What to Watch this Weekend: The Walking Dead follows up a brutal twist with midseason finale

EW Staff

We know TV has a lot to offer, be it network, cable, premium channels, or streaming platforms including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Facebook Watch, and others. So EW is here to help, guiding you every single day to the things that should be on your radar. Check out our recommendations below, and click here to learn how you can stream our picks via your own voice-controlled smart-speaker (Alexa, Google Home) or podcast app (Spotify, iTunes, Google Play).

FRIDAY

Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on Netflix

Series Debut
“Hollywood, Dollywood — well, that’s all the same to me!” Dolly Parton giggles during the introduction to an episode of Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings. The new Netflix anthology series blurs the line between the two sparkling locales even more; each episode is based on one of the country legend’s storytelling tunes, but you’ve never heard them like this before. Reflecting on the title character of her iconic “Jolene,” the singer, with a twinkle in her eye to match her glittering wardrobe, observes that “you might think you know her, but you are in for some big surprises.” We could say the same about the Dolly herself. —Mary Sollosi

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Nailed It! Holiday

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on Netflix

Season Premiere
Netflix is gifting viewers with an early Christmas present in the form of a new six-episode season of this delightfully disastrous baking competition. Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell, David Burtka, Bridget Everett, Jason Mantzoukas, and Ron Ben Israel all serve as guest judges alongside hosts Nicole Byer and Jacques Torres, helping spread holiday cheer as they evaluate challenges involving Santa, Scrooge, angels, elves, and The Grinch. Ho-Ho-Hope you’ll tune in for all the fun. —Gerrad Hall

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What Else to Watch

Streaming
3022 (movie) — VOD/Digital platforms
Brittany Runs a Marathon — Amazon Prime Video
Costume Quest: Christmas Special — Amazon Prime Video
The Feed (series debut) — Amazon Prime Video
The Dragon Prince (season premiere) — Netflix
Trolls: The Beat Goes On! (season premiere) — Netflix
The Accident (4-part series) — Hulu
Holly Hobbie (season premiere) — Hulu
National Treasure (season premiere) — Hulu
Encore! — Disney+
Forky Asks a Question — Disney+
The Imagineering Story — Disney+
Marvel’s Hero Project — Disney+
The World According to Jeff Goldblum — Disney+
The Mandalorian — Disney+
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series — Disney+
The Morning Show — Apple TV+
See — Apple TV+
For All Mankind — Apple TV+
Ghostwriter — Apple TV+
Snoopy in Space — Apple TV+

8 p.m.
The Blacklist — NBC
Hawaii Five-0 — CBS
The Magical Christmas Shoes — Lifetime

8:30 p.m.
Fresh Off the Boat — ABC

9 p.m.
Dynasty — The CW
Magnum P.I. — CBS
Carole’s Christmas — OWN

10 p.m.
Blue Bloods — CBS

SATURDAY

Saturday Night Live

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: 11:30 p.m. on NBC

Star alumnus Will Ferrell joins the Five-Timers Club with his latest SNL hosting turn, alongside musical guest King Princess. With dramatic impeachment hearings and a Democratic debate taking place this past week, the venerated sketch show should have plenty of rich, topical material to dig into. And will the writers find an excuse for Ferrell to reprise his iconic role as George W. Bush? We can’t know for sure, but we’d put money on “yes”; this is SNL, after all. —Tyler Aquilina

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What Else to Watch

11 a.m.
The Kitchen: Thanksgiving Live — Food Network

7 p.m.
The Disappearance of the Millbrook Twins — Oxygen

8 p.m.
My Husband’s Secret Twin — Lifetime Movie Network
Christmas at Graceland: Home for the Holidays — Hallmark
Twinkle All the Way — Lifetime

9 p.m.
Holiday Hearts — Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
Turkey Drop — Freeform

10 p.m.
Lil Rel Howery: Live in Crenshaw — HBO

SUNDAY

2019 American Music Awards

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: 8 p.m. on ABC

This year’s American Music Awards are shaping up to be one for the books. The fan-voted music awards will feature performances by Jonas Brothers, Camila Cabello, Billie Eilish, Selena Gomez, Dua Lipa, Lizzo, Thomas Rhett, and Shania Twain. And although it was briefly jeopardized last week, Taylor Swift, who is being honored with the Artist of the Decade award, will, in fact, be performing a medley of her songs in what is being touted as an “unprecedented awards show performance celebrating the biggest hits of her career.” It could be a historic night for Swift. Should she win in at least two of the five categories in which she’s nominated, she would surpass Michael Jackson’s record for most AMAs of all time (24). Swift and Alabama are currently tied with 23 all-time AMA wins. Going into the night, Post Malone is the most nominated artist this year, with seven total nominations, followed by Ariana Grande and Eilish with six each. Ciara will serve as this year’s host. —Lauren Huff

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The Walking Dead

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: 9 p.m. on AMC

The Nov. 24 midseason finale of The Walking Dead will both start and end with a bang. About that start: The episode will pick back up right after last week’s brutal installment ended — when Dante was uncovered as a Whisperer spy and promptly murdered Siddiq. “We end with the moment of him killing Siddiq,” says showrunner Angela Kang, “and we’re going to get into what comes next. I think it’s pretty cool. I hope people like the turns that takes.”

But that’s not all that’s on tap. There’s plenty more action on the Whisperer war to get to. “Our people started the season worried about breaking that fragile truce that they had with the Whisperers,” says Kang, “and now they basically committed an act of war by crossing the border and taking a person. And so, on both sides, the whole thing is going to ramp up.”

And for those of you missing Michonne and needing another fix of Danai Gurira in her final season, you’ll get that too as we check in on the travel party to Oceanside. “We’re also going to pick back up with the story of what Michonne and that travel group have been up to,” promises Kang. “There’s some really cool stuff there that I’m excited for people to see.” —Dalton Ross

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What Else to Watch

7 p.m.
A Christmas Recipe for Romance — UPtv
America’s Funniest Home Videos — ABC

8 p.m.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta — Bravo
The Simpsons — Fox
Dublin Murders — Starz
God Friended Me — CBS
Christmas 9 to 5 — Lifetime
Cherished Memories: A Gift to Remember 2 — Hallmark

8:30 p.m.
Bless the Harts — Fox

9 p.m.
Watchmen — HBO
Shameless — Showtime
Bob’s Burgers — Fox
Our Christmas Love Song — Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge (finale) — Food Network

9:30 p.m.
Family Guy — Fox

10 p.m.
Mr. Robot — USA
Madam Secretary — CBS
Silicon Valley — HBO
Back to Life (back-to-back episodes/season finale) — Showtime

10:30 p.m.
Mrs. Fletcher — HBO

*times are ET and subject to change