What to Watch this Weekend: The Mandalorian blasts to the end of season 2

EW Staff
·5 min read
What to Watch this Weekend: The Mandalorian blasts to the end of season 2
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We know TV has a lot to offer, be it network, cable, premium channels, or streaming platforms including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Facebook Watch, and others. So EW is here to help, guiding you every single day to the things that should be on your radar. Check out our recommendations below, and click here to learn how you can stream our picks via your own voice-controlled smart-speaker (Alexa, Google Home) or podcast app (Spotify, iTunes, Google Play).

FRIDAY

Lucasfilm Ltd.

The Mandalorian

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on Disney+

Season Finale
The contents of The Mandalorian finale are like a mysterious black box hidden inside a loot crate somewhere in the Outer Rim. But we can assume Mando (Pedro Pascal) and Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) will finally face off to decide the fate of Baby Yoda The Child Grogu. Given that Grogu is himself a mystery, one expects some illumination about his backstory and feelings as well. Another major question is whether any of the season's guest stars will return — such as Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano or Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze – or whether each will remain relegated to their previous stand-alone-ish adventure. And finally: What will be the Big Twist? While we’re only on season 2, The Mandalorian’s dedication to fandom-pleasing surprises is, ironically, its most predictable quality. Surely the last few moments of season 2 will either have a major revelation, or introduce a new character (fans are betting on Grand Admiral Thrawn, since the cunning, blue-skinned Imperial leader was already name-dropped earlier in the season). Even with Disney+’s massive recent slate announcement, it looks like it’s going be a full year before there’s new live-action Star Wars with The Mandalorian season 3 coming next December, so let’s enjoy this last trip to a galaxy far, far away before settling in for a long wait. —James Hibberd

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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on Netflix

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, a jewel in the crown of the late playwright August Wilson’s acclaimed Pittsburgh Cycle (though in fact it takes place almost entirely in Chicago) is exactly the kind of theatrical showcase even the most decorated performers — including Viola Davis, who won an Oscar for her turn in the 2017 film version of Wilson’s Fences — dream of. As the titular Ma, she doesn’t just sing the blues, she personifies it; her voice a low lascivious rumble and her makeup a Technicolor smear, she rules the nightclubs and juke joints of a certain 1920s circuit. And Davis is indubitably great, though it’s Chadwick Boseman, in his final performance, who eclipses nearly everything else on screen. As Levee, a young trumpeter with the blazing ambition to match his bright yellow shoes, he manages to take Bottom’s propensity for speechifying and high melodrama (the action all unfolds over the course of a single day in a recording studio) and make it burn with real-world resonance. —Leah Greenblatt

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What Else to Watch

Streaming

Small Axe: Education (finale) — Amazon Prime Video

The Grand Tour (season premiere) — Amazon Prime Video

On Pointe (docuseries debut) — Disney+

Home for Christmas (season premiere) — Netflix

A Creepshow Holiday Special — Shudder

Hunter Hunter (movie) — Digital/VOD

Skylines (movie) — VOD

Sister of the Groom (movie) — VOD

Greenland (movie) — VOD

8 p.m.

MacGyver (fall finale) — CBS

Raven's Home ("Mad About Yuletide") — Disney Channel/DisneyNOW

The Christmas Caroler Challenge — The CW

9 p.m.

20/20 — ABC

Magnum P.I. (fall finale) — CBS

Dateline ("The Life and Death of Princess Diana") — NBC

10 p.m.

Blue Bloods (fall finale) — CBS

You’ll Be Home for Christmas (special) — HGTV

SATURDAY

Saturday Night Live

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: 11:30 p.m. on NBC

Kristen Wiig is bringing the Christmas spirit to Studio 8H. The long-running cast member starred on the show between 2005 and 2012, before returning to host in 2013 and 2016. (She also “hosted” one of the at-home pandemic shows earlier this year.) Now, she’s making a proper in-studio return to 30 Rock, to headline the show’s annual Christmas episode (and promote her upcoming superhero extravaganza Wonder Woman 1984). Dua Lipa is the musical guest for the episode, which is sure to feature plenty of holiday cheer — and probably the return of a few classic Wiig characters like Target Lady and Gilly. —Devan Coggan

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What Else to Watch

Streaming

Behind The Try: A Try Guys Documentary — Digital

12 p.m.

Feasting With the Stars (holiday special) — Food Network

7 p.m.

The Sports Illustrated Awards — Facebook

8 p.m.

Christmas Carousel — Hallmark

A Christmas Exchange — Lifetime

Global Citizen Prize (special) — NBC

Watch the full episode of What to Watch: Best TV of 2020 now on PeopleTV.com, or download the PeopleTV app on your favorite device.

SUNDAY

The Real Housewives of Atlanta

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: 8 p.m. on Bravo

The ladies of Atlanta are trying to continue living their lives through the pandemic. Porsha is still fighting for Black lives while coming to terms with the impact life in a pandemic has had on her relationship with Dennis; Kenya is continuing her fast friendship with new friend LaToya; and Drew heads to marriage counseling her husband Ralph on the new episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. With 10.10.20 on her mind, Cynthia is struggling with the disagreements about hosting her dream wedding as COVID restrictions threaten her perfect celebration. —Alamin Yohannes

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What Else to Watch

8 p.m.

Power Book II: Ghost — Starz

8:30 p.m.

Garth & Trisha Live! A Holiday Concert Event (special) — CBS

9 p.m.

The Real Housewives of Potomac (reunion, pt 2) — Bravo

The Outpost — The CW

Pennyworth — Epix

Shameless — Showtime

9:30 p.m.

22nd Annual A Home for the Holidays — CBS

10 p.m.

Holiday Baking Championship: Sweet Secrets — Food Network

Your Honor — Showtime

*times are ET and subject to change