The calendar shifts to 2022 this week, which means a whole wave of New Year’s Eve specials – often one of the biggest nights of the year for network television – and a flurry of post-emotional premieres. the feeling of nausea disappears. Among the premiere broadcasts was the final season of This is us and Black-ish. The streaming menu is a bit pale for early screening, but it features both the new Star Wars series on Disney+ and a look back at the Harry Potter series on HBO Max.
Below is The Hollywood ReporterList of premieres, returns and specials for the next seven days. It will be impossible to see everything, but please CHEAP point the way to worthy choices for the coming week. All times are ET/PT unless noted.
Big show
With the third season of Mandalorian preparing to launch in 2022, Disney + squeezes Star Wars series right below for this year with Books by Boba Fett. Subsection of Mandalorian Follows legendary bounty hunter (Temuera Morrison) and gun rental friend Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) as they return to Tatooine and attempt to gain a foothold in the galactic underworld by taking over territory once held Jabba the Hutt controls. Jennifer Beals, David Pasquesi and Sophie Thatcher also star. The series premieres Wednesdays on Disney+ and will feature new episodes weekly.
Also streaming…
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and a host of others Harry Potter Film alumni gather to celebrate two decades of the franchise in HBO Max specials Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Back to Hogwarts (Saturday). The second season of Netflix’s true crime anthology Crime scene with subtitles Killer in Times Square (Wednesday). Part four of Cobra Kai premieres Friday on Netflix.
Broadcasting…
Eve: The second New Year’s Eve impacted by COVID will have a slightly more celebratory atmosphere than 2020 – but still rife with virus precautions. Some networks will mark the calendar change with primetime and late-night specials on Fridays, with ABC New Year’s Eve of New Year’s Eve (8pm and 11:30pm) marks the 50th anniversary of its founding. CBS has New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash (8 and 11:30 p.m.), and NBC will broadcast 2021: It’s Toast! at golden hour (8pm) then Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party (10:30 p.m.), hosted by Miley Cyrus and Pete Davidson.
Final seasons: A pair of Emmy-winning series will begin their final seasons on Tuesday. NBC’s This is us begins its sensational sixth season at 9pm, following the Pearson siblings past and present. Black-ish opens season eight at 9:30 p.m. on ABC, with Michelle Obama guest starring in the premiere.
Also: The annual Tournament of Roses Parade will be broadcast by ABC and NBC at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT Saturday. Fox’s Next level chef premieres at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. Sunday Pacific time NFL. Around the world in 80 days (8 p.m. Sunday, PBS) stars David Tennant as Phileas Fogg. Bachelor new season begins at 8 p.m. Monday on ABC. Monday also brings Fox premieres 911: Lonely Star (8 p.m.) and Cleaning woman (9pm) and NBC’s Kenan (8pm). On Tuesdays, ABC debuts Judge Steve Harvey (8 p.m.) and Abbott Elementary School front Black-ish, and NBC rookie comedies American cars (8 p.m.) and Grand Crew (8:30 p.m.) settle down at their home.
On cable…
College football: The College Football Playoff includes a team for the first time – the undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats – from outside the “power year” conference. Cincinnati takes on Alabama in the first semifinal at 3:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. PT Friday on ESPN. The second game features Georgia and Michigan at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT. New Year’s Day brings in wall games starting at noon ET / 9 a.m. Pacific Time (Penn State vs. Arkansas in the Outback Bowl on ESPN2) and running into prime time (Mississippi vs Baylor in Sugar Bowl on ESPN).
Also: Parks and Recreation and Good girls star Retta hosts HGTV’s five-episode search show for The ugliest house in America (10 p.m. Monday). If you’ve spent any time on real estate websites, you know that the competition is fierce.
In case you lost it…
With love not the romantic comedy genre that believes in creating complexity for its characters. In fact, “there are some problems about With love That can’t be solved with an eloquent declaration of love or a frantic airport rush or, in some cases, a heroic punch in the face,” wrote CHEAP critic Angie Han. And while that makes the series limited, about a Mexican-American family expands from One day at a timeGloria Calderón Kellett’s is sometimes a bit too sugary, “imagining it selling is still a pleasure.” All five episodes are streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video.
