for Artist of the Year along with Ariana Grande, BTS, Drake, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd. Performances include Rodrigo’s first AMA appearance, a boy-band blast when New Edition and New Kids on the Block share the stage for the first time, a Carrie Underwood–Jason Aldean duet, Bad Bunny, and BTS with Megan Thee Stallion.
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The Simpsons
SUNDAY: Stop the presses! (Does Springfield still have presses?) After years of being Mr. Burns’ underappreciated lapdog, Smithers finally takes a chance on love, with Homer acting as “gay matchmaking god” when he sets up the bow-tied whipping boy with a glamorous billionaire fashion designer (Alias’ Victor Garber). At last, someone sees Smithers for who he is: “talented, smart as a whip and hot in a 1960s Cape Canaveral kind of way.” But as usual, if something seems too good to be true in this warped animated world, it usually is. Still, a great episode, with epiphanies for all, including Homer: “Who knew gay relationships could be complicated?”
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Grantchester
SUNDAY: The Season 6 finale is a big one for Detective Inspector Geordie Keating (Robson Green), who’s implicated in the investigation of a music producer’s murder. The episode also reveals the full history of his connection to fellow WWII POW Johnny Richards (Shaun Dooley) and why Geordie has spiraled since their reunion. Followed by the Season 2 and series finale of Baptiste (10/9c, check local listings at pbs.org), in which the title sleuth (Tchéky Karyo) and British ambassador Emma Chambers (Fiona Shaw), reeling from the latest twist involving her radicalized son, race to stop another terrorist attack.
BMF
SUNDAY: The Detroit-set crime drama ends its first season with Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory (Demetrius Flenory Jr.) making a move to expand their criminal operations into new territory—but first he’ll have to concoct a plan to take out a threatening alliance. Not only has the hit series been renewed for a second season, it has spawned a companion documentary series currently in development by executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions.
BMF where to stream
Starz
Power Book II: Ghost
SUNDAY: As the second season of the Ghost sequel begins, college student/drug dealer Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr.) is trying to resume normal undergrad life, but he’ll have to choose whom to ally with or eliminate to keep his family safe, while trying to shake off the shadow of Ghost (Omari Hardwick), the kingpin father he killed. Joining the cast: Rescue Me’s Daniel Sunjata as crime boss Monet’s (Mary J. Blige) new lover.
The Yule Spool:
- A Kindhearted Christmas (Saturday, 8/7c, GAC Family): 90210’s Jennie Garth is a widow who plays Secret Santa to a needy high school, but she may not be anonymous for long if a handsome Upstate New York morning-show anchor (Cameron Mathison) roots out her identity.
- A Christmas Together with You (Saturday, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel): Smallville’s Laura Vandervoort stars in a road-trip movie as Megan, who’s hoping to help her father figure (The Blacklist’s Harry Lennix) find his long-lost love when she discovers her own soulmate (Eureka’s Niall Matter).
- You Make It Feel Like Christmas (Saturday, 8/7c, Lifetime): A rising fashion designer (Mary Antonini) is about to blow off Christmas back home until her ex-boyfriend (Michael Xavier) returns from military duty to help her get her priorities straight.
- Five More Minutes (Saturday, 10/9c, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 10/9c): Inspired by a Scotty McCreery song, this heartwarmer unveils a romance discovered in the pages of a late grandfather’s journal.
- A Kiss Before Christmas (Sunday, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel): It’s a Desperate Housewives reunion when James Denton co-stars opposite Teri Hatcher in the story of a nice guy who probably shouldn’t have griped to Santa about a career setback, because he wakes up in a different reality, no longer married to his wife (Hatcher) or dad to their adopted children. But he is a CEO.
- Baking Spirits Bright (Sunday, 8/7c, Lifetime): Battlestar Galactica’s Rekha Sharma is a woman trying to keep her family’s fruitcake business from falling flat.
- Christmas Down Under (Sunday, 8/8c, ION): Two stars of the Australian soap Home & Away headline a movie about the aftermath of a marital spat, when an uptight wife enlists an Aboriginal tour guide and social-media savvy ride-share driver to help find her husband before Christmas.
- Who Is Christmas Eve? (Sunday, 8/7c, Bounce): Abandoned as a baby on a church’s steps on Christmas Eve 30 years ago, Eve (Paige Hurd) seeks the truth about her birth history with the help of investigative genealogist Pam Slaton (Juliana Harkavy).
Inside Weekend TV:
- The Great Soul Food Cook Off (Saturday, streaming on discovery+): From OWN comes a cooking competition celebrating Black soul-food culinary traditions. Eight chefs face off in a savory contest sure to make the mouth water. Kardea Brown hosts.
- The Mating Game (Sunday, streaming on discovery+): Sir David Attenborough narrates a five-part nature series, filmed in 22 countries on six continents, about the courtship and breeding rituals of all manner of wildlife.
- The Hunt for Planet B (Saturday, 9/8c, CNN): A documentary explores the building and planning for the December launch of NASA’s Webb Space Telescope, said to be 100 times more powerful than the Hubble.
- Saturday Night Live (Saturday, 11:30/10:30c, 8:30/PT, NBC): Simu Liu, star of Marvel’s Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, is host, joined by first-time musical guest Saweetie.
- A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (Sunday, 7:30/6:30c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): If you’re not a subscriber to Apple TV+, this is your chance for the annual viewing of the beloved 1974 Peanuts holiday special.
- Doctor Who: Flux (Sunday, 8/7c, BBC America): A long-awaited comeback in the female Doctor’s (Jodie Whittaker) final season: those creepy Weeping Angels!
- China’s Iron Fist: Xi Jinping and the Stakes for America (Sunday, 9/8c, CNN): Fareed Zakaria leads a special report on the rise of China as a dominant superpower under the rule of Xi Jinping.