Shonda Rhimes, Gal Gadot fly in with Bridgerton and Wonder Woman 1984 for Christmas
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Friday, December 25, and Saturday, December 26. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Bridgerton (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): Shonda Rhimes finally forays into Netflix as a producer with this Gossip Girl-esque British period drama based on Julia Quinn’s bestselling novels. The very romantic yet scandalous show is set in London’s high society and follows the siblings of the powerful Bridgerton family as they attempt to find love in the Regency era. That’s about as much as The A.V. Club can share at this point, as many plot points are as yet under embargo, which is why we invited Lady Whistledown to hold court in our Bridgerton pre-air review.
Movie night
Wonder Woman 1984 (HBO Max, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): “In a Wonder Woman movie, you want the story to be about Wonder Woman. And although the film starts off promisingly in this regard—as Barbara and Diana strike up a cautious friendship—the narrative is so overstuffed that by the end, Gadot’s character and her performance are being shown up by those around her. Combined with the script’s tendency to go ‘Look over there!’ whenever a plot point strains credulity, the movie is pulpy in consistency, too.” Read Katie Rife’s review of the long-awaited Wonder Woman 1984 here.
Soul (Disney+, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): “Coming as it does from Pixar, it’s [Soul] also a warmly human fantasia. The scenes not set in the cuddly netherworld take place instead in a bustling New York, populated by characters with expressive features and slightly exaggerated physiques. It’s here that Joe Gardener, a jazz pianist voiced by Jamie Foxx, steps into a manhole, ending his life just as he felt it was really beginning.” Read the rest of A.A. Dowd’s review of Soul here. The cast includes Jamie Foxx, Phylicia Rashad, Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Angela Bassett.
We Can Be Heroes (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): Wonder Woman 1984 isn’t the only movie available for your superhero fix this weekend. Robert Rodriguez’s kind-of sequel to 2005's The Adventures Of Sharkboy And Lavagirl In 3D stars YaYa Gosselin, Pedro Pascal, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Christian Slater, Boyd Holbrook, Taylor Dooley. When alien invaders capture Earth’s superheroes, their kids must learn to work together to save their parents—and the planet.
Wild cards
Call The Midwife Holiday Special (PBS, Friday, 9 p.m.): This year’s Call The Midwife special is set in December 1965 and follows everyone at Nonnatus House as their traditional celebrations go awry. Sister Monica Joan is rushed to the hospital, Trixie is incensed to receive a subscription to a Marriage Bureau as a Christmas gift, a surprise reunion for Shelagh involves her in a deeply moving birth, and the Circus arrives in Poplar.
Letterkenny (Hulu, Saturday, 12:01 a.m.): Schitt’s Creek isn’t the only Canadian comedy worth a solid binge. Letterkenny’s ninth season, consisting of seven episodes, has been a Hulu original in the U.S. for a couple of years now and it follows the residents of a rural community called, yes, Letterkenny. The new season will see the whole town gets really into sleepover activities like movies, board games, and girl talk. Katy takes her “scorched earth dating strategy” back to Letterkenny, and the Hockey Players learn about Judaism. Here’s Katie Rife on Letterkenny’s longstanding comforts.