What to Watch This Weekend: Haven's Season 5 Finale, The Librarians' Series Premiere, and Lots of Christmas Episodes
What to watch on Friday, December 5...
SEASON 5 FINALE, 7pm, Syfy
Haven
After Mara's endgame comes to light, Audrey and Nathan must figure out how to put the kibosh on it—and her—once and for all in "Chosen."
8pm, Disney
Girl Meets World
It's a Very Matthews Christmas in "Girl Meets Home for the Holidays," as Cory's parents (William Russ and Betsy Randle) and BFF Shawn (Rider Strong) come over for dinner. But will Topanga's worries over preparing the perfect feast get the better of her?
8pm, NBC
How Murray Saved Christmas
Jerry Stiller, Jason Alexander, Sean Hayes, Dennis Haysbert, and John Ratzenberger lend their voices to this tale of a curmudgeonly deli proprietor who is pressed into service as St. Nick.
SEASON 21 FINALE, 8pm & 9pm, The CW
America's Next Top Model
The two-part finale has the final four models participating in a commercial shoot with the help of some ousted contestants. After the finalists are pared down to three, a runway show in Seoul will determine the winner.
8:30pm, ABC
Cristela
Cristela tasks Felix and Alberto with remodeling Trent's office in "Floor Favor," but has a change of heart when their treatment of her on the job is less than professional. Meanwhile, Daniela shows Natalia the ropes of using the internet.
MINISERIES PREMIERE, 9pm, Sundance
One Child
Katie Leung, Elizabeth Perkins, and Donald Sumpter star in this two-night miniseries about a young Chinese-born woman raised by adoptive parents in the U.K. In the opener, she's summoned back to her native Guangzhou to deal with a crisis facing her biological family. The conclusion airs Saturday night at 9pm.
9pm, CBS
A Very Grammy Christmas
Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, Tim McGraw, and Pharrell Williams perform, and this year's nominees for the Album of the Year Grammy are unveiled.
9pm, PBS
A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen
A plethora of pop's finest pay obeisance to the Boss in this concert hosted by Jon Stewart. Among those taking the stage are Elton John, John Legend, Patti Smith, Eddie Vedder, Faith Hill, Emmylou Harris and many more.
9pm, Nickelodeon
The Legend of Korra
In "Operation Beifong," Lin, Opal, and Bolin set out to save Zaofu's first family from Kuvira's wrath—and even Grandma Toph may lend a hand. Meanwhile, the Avatar embarks on a quest of her own in the Spirit World.
9pm, NBC
Grimm
A rash of home invasions leads Nick and Hank to uncover some truly ooky Wesen goings-on in "The Grimm Who Stole Christmas." Meanwhile, Monroe arranges a Yuletide surprise for Rosalee, and Trubel has a game-changing revelation.
10pm, NBC
Constantine
After visions of snakes dance in Zed's head in "Blessed Are the Damned," she and John visit a small town where the local preacher has developed the healing touch.
LATE-NITE:
– Steve Carell and Kristen Bell on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, 12:37am, CBS
WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING TONIGHT?
What to watch on Saturday, December 6...
MOVIE PREMIERE, 8pm, Hallmark
Debbie Macomber's Mr. Miracle
During the Yuletide season, angel-in-training Rob Morrow helps insecure college student Britt Irvin discover her true calling. Like the old saying goes, every time a bell rings, a wannabe seraphim angelsplains life to a young woman.
9pm, BBC America
Atlantis
Royal wedding preparations continue in "The Marriage of Two Minds," but Jason has misgivings about Ariadne's customary voyage to Telemon's native Aegina. Possibly because darn near every TripAdvisor review he can find mentions things like "danger" or "intrigue" or "enemies lying in wait," although one does add, "best BBQ in the Saronic Islands!"
10pm, TNT
Transporter: The Series
"Boom" sends Frank and Caterina to a mine in the Sahara, where an explosion leaves a group of miners trapped. Naturally Frank has a way to save the day, and like all the best plans, it involves trucks filled with dynamite.
10:30pm, Cartoon Network
Black Dynamite
After the Whorephanage is shuttered, a group of wealthy white friends takes in the tots in "Diff'rent Folks, Same Strokes, or, The Hunger Pain Games."
11:30pm, NBC
Saturday Night Live
In his latest avant-garde project, host James Franco will cycle through 40 years' worth of SNL recurring characters, including a Killer Bee, a Conehead, Gumby, Franz (but not Hans), Mary Katherine Gallagher, MacGruber, and musical guest Nicki Minaj.
WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING TONIGHT?
What to watch on Sunday, December 7...
