FRIDAY’S BEST PICKS
8 PM _ College Football It’s conference championship time again and it gets going today in earnest with this broadcast of the Pac-12 title game, pitting the winners of its North and South Divisions. Tomorrow, look for a full slate of action with the Big Ten (Fox), SEC (CBS), ACC (ESPN or ABC), American (ESPN or ABC) and Sun Belt (ESPN2), among others, deciding their champions. 8 PM ( LIFE) MOVIE Christmas on the Menu Big-city chef Josie (Kim Shaw) decides to spend Christmas at the rural bed-and-breakfast where she grew up, and where her mother, Shannon (Cynthia Gibb), just opened a new restaurant. A powerful food critic, Tanner Rhodes (Clayton James), who has slammed Josie’s culinary work on occasion in the past, pays a visit to review the new eatery, but this time romance blossoms as he and Josie spend time together. Jesse Kove, Michael Steger and Shanica Knowles also star in this 2020 romance.
8 PM ( TNT) MOVIE Jingle All the Way In this slapstick 1996 comedy, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a dad who needs to score some points with the son (Jake Lloyd) he’s been neglecting. So he sets out to find the Christmas toy that the youngster wants most: a Turbo Man action figure. Unfortunately, it’s also the toy every other kid wants most, and our hero has to deal with manic moms, black marketeers and another desperate dad (Sinbad) in his quest to get the impossible-to-get goods. Rita Wilson, Phil Hartman and a real, live reindeer also star. 8 PM ( LMN) MOVIE Murder in the Vineyard Emma Kirk (Helena Mattson) is looking for a more peaceful life when she moves with her teenage daughter, Beatrice (Emma Fuhrmann), to a small town — and at first, it looks like Emma will get her wish. Her new career is thriving, and Beatrice is wellliked by her new peers, including handsome heartthrob Bryan (Matthew Erick White). Things start to take a dark turn, though, when an unknown assailant attacks Beatrice at a party, an incident that escalates into more harassment. Daniel Hall and Daniel Covin co-star in this 2020 thriller.
8:30 PM * Shrek the Halls What’s not to love about a yuletide special starring a family of green ogres? And especially one that already was popularized by a couple of hit movies when this debuted in 2007? Shrek (voice of Mike Myers) isn’t a Christmas kind of guy, but Princess Fiona (voice of Cameron Diaz) loves the holiday, so he goes along — with a little help from Donkey (voice of Eddie Murphy) and the rest of the fairy-tale gang. Antonio Banderas is heard again as Puss in Boots.
10:01 PM ( HGTV) You’ll Be Home for Christmas Albie Mushaney, a celebrity strongman and real estate agent based in Salem, Ore., who also moonlights as Santa Claus during the Christmas season, helps prospective home shoppers find their dream house in the middle of their already stressful holiday season. Abetted by his festive family, Albie also takes time to give the homes a welcoming yuletide touch that includes a fully decorated tree with gifts underneath, stockings hung above the chimney, plus freshly baked cookies and hot chocolate waiting at the door for them.
11 PM (FREE) MOVIE The Star Timothy Reckart’s 2017 CGI-animated, faith-based comedy takes the story of the Nativity as a starting point, but charts its own course with plenty of family-friendly laughs prominently featuring talking animals. Gina Rodriguez and Zachary Levi provide the voices of Mary and Joseph; the stellar voice cast also includes Steven Yeun, KeeganMichael Key, Kelly Clarkson, Kristin Chenoweth, Patricia Heaton, Tracy Morgan, Tyler Perry and Christopher Plummer. Mariah Carey’s title tune got a Golden Globe nomination as best original song. 1 AM J Lucy Worsley’s 12 Days of Tudor Christmas Royal historian Lucy Worsley hosts this one-hour special, which brings to life the ritual and riches of the 12-day Christmas holiday as it was celebrated during the reign of England’s King Henry VIII. Wearing period costume, Worsley points out how a surprising number of contemporary yuletide traditions — gift-giving, carol-singing and drinking mulled wine — have their origins in the Tudor period. She also explains the significance of these and other activities, some of which were re-created expressly for this special.