Outlander packs up its kilt and heads back to the ’60s
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Sunday, November 18. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Outlander (Starz, 8 p.m.): Ask five different people to summarize the events of the first three seasons of Outlander and you will get five very different stories. (You can learn a lot about a person based on whether or not they mention that one time Bonnie Prince Charlie decked himself in head-to-toe plaid to pander to the Scots, or the time that Simon Callow said, “In those coats?!” like it was the sickest burn in history.) Whatever they include or exclude, however, those five hypothetical people are sure to mention three things: time travel, sex, and Scotland.
In season four, Outlander seems to have left that last one behind—never fear, lush greenery aficionados, there’s no way that sticks—but they’re back to one and possibly both of the first two with tonight’s outing. “The False Bride” sees the story leaping back and forth between the woods of colonial North Carolina and a road trip in the ’60s. The latter means Brianna (Sophie Skelton) and Roger (Richard Rankin) are back; with regard to the former, the only guarantees are that the people will be beautiful and the woods very woodsy. Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya will use her time-travel skills to make those leaps back and forth between centuries.
Regular coverage
Doctor Who (BBC America, 8 p.m.)
The Simpsons (Fox, 8 p.m.)
Supergirl (The CW, 8 p.m.)
Bob’s Burgers (Fox, 8:30 p.m.)
The Walking Dead (AMC, 9 p.m.)
Charmed (The CW, 9 p.m.)
My Brilliant Friend (HBO, 9 p.m.): series premiere
Escape At Dannemora (Showtime, 10 p.m.): series premiere
Wild card
Macy’s Thanksgiving Cake Spectacular (Food Network, 8p.m.): Any good cake-baking competition needs a few things. It needs colorful judges and hosts. (Buddy “Cake Boss” Valastro, author/YouTube star Yolanda Gampp, and Martha Freakin’ Stewart, check.) It needs a good theme and weird challenges. (Make cakes that look like iconic Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons, check.) And most importantly, it needs some unabashed corporate branding! Enter the Thanksgiving Cake Spectacular, a Food Network special that’s gonna have the Macy’s logo just absolutely everywhere.