SERIES PREMIERE, 8pm & 9pm, TNT
The Librarians
A secret society guards the world against potent magic, strange artifacts, and other mysterious mojo in this series based on TNT's made-for-TV movie franchise. Rebecca Romijn and Christian Kane lead the regular cast, with recurring appearances from Noah Wyle and other veterans of the flagship films. First up, the team tracks a threat that's targeting potential librarians in "And the Crown of King Arthur." Then in "And the Sword the Stone," the sinister Serpent Brotherhood is determined to resuscitate magic in the world.
MOVIE PREMIERE, 8pm, BET
The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker
Raven-Symone stars as a young girl who travels to a realm of multicultural Christmas magic in this modern retelling of the holiday classic, directed by Debbie Allen.
8pm, CBS
I Love Lucy Christmas Special
The Ricardos and the Mertzes decorate for the holiday and reminisce about their lives in this colorized special drawn from episodes of the iconic sitcom.
8pm, Fox
The Simpsons
"I Won't Be Home for Christmas" kicks off a Noel-themed comedy block with Homer spending Christmas Eve in the company of loved ones… by which I mean the beers at Moe's. An incensed Marge bars him from coming home, forcing him to wander the streets of Springfield-town.
8pm, ABC
Once Upon a Time
The Snow Queen's infernal spell has sown chaos throughout Storybrooke in "Shattered Sight," and it's up to Emma and Elsa to escape their predicament and defeat the sorceress before it's too late. Elsewhere, Regina and Mary Margaret square off, Gold prepares to get out of Dodge, and Will Scarlett tries to settle accounts with Hook.
8:30pm, Fox
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
In "The Pontiac Bandit Returns," the Pontiac Bandit (Craig Robinson) returns, because sometimes episode titles just get straight to the point. This time he's got vital information about the drug kingpin Rosa's after, prompting Capt. Holt to offer the car thief a deal. Meanwhile, Gina and Charles worry their parents are getting too close for comfort, and Amy foists a Christmas gift on Holt whether he likes it or not.
8:45 pm, Discovery
Naked and Afraid
James Franco and Seth Rogen must spend 21 days in the desolate wilderness with scarcely anything to eat, drink, wear, or most critically, smoke. An uncensored version of the outing will air later tonight, at 11:15pm.
MINISERIES PREMIERE, 9pm, Lifetime
The Red Tent
Minnie Driver, Debra Winger, and Morena Baccarin star in this adaptation of the bestselling novel, which recalls the story of Dinah, daughter of Leah and Jacob of Old Testament fame. The two-part miniseries opens with Dinah listening to the tales of other women in her tribe. The conclusion airs Monday night at 8pm.
9pm, Fox
Family Guy
In "The 2,000-Year-Old Virgin," a routine trip to the mall takes a turn when Peter bumps into Jesus. Peter, Quagmire, and Cleveland then vow to help Nazareth's most famous carpenter end his two-millennia-long celibacy streak.
9pm, Showtime
Homeland
The fallout from the embassy's security snafu spreads far and wide in "13 Hours in Islamabad." For one thing, the CIA's entire shopping history at Target is out in the open now. Why does the CIA need like 150 bags of kitty litter a month? What is that about, CIA? YOU DON'T EVEN OWN A CAT.
9pm, HBO
The Newsroom
To appease Pruit's insistence on attracting younger viewers, Charlie tasks Don with investigating a college sexual abuse case, which… sounds like something a news organization would want to look into anyway, right? Meanwhile in "Old Shenandoah,"a new digital site gets Sloan's goat, travel mix-ups bedevil Jim and Maggie in Moscow, and jail time does nothing to loosen Will's tongue.
9pm, CBS
The Mentalist
Also visiting the slammer this week is Lisbon, though her stint in "The Greybar Hotel" is of the undercover variety. She must cozy up to an inmate whose boyfriend heads a notorious car-theft ring.
9:30pm, Fox
Bob's Burgers
In "Father of the Bob," the Christmas spirit and the competitive spirit go hand-in-hand for the Belcher family. While Bob and his dad (Carl Reiner) contend for culinary supremacy, the kids compete to see who can procure the best present for their own father.
10pm, Showtime
The Affair
A literary award ceremony for Helen's father takes an uncomfortable turn thanks to a run-in with Alison and her grandmother.
10pm, HBO
The Comeback
HBO's publicity department books Valerie an exclusive interview with the New York Times in "Valerie Is Taken Seriously," because every TV fan knows that no publication has its finger on the pulse of the medium quite like the Old Gray Lady. Elsewhere, green-screen shoots on the Seeing Red set throw Valerie for a loop, and Paulie G.'s erratic behavior sends her to consult his former writing partner.
11:30pm, Cartoon Network
Robot Chicken
Seasonal festivities including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and many more are lovingly commemorated by plastic figurines in "The Robot Chicken Lots of Holidays But Don't Worry Christmas Is Still in There Too So Pull the Stick Out of Your Ass Fox News Special."
WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING TONIGHT?
And now, let's all vote to crown the What to Watch Tonight Episode Title of the Week!
