SUNDAY’S BEST PICKS
8 PM ( LIFE) MOVIE The Christ
mas Edition Carly Hughes stars in this new holiday drama as up-and-coming journalist Jackie, who receives what could be a life-changing opportunity as the yuletide approaches: a chance to run a small-town newspaper in Alaska. She jumps at the chance, relocating to the picture-perfect town and quickly rebuilding the paper’s subscriber base and profitability via a series of well
received Christmas stories. This happy situation is threatened when her former boss announces she plans to take over the paper for herself. Marie Osmond and Rob Mayes also star.
8 PM ( SHO) The Reagans This four-part documentary series explores several of the previously unexamined aspects of the presidential administration of Ronald Reagan and what life was like inside the White House during those eight years. Given special emphasis is how Nancy Reagan’s widely held public image as a paper doll and a clotheshorse actually was dramatically at odds with the immense hidden power she wielded throughout husband “Ronnie’s” presidency.
8:31 PM _ Bless the Harts Oscar winner Holly Hunter has a distinctive voice that worked to the advantage of the “Incredibles” movie fantasies, and it also does much for her animated character in the new episode “The McEntire Truth.” A funeral becomes the setting for some false claims that Betty (voice of Maya Rudolph) becomes determined to expose. Jon Hamm and Mary Steenburgen also are in the voice guest cast. Series regulars also include Kristen Wiig, Ike Barinholtz and Jillian Bell.
9 PM ( BRV) (E!) (SYFY) (USA) E!
People’s Choice Awards 2020 The 2020 E! People’s Choice Awards will originate this year from Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., with hosts Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic. Among the categories for these fan-based awards, competing for best show are “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Never Have I Ever,” “Outer Banks,” “The Bachelor,” “The Last Dance,” “The Masked Singer,” “This Is Us” and “Tiger King.” Nominees for the best movie include “Bad Boys for Life,” “Extraction,” “Hamilton,” “Project Power,” “The Invisible Man,” “The Old Guard” and “Trolls World Tour.”
9 PM ( FOOD) Candy Land Broadway superstar Kristin Chenoweth hosts this colorful new competition series based on the popular board game, with such familiar (and edible) lands as Peppermint Forest, Gumdrop Mountains and Lollipop Woods. In the series premiere, “An Inside Look at Magical Creatures,” Chenoweth challenges five teams of cake and sugar artists to create their vision of fantastic creatures from this enchanted realm. Nacho Aguirre and Aarti Sequeira are the judges. David Bromstad also hosts a behind-the-scenes look at this production.
9 PM ( SHO) The Good Lord Bird This limited-series adaptation of an award
winning novel by James McBride concludes with a series finale called “Last Words,” which finds John Brown (Ethan Hawke) and his remaining army taking a valiant last stand, as still more federal troops descend upon Harper’s Ferry to quash the uprising. After Brown ultimately is captured, Onion (Joshua Johnson), now truly on his own, risks his life to say his goodbyes to his friend and companion in arms.
10 PM ^ Secrets of Royal Travel Even though the British Empire has shrunk somewhat over the course of the past century, the members of the royal family remain frequently on the move. This two-part special goes inside the complex coordination that goes into those royal journeys, in the process giving viewers an unprecedented look inside some of the most famous yet exclusive transport systems around the world, with illuminating interviews of royal staff. Part one, “Secrets of the Royal Train,” explores the luxurious locomotive that bears Queen Elizabeth II on her journeys by rail.
10 PM ( HBO) Murder on Middle Beach
First-time filmmaker Madison Hamburg embarks on an emotionally complicated journey into his past as he tries to solve the murder of his mother and absolve those he loves of the crime in this new four-part docuseries. In 2010, the victim, Barbara Hamburg, was found dead in the yard of her upper-middle-class home in Madison, Conn. Her ex-husband, Jeffrey, was an early suspect, but the police never charged him. In the premiere, “Mother’s Dead,” Madison travels back to his hometown to interview those who knew his mother best.