A tireless Sir David Attenborough narrates Discovery Plus’ The Mating Game
Plus: Cardi B hosts the AMAs; new episodes of Succession, Insecure, Curb, Yellowjackets; and a Desperate Housewives reunion in a Hallmark holiday movie
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Sunday, November 21. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
The Mating Game (Discovery+, 3:01 a.m.): Sir David Attenborough’s quest for being part of excellent nature documentary series across all streaming platforms is commendable. He narrates the five-part The Mating Game, which explores the most intimate details of animal life to reveal how they overcome the challenges of their worlds to reproduce and leave a lasting legacy. The show launches with two episodes, with new ones dropping weekly.
Regular coverage
Doctor Who: Flux (BBC America, 8:00 p.m.)
Succession (HBO, 9:00 p.m.)
Dexter: New Blood (Showtime, 9:00 p.m.)
Insecure (HBO, 10:00 p.m)
Yellowjackets (Showtime, 10 p.m.)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO, 10:30 p.m.)
Wild card
American Music Awards (ABC, 8 p.m.): Cardi B is set to host the 2021 American Music Awards. Top nominees include Olivia Rodrigo, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, Doja Cat, Giveon, and Taylor Swift. The show will include performances by BTS, Coldplay, Megan Thee Stallion, Rodrigo, and Carrie Underwood among many others.
Season’s streamings
Baking Spirits Bright (Lifetime, 8 p.m.): It’s the best time of the year, the time for trashy holiday movies that operate on wish fulfillment magic and confusing puns! As part of Lifetime’s 30 new movies in 30 days, first up we have Baking Spirits Bright. Mira Varma (Rekha Sharma) needs help running her family business of making fruitcakes, so her parents hire a potential husband a marketing team headed by Brady Philips (Dion Johnstone). The real mystery is not in whether they’ll fall in love, but if Mira is baking American style brick type fruitcakes or Indian style squishy and delicious fruitcakes.
A Kiss Before Christmas (Hallmark, 8 p.m.): James Denton and Teri Hatcher reunite nine years after the end of Desperate Housewives in a classic Christmas trope: where someone wishes their entire life was different. No one knows why Christmas and time travel are so intertwined, but so it goes. A man wakes up to an alternate life, and only has until Christmas day to convince his wife in his original existence that they’re meant to be together. His two teenage kids are also gone in this other timeline. Will Hallmark address the visceral horror of your children being erased from existence? Or will it be a passing thought, so as not to ruin the Christmas spirit.