The last weekend before Christmas brings more treacle, as well as some demented holiday horror. Hired by a faraway kingdom to fix the royal merry-go-round, a fetching woman must collaborate with a handsome prince on the repair job in the 2020 romance "A Christmas Carousel" (8 p.m. Saturday, Hallmark, TV-G). This may be Hallmark’s Hallmark-iest plot ever.
Over on Santa’s naughty list, a journalist’s dark past emerges after a force of evil returns to her hometown just in time to ruin the holidays in the 2020 shocker "Letters to Satan Claus" (9 p.m. Saturday, SyFy, TV-14).
After eavesdropping on Mom, a boy turns to murder and dresses as old St. Nick in the 1980 shocker "You Better Watch Out" (9 p.m. Saturday, TMC).
— The horrors of trench warfare take a break for Christmas spirit in the true-life tale "All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914" (noon Sunday, PBS, check local listings). This docu-musical includes reenactments of a brief moment on the Western Front when German and British soldiers put down their weapons and crossed barbed wire to enter no man’s land, where they shared Christmas greetings and meals and sang carols. "All Is Calm" relies heavily on the memoirs and correspondence of the soldiers who shared this remarkable experience, long believed to have been more mythical than true.
If you miss this broadcast or if your local PBS schedule does not include this holiday original, "All Is Calm" also streams on the PBS.org app.
— A holiday tradition, "The 22nd Annual A Home for the Holidays" (9:30 p.m. Sunday, CBS, TV-PG) offers stories of both parents and children whose lives were forever changed by the process of adoption. Gayle King hosts, and Josh Groban, Miranda Lambert, Meghan Trainor, Leslie Odom Jr. and Andrea Bocelli perform.
— Fox repeats "The Moodys" (8 p.m. Sunday, TV-PG), a better-than-average 2019 holiday drama adapted from an Australian series. Denis Leary and Elizabeth Perkins star as Sean and Ann Moody, middle-class Chicago parents of adult children, eager to welcome them home for the holidays. They don’t have to wait for their eldest, Sean Jr. (Jay Baruchel), because he lives with them, has a dead-end job and shows little motivation to do better. The homecoming confronts family members with their own shortcomings and crises, as well as chances to catch up with old neighbors and flames. Despite the floundering nature of almost every character, the writing avoids the self-pity and platitudes so popular in network series like "This Is Us" and "A Million Little Things."
Earlier this year, Fox announced that a second season of "The Moodys" would appear, but without a holiday theme.
— In the spirit of the season and in keeping with social isolation, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood offer a concert from their home recording studio on "Garth & Trisha Live! A Holiday Concert Event" (8:30 p.m. Sunday, CBS).
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
College football action includes Stanford at UCLA (7 p.m., ESPN), Tulsa at Cincinnati (8 p.m., ABC) and Alabama and Florida (8 p.m., CBS).
— John Legend hosts "Global Citizen Prize" (8 p.m., NBC), honoring activists around the globe.
— Sparks fly after a woman swaps her farmhouse for a man’s London flat in the 2020 holiday romance "A Christmas Exchange" (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-PG).
— The top 128 compete at the 2020 World Championships of the World Axe Throwing League (9:30 p.m., ESPNEWS). The maul the merrier!
— Kristen Wiig hosts "Saturday Night Live" (11:30 p.m., NBC, TV-14), featuring Dua Lipa.
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer star in the 1965 adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s beloved musical "The Sound of Music" (7 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
— Scheduled on "60 Minutes" (7:30 p.m., CBS): The collaboration that produced the COVID vaccine; an innovative prison program in Kenya; an Ethiopian Christmas tradition.
— Stranded by a storm, office colleagues must collaborate on a project while finding their way home in the 2020 romance "Cross Country Christmas" (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— The New York Giants host the Cleveland Browns in NFL action (8:20 p.m., NBC).
— The 2019 documentary "Gay Chorus Deep South" (9 p.m., Pop, Logo, Pluto TV, TV-14) follows the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus on a tour of the South.
— Michael uses his clout to obscure evidence on "Your Honor" (10 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
After murdering the sister of a feared and powerful woman (Margaret Hamilton), a teenage runaway (Judy Garland) takes up with a band of misfits, falls under the spell of narcotics, blindly obeys the whims of a con man and lives to kill again in the 1939 musical fantasy "The Wizard of Oz" (8:30 p.m. Saturday, TNT, TV-G).
SATURDAY SERIES
"The Wall" (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … A vintage helping of "Saturday Night Live" (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
SUNDAY SERIES
"Football Night in America" (7 p.m., NBC, TV-14) … Dean Cain hosts "Masters of Illusion: Christmas Magic 2019" (8 p.m., CW, r, TV-PG) … Linda saves Christmas on "Bob’s Burgers" (9 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14) … Falista’s anger gets the best of her on "The Outpost" (9 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … Stewie’s encounter with Santa on "Family Guy" (9:30 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14) … Gibbs and his team go back to work on "NCIS" (10:30 p.m., ABC, r, TV-14).
