Thanksgiving Traditions (Parades, National Dog Show, Football), Colman Domingo, a Thanksgiving Romcom and Holiday Movies

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

The Today team of Savannah Guthrie, soon-to-depart co-anchor Hoda Kotb and Al Roker host the festivities from the nation’s most iconic parade, with 17 character balloons (including new Minnie Mouse and Spider-Man balloons), 22 floats, 11 marching bands, hundreds of clowns and performances from Broadway musicals The Outsiders, Hell’s Kitchen, Death Becomes Her, and as always the high-kicking Radio City Rockettes. WNBA champs New York Liberty will be on hand, with appearances from entertainers including Idina Menzel, Dan + Shay, Jimmy Fallon & The Roots, Walker Hayes, Ariana Madix, Lea Salonga, T-Pain and Charli D’Amelio among many others. When the clock strikes noon (ET), it’s time for Santa to make his grand entrance. Highlights of the parade can be seen in an encore at 2 pm/1c.

The National Dog Show

Tune in to marvel and to place odds on which of 1,800 top dogs, representing 900 breeds, will inherit the crown from 2023 champ Stache, a Sealyham Terrier, when the Kennel Club of Philadelphia presents the 23rd annual celebration of canine excellence. John O’Hurley returns as host, with David Frei as expert analyst and Mary Carillo providing sideline reports. They’re all playing second fiddle to these fabulous pooches.

NFL Football

Feast on football all day in a holiday tradition, starting with Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions on CBS (12:30 pm/ET), then switch to Fox for the New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys, and call it a night with the Sunday Night Football team calling the Miami Dolphins at Green Bay Packers on NBC (8 pm/ET).

The Madness

Colman Domingo (Fear the Walking Dead, Oscar nominee for Rustin) stars in an eight-episode paranoid chase thriller as Muncie Daniels, who enjoys his notoriety as a TV pundit — until he doesn’t. His fame becomes an unwelcome magnet for attention when his retreat to a remote Poconos cabin turns into a nightmare after he inadvertently witnesses the dismemberment murder of his neighbor, who he later learns was an infamous white supremacist. Guess who comes under suspicion while Muncie scrambles to protect his family, clear his name and expose a conspiracy. It’s all about as believable as it sounds.

The Day of the Jackal

For superior suspense, don’t miss this pivotal chapter of the nail-biting drama about international assassin Jackal (the riveting Eddie Redmayne). He spends much of the episode lying in wait in an arena in Estonia, cramped in a small space and hiding out of sight, plagued by violent war flashbacks. While we wonder if we’re supposed to be rooting for him to hit his mark, the series’ moral ambiguity is upstaged by ticking-clock tension.

Sweethearts

Amid the flurry of holiday movies, it’s relatively rare to find one focusing specifically on the Thanksgiving break. A raucous college romcom stars Kiernan Shipka (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) and Nico Hiraga as freshman college besties who decide to break up with their respective paramours when they head back home at Thanksgiving time. What are the odds that the chaotic fallout will bring this formerly platonic duo closer together?

Thanksgiving in America (8 am/ET, CNN): In a network first, anchors John Berman and Erica Hill preside over a survey of parades from New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston and Detroit, with music from Andy Grammer and The Temptations, and celebrities reflecting on their holiday traditions. Guests include chef Bobby Flay, Inside the NBA’s Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith and Daily Show alum Roy Wood Jr. with his Have I Got News for You co-stars Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black.

The Yule Log: Airing commercial-free, Great American Family’s 2022 historical biodrama I Heard the Bells (8/7c) stars Stephen Atherholt as famed American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who processes his grief during the Civil War into writing the immortal words that would become the iconic Christmas carol. On Hallmark Channel, Debbie Macomber’s Joyful Mrs. Miracle (8/7c) stars Rachel Boston as Annie “Mrs. Miracle” Merkel, who pretends to be an estate planner to help three adult siblings settle their differences regarding their late grandmother’s legacy at Christmastime. Streaming on BET+, The Day Before Christmas features Candace Maxwell and Tristan Wilds as single parents who cover for and fall for each other on Christmas Eve after accidentally swapping phones and their kids’ backpacks.

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• Rabbits, Ducks & No Turkeys (starts at 8 am/7c, MeTV Toons): Kids of all ages can revel in nearly 100 classic cartoon shorts featuring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in a marathon lasting through 11:30 pm/10:30c.
• Mary Poppins (8/7c, ABC): If Wednesday’s 20/20 special rekindled your affection for the Oscar-winning 1964 holiday Disney classic, the movie airs in its entirety, starring Julie Andrews as the magical nanny.
• The Masked Singer (8/7c, Fox): The theme is “Peanuts night” with an homage to A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving as the Group C finals lead to a double elimination. Followed by a new episode of The Floor (9/8c).
• Miraculous World — London at the Edge of Time (8/7c, Disney Channel): A new installment of the CGI-animated fantasy adventure sends Marinette back in time after her Miraculous earrings are stolen.

 ON THE STREAM:

• Second Chance Stage (streaming on Max): An inspiring talent competition gives people who’ve deferred their performance dreams a chance to take the spotlight in front of an audience filled with talent scouts, agents and producers. (The $100,000 grand prize is a bonus.) Country star Martina McBride, Taye Diggs and Saturday Night Live’s Heidi Gardner are the judges, with sports broadcaster Emmanuel Acho hosting. Episodes air Saturdays at 8/7c on the Magnolia Network.
• The Midwich Cuckoos: Village of the Damned (streaming on Sundance Now): In the finale of the chilling sci-fi horror series, the creepy miracle children of Midwich plan to leave the village. Can anything or anyone stop them?
• Is It Cake? Holiday (streaming on Netflix): A holiday-themed four-part special welcomes back nine bakers from past seasons to make uncanny and tasty replicas of winter items including wreaths, skates and nutcrackers. Saturday Night Live’s Mikey Day hosts.