What's on TV this week—Willow debuts, Gossip Girl and Sort Of return

Welcome to What’s On, our weekly picks of must-watch shows. Here’s what you need to watch from Sunday, November 27, to Thursday, December 1. All times are Eastern. [Note: The weekend edition of What’s On drops on Fridays.]

The biggies

Willow (Disney+, Wednesday, 3:01 a.m.)

Jonathan Kasdan’s Willow is a direct sequel to Ron Howard’s 1988 film of the same name. The fantasy drama follows six unlikely teammates who embark on a quest to dangerous places to fight inner (and presumably outer) demons and save the world. You know, it’s the usual stuff heroes are made of. Warwick Davis reprises his role as dwarf sorcerer Willow Ufgood, and the rest of the ensemble includes Erin Kellyman, Tony Revolori, Ellie Bamber, Christian Slater, Amar Chadha-Patel, and Ruby Cruz. The A.V. Club will recap episodes of the show weekly.

The notorious and wealthy Upper East Side teens are back in Gossip Girl’s second season. Joshua Safran extends the world of 2007’s Gossip Girl as a new generation of Constance Ballard students have to face the titular anonymous social media account. Except this time, Gossip Girl’s identity isn’t a secret but is revealed in the premiere itself. In season two, Michelle Trachtenberg will reprise her role as Georgina Sparks from the original. Look out for The A.V. Club’s review this week.

In a post-Schitt’s Creek and Kim’s Convenience world, Sort Of deserves to be your next favorite Canadian sitcom. Created by Bilal Baig and Fab Filipo, the groundbreaking series follows non-binary Pakistani immigrant Sabi Mehboob (Baig), who struggles to balance family life, their parents’ expectations, and multiple professions, such as being a bartender at an LGBTQ+ bookshop and a caregiver to the young children of a professional couple. Season one is available to stream on HBO Max, and season two will consist of six episodes.

Hidden gems

Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields (Netflix, Tuesday, 3:01 a.m.)

After The Vanishing At The Cecil Hotel and The Times Square Killer, season three of Joe Berlinger’s true-crime docuseries Crime Scene centers on League City, Texas, where at least 30 bodies of young girls and women have been found over the past 50 years on a patch of swampland. While the residents search for answers, the authorities struggle to find the perpetrators, believing these acts could be tied to ritualistic killings.

Chicago Med’s Colin Donnell is staying in the NBC family with his Australian series Irreverent, which debuts on Peacock in the U.S. Donnell plays Paulo, an American criminal who messes up his heist and is forced to go on the run in a Queensland reef town, posing as a reverend.

Directed by Chris Smith, Branson is a four-part docuseries depicting Richard Branson’s 70-plus-year journey, with the billionaire himself reflecting on the costs and rewards of his relentless optimism and boundary-pushing developments. (The series was filmed about two weeks before his spaceflight.)

More good stuff

The Howard Stern Interview: Bruce Springsteen (HBO, Sunday, 9 p.m.)

Howard Stern’s two-hour interview with Bruce Springsteen already aired on Sirius XM, but here’s your chance to view it up close and personal. The duo candidly discuss Springsteen’s musical and personal growth, with the singer unpacking the ideas behind hits like “Born To Run” and his new studio album, Only The Strong Survive.

Netflix really loves a weekly dose of either true crime docs or cooking reality shows, huh? Snack Vs. Chef features 12 contestants trying to recreate the world’s most iconic snacks, as well as invent some new ones, for a $50,000 prize. Meg Stalter and Hari Kondabolu host.

Directed by Anvita Dutt, the Bollywood movie Qala follows a talented aspiring singer who faces the pressures of success, self-doubt, and her mother’s dislike of the industry. The cast includes Triptii Dimri, Swastika Mukherjee, and Babil Khan (the son of Irrfan Khan).

Can’t miss recaps

The White Lotus (HBO, Sunday, 9 p.m.)

Welcome To Chippendales (Hulu, Tuesday, 12:01 a.m.)

Mythic Quest (Apple TV+, Friday, 12:01 a.m.)

Ending soon

The Equalizer, East New York, NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS, Sunday, 8-11 p.m., fall finales)

9-1-1 (Fox, Monday, 8 p.m., season six fall finale)

All American, All American: Homecoming (The CW, Monday, 8-10 p.m., season five fall finale)

Avenue 5 (HBO, Monday, 10 p.m., season two finale)

Queen Sugar (OWN, Tuesday, 8 p.m., series finale)

The Rookie: The Feds (ABC, Tuesday, 10 p.m., season one fall finale)

The Mighty Ducks: Gamechangers (Disney+, Wednesday, 3:01 a.m., season two finale)

The Masked Singer (FOX, Wednesday, 8 p.m., season eight finale)

Kung Fu (The CW, Wednesday, 9 p.m., season three fall finale)

Titans (HBO Max, Thursday, 3:01 a.m., season four fall finale)