TV Guide Magazine December 9, 2024

TV Guide Magazine tells you what’s worth watching. With its unparalleled access and authority, it's the only publication devoted exclusively to television. It includes celebrity interviews, in-depth previews, sneak peeks and authoritative reviews from critic Matt Roush.

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YOUR FEEDBACK

GOOD HEAVENS Thank you for the special Christmas edition of The Chosen! The beautiful pictures of each Apostle help me to remember each one by name, face and character. The entire Christmas edition is a must-read for fans! Looking forward to Season 5. —Dolores [Buy your copy now at TheChosen2024.com] BON VOYAGE I will gladly fall ill on my vacation cruise if I can be treated by the Doctor Odyssey staff. Joshua Jackson is a dreamboat! I hope it is smooth sailing for renewal on ABC. —Aimee HEALING COMEDY Thankfully, a breath of fresh air can be added to the list of mediocre sitcoms: St. Denis Medical on NBC. I love Allison Tolman, and she shines in this show, as does Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs), who proves she can play…

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45 YEARS AGO

On December 15, 1979, TV GUIDE MAGAZINE published an insightful Henry Winkler–penned cover story titled “Is It Fun to Be the Fonz? Aaaay!” In the essay, the 34-year-old waxed on playing the well-loved biker Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli on ABC sitcom Happy Days, which was seven years into its 11-season run at the time. “To start out, I want to tell you that I like what I do,” he began. “No matter what you may have heard to the contrary, I like being the Fonz.” Still, skyrocketing to fame was hard on Winkler. “My own identity was lost,” he wrote. “People got me mixed up with the part…. I wanted to yell out (and I did on every possible occasion), ‘I am not the Fonz! I am Henry Winkler from…

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30 TOP FALL SHOWS

Wonder Bar The legal drama starring Kathy Bates (below) is the season’s No. 1 new series, and its premiere was the most watched new CBS series debut in five years, excluding post–Super Bowl premieres. Slow and Steady Zachary Quinto’s medical drama is growing its audience 65 percent on average over a week of delayed playback. Its September series-premiere episode has now been viewed by a total of 13.5 million watchers when including cross-platform and streaming numbers. Quirky Hit Season 2 of this oddball detective series, starring Carrie Preston, is holding steady from its promising Season 1 numbers. The series is getting a 77 percent boost in viewership over seven days of delayed multiplatform playback, moving it up from No. 15 in same-day viewing. Genius Find This crime drama, starring Kaitlin…

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TRAVELING TUNES

What do you get when you cross Paramount+’s top Western drama with NBC’s long-standing singing competition series? You’ll find out next year, when CBS launches The Road, a new reality series that sees The Voice alum Blake Shelton teaming up with Yellowstone cocreator and writer Taylor Sheridan (above left, with Shelton). The show takes a unique approach to the genre made popular by programs such as American Idol and Star Search. Rather than keeping the competition on one stage, it follows a headlining superstar (whose name has yet to be revealed) on tour as they search for the world’s next breakout performer. That means aspiring singers get to join the musician on (you guessed it) the road, performing as opening acts at different venues. Their goal? To win over not…

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For the Record

PREMIERES Lego Masters: Celebrity Holiday Bricktacular Dec. 10, 8/7c, Fox Love During Lockup Dec. 13, 8/7c, WE tv Dexter: Original Sin Dec. 15, 9/8c, Paramount+ With Showtime NEW Very Scary People Dec. 15, 9/8c, Investigation Discovery Lost Treasures of the Bible Dec. 19, 9/8c, National Geographic FINALES The Day of the Jackal Dec. 12, Peacock What We Do in the Shadows Dec. 16, 10/9c, FX Star Trek: Lower Decks Dec. 19, Paramount+ Before Dec. 20, Apple TV+ Dune: Prophecy Dec. 22, 9/8c, HBO Bad Sisters Dec. 25 Apple TV+ Shrinking Dec. 25 Apple TV+ RENEWALS The Diplomat Netflix Nobody Wants This Netflix Shrinking Apple TV+…

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Ask Matt

@TVGMMattRoush I’m wondering if you find, as I do, that the “mockumentary” gimmick has been overused on TV over the past decade or more, from The Office and Modern Family to Abbott Elementary and now St. Denis Medical (naming just a few). While it’s not a bad show, and having characters talk to a camera crew filming their exploits is a great storytelling device, how many do we need before it’s not original anymore? —Aaron F. MATT ROUSH: Fair question. When I reviewed St. Denis, I pointed out that the device is no longer innovative. I now see this as an established form of TV comedy, and while I agree it should be used sparingly, in the right hands (as it is in Abbott and St. Denis), it’s a useful…

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