‘Simpsons’ Bonus ‘Treehouse of Horror,’ ‘Franchise’ Finale, Thanksgiving ‘Somewhere,’ Modern ‘Little Women’ Leads Holiday Movie Parade

SUNDAY: Consider it an early holiday gift when the long-running animated comedy offers a bonus edition of its Treehouse of Horror franchise right before Thanksgiving. In Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes, the series pays homage to short-story master Ray Bradbury and The Illustrated Man when the family visits a pop-up night circus and Lisa becomes enthralled with the stories behind a circus freak’s tattoos. Two of the vignettes are rather perfunctory—Bart in a variation on “the boy who cried wolf,” and Superintendent Chalmers and Principal Skinner facing off in a parable about robot clones—but the final story, a twist on Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, is a classic, projecting a dystopian future in which lowbrow entertainment (presumably including The Simpsons) is outlawed. “It’s our civic duty to watch the most densely plotted television we can,” drones a mesmerized Marge. Fireman Homer’s rallying cry, “I choose crap!” is an anthem for the ages. (Kudos to Pamela Hayden, who after this episode is retiring as the voice of Milhouse and other memorable characters after a 35-year run.)

SUNDAY: It’s a wrap for Tecto: Eye of the Storm and the show-biz satire about the chaotic making of a Hollywood superhero epic. Anita (Aya Cash) frets she’s going to “producer jail” if rumors about the movie’s release are true, and third assistant director Dag (Lolly Adefope) fears going to actual jail as a consequence of the Armenian bridge disaster. Still, the show must go on. Mustn’t it?

SUNDAY: Let’s give thanks for the small miracle of this warm and tart comedy about a family of offbeat friends in rural Manhattan, Kansas. A Thanksgiving dinner gathering at the home of Brad (Tim Bagley) and Joel (Jeff Hiller) is an occasion for great joy, food and fellowship—but also for reflection, when Susan (Jennifer Mudge) pries into Brad’s previous life as a married father of two. “I didn’t want to be the way I was, so I tried being someone else,” Brad explains in his gentle, poignant way. Sam (Bridget Everett) has an eventful holiday, dealing with drunken sister Trish (Mary Catherine Garrison) and reaching out to her taciturn tenant Iceland (Darri Ólafsson).

The Yule Log: Going back to the classics, Great American Family adapts the Louisa May Alcott favorite in A Little Women’s Christmas (Saturday, 8/7c) with a modernized version set in small-town Tennessee, starring Jen Lilley, Jillian Murray, Laura Osnes and Julia Reilly as the March sisters. Gladys Knight co-stars, singing her new original song “Joy.” Also from Great American Family: Christmas by Candlelight (Sunday, 8/7c), where Christmas candles rule.

Hallmark Channel offers Three Wiser Men and a Boy (Saturday, 8/7c), a sequel to Three Men and a Baby set five years later, with the Brenner brothers (Paul Campbell, Tyler Hynes and Andrew Walker) taking over a school holiday musical while their mom (Margaret Colin) introduces them to her new boyfriend. In Hallmark’s To Have and to Holiday (Sunday, 8/7c), a pastor (Eric Close) puts an engaged couple (Madeleine Arthur and Robert Bazzocchi) through a “bootcamp” of Christmas-related challenges to test their relationship. On Lifetime, Christmas in the Spotlight (Saturday, 8/7c) depicts a budding romance between a popular singer (Jessica Lord) and a pro football player (Laith Wallschleger). Where do they get these crazy ideas? Also on Lifetime: Sincerely, Truly Christmas (Sunday, 8/7c) stars Paula Brancati as an unemployed event planner who magically develops a gift to hear what people want for Christmas. UPtv gives us The Search for Secret Santa (Saturday, 7/6c), about a reporter (Skye Coyne) tracking the history of a long-lost Secret Santa gift, and Festival of Trees (Sunday, 7/6c), about an interior designer (Kate Miner) who hopes to make a name for herself in the city’s annual Festival of Trees decorating contest.

SUNDAY: On the 20th anniversary of one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history, a four-hour documentary (concluding Monday) revisits the Dec. 26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia that claimed over 225,000 lives. Three years in the making, culling from more than 100 interviews with survivors, rescuers, scientists and journalists and 300 hours of archival footage, the film provides a harrowing and definitive timeline of tragedy, heroism and survival.

INSIDE WEEKEND TV:

• The Sing Sing Chronicles (Saturday, 9/8c, MSNBC): A four-part documentary exposé (continuing Sunday at 9/8c) from director Dawn Porter uses the investigative reporting of NBC News correspondent Dan Slepian over two decades to tell the story of wrongly convicted inmate JJ Velazquez, exonerated nearly 27 years after his arrest, and five other innocent men.
• James Acaster: Hecklers Welcome (Saturday, 10/9c, HBO): The British comedian welcomes heckling from the audience in an unconventional interactive stand-up performance from Northampton, England.
• Sunday Morning (Sunday, 9 am/8c, CBS): The annual “Food Issue” features Tracy Smith’s interview in Hawaii with musician Mick Fleetwood, whose restaurant was lost in the Maui wildfire, plus David Pogue exploring NASA’s food recipes for space and Kelefa Sanneh’s toast to the martini.
• 60 Minutes (Sunday, 7/6c, CBS): Jon Wertheim visits the self-described “anti-woke” campus of the start-up University of Austin, Lesley Stahl travels to Nairobi, where workers work digitally to train AI, and Bill Whitaker heads to the low-rider capital of Espanola, New Mexico.
• Moana (Sunday, 8/7c, ABC): In advance of Wednesday’s release of Moana 2, another chance to revisit the Oscar-nominated animated original from 2016.
• Yellowstone (Sunday, 8/7c, Paramount Network): Beth (Kelly Reilly) turns to a new ally in her mission to save the ranch. Also from Taylor Sheridan world: New episodes of Landman and Lioness, streaming on Paramount+.
• Tracker (Sunday, 8/7c, CBS): There’s some heavy petting when Colter (Justin Hartley) finds a lost dog that subsequently is stolen from his truck, and he makes it his mission to reunite the canine with its owner. Followed by The Equalizer (9/8c), with Team Robyn (Queen Latifah) seeking the humor-challenged perp who’s put a hit on a stand-up comedian who’d rather not die on stage.
• Married to Medicine (Sunday, 9/8c, Bravo): Doctors and doctors’ wives return for the 11th season of the Atlanta-based reality franchise.
• From (Sunday, 9/8c, MGM+): Town leader Boyd (Harold Perrineau) faces one of his most daunting challenges in the Season 3 finale as he tries yet again to save the day for a loved one. Good news: The sci-fi/horror series has been renewed for a fourth season.