Ken Burns’ ‘American Revolution,’ ‘Landman’ Returns, Stream ‘Charlie Brown’ for Free, Glen Powell on ‘SNL’

SUNDAY: TV’s most eloquent historian, Ken Burns, reminds us in his latest sweeping epic documentary just how grueling the nation’s birth pangs were. Over six nights (through Friday, November 21) and 12 hours, he and collaborators Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt (with writer Geoffrey Ward) reveal in fascinating and exhaustive detail how a rebellion against British tyranny became a bloody, world-altering battle for independence. While never losing focus on heroes like George Washington, the series brings history to life through the accounts of lesser-known participants while acknowledging the roles of Native Americans and enslaved and free Black people on both sides of the fighting. The American Revolution also serves as a reminder of how essential public television (endangered by recent government funding cuts) is to the nation’s cultural landscape. (Read the full review.)

SUNDAY: “The sharks are circling,” Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) is warned as the second season of Taylor Sheridan’s pungent Texas oil drama begins. Newly promoted to president of M-Tex Oil after the death of Monty Miller (Jon Hamm), he and Monty’s widow Cami (Demi Moore) have plenty to prove to their investors, but as Cami tells a gathering of skeptical businessmen, “Underestimating me is how I buy you out.” Game on. Elsewhere in the Norris family, son Cooper (Jacob Lofland) hopes to strike it rich with his new drilling operation, while airhead daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph) tries to manipulate her way into TCU. As for Tommy’s combative spouse, Angela (Ali Larter), she once again manages to turn a family dinner into a combat zone.

SATURDAY: The Emmy-winning holiday special, first shown in 1973, can be streamed for free on Saturday and Sunday on Apple TV, which holds exclusive streaming rights to the entire Peanuts catalog. Celebrate the holiday with Charlie Brown and the gang as they prepare a nontraditional feast for Peppermint Patty and other guests before they all head to his grandmother’s house for turkey and all the trimmings.

SATURDAY: It was only a matter of time before Saturday Night Live beckoned to Glen Powell, whose Hollywood star has risen steadily in blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick and Twisters, sleeper romcoms including Anyone But You, and also on the smaller screen in Netflix‘s Hit Man (which earned him a Golden Globe nomination) and most recently in the college-football comedy Chad Powers. With his starring role in the remake of The Running Man now in theaters, Powell hosts SNL for the first time, with British singer Olivia Dean making her debut as musical guest.

SUNDAY: Will the kids be able to convince the Derry police about the horrors they witnessed in the town cemetery? (If you’re familiar with the horror genre, you probably already know the answer.) Too bad they’re not taking their concerns to the military base, where the search for the lurking supernatural menace taps into deep local mythology and legend concerning “the monster in the Western wood.”

SUNDAY: A second season of the spiritual historical docudrama series, executive produced by the legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese, opens with a biographical portrait of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland (or Hibernia, as it was known in the 4th century AD). Weekly chapters profile Saint Peter, Thomas Becket, and, in an episode directed by Scorsese’s daughter Francesca, “millennial saint” Carlo Acutis. Four more episodes are expected in the spring, coinciding with the holy season.

INSIDE WEEKEND TV:

• The Yule Log: Christmas movie offerings include, on Hallmark Channel, Three Wisest Men (Saturday, 8/7c), the latest chapter in the Brenner family saga, and Tidings for the Season (Sunday, 8/7c), starring Tamera Mowry-Housley as a single mom drawn to an ambitious newscaster (B.J. Britt). On Great American Family, Timeless Tidings of Joy (Saturday, 8/7c) stars Candace Cameron Bure and, as her grandmother in a time-travel flashback, her daughter Natasha. UPtv‘s Saving the Christmas Ranch (Sunday, 7/6c) stars Brianna Cohen as Carrie, who has two days to save the family lodge from foreclosure.
• Eric Jerome Dickey’s Friends and Lovers (Saturday and Sunday, 8/7c, Lifetime): A two-part film based on the novel by Dickey stars Naturi Naughton (Power) and Simone Missick (All Rise) as best friends navigating romance and tragedy as they form their found family.
• 48 Hours (Saturday, 10/9c, CBS): Meet real-life tracker and Oklahoma detective Lt. Dakota Black, whose investigation into the disappearance and murder of a young mother gets personal.
• 60 Minutes (Sunday, 7:30/6:30c, 7 pm/PT, CBS): Anderson Cooper reports on AI company Anthropic, Bill Whitaker explores the trend of chess boxing, and Scott Pelley reports on the president’s pardon of crypto exec Changpeng Zhao.
• The Simpsons (Sunday, 8/7c, Fox): When Bart runs against Mayor Quimby’s son for student council president, the campaign brings out some impressive guest voices, including Tony winner Cole Escola (Oh, Mary!), Carrie Coon, and Brendan and son Domhnall Gleeson as old and young versions of Joe Quimby, Senior.
• Montana Mavericks (Sunday, 8/7c, The CW): In the first of six Harlequin-inspired romances, Katherine McNamara (Walker: Independence) stars as a big-city author who inherits a family ranch and falls for a cowboy veterinarian (Dennis Andres).
• Sunday Night Football (Sunday, 8:15 pm/ET, NBC): The Detroit Lions take on the Philadelphia Eagles. Following the game, a special Sunday edition of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon features guests Rosalia and DJ Khaled and kicks off a Wicked-themed week with a new “Wicked Beat Bit.”
• Tracker (Sunday, 8:30/7:30c, 8 pm/PT, CBS): Colter (Justin Hartley) encounters a dangerous off-grid community while seeking four teens who vanished while hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
• The Bravos (Sunday, 9/8c, Bravo): From BravoCon in Las Vegas, Andy Cohen presents cheeky awards from the world of Bravo (sample: Wifetime Achievement Award).
• House of David (Sunday, streaming on Prime Video‘s Wonder Project): In the Season 2 finale, David (Michael Iskander) flees after being branded a traitor.