Too Much TV: Your Holiday Viewing Tips

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, November 24th, 2025:

SOME HOLIDAY WEEK VIEWING TIPS
It's Thanksgiving week for those of us in the United States, which means lots of family time and plenty of TV watching. Sure, you can watch sports for four days straight. But if you are in the mood for something different, I have some suggestions on new shows you can watch (or skip):


Is It Cake? Holiday (Netflix, Tuesday)
If you have ever watched an episode of Is It Cake?, you know what you're in for. Lots of cake that doesn't look like cake, some talented bakers and the chicken-on-adderall stylings of host Mikey Day. Yes, watching it makes me want to eat cake. But Day is so over-the-top in his delivery that I am exhausted by the time the episode is over. I can't imagine watching the three-episode season all in one binge. Partly because I need cake. But also...wow, tone it down to maybe a 23 on the 1-10 host energy level.

I should also mention that each episode has three "celebrity" judges and while they are generally fine, many of them appear to be doing an impression of Masked Singer judge Ken Jeong: lots of screaming, waving hands and screaming "They ALL look like cake!"


The Shuffle (HBO, Tuesday)
I was living in Chicago during the iconic 1985/1986 Chicago Bear season in which they only lost one regular season game and ultimately trounced the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl 46-10. And in the middle of the season, members of the team recorded an insanely awkward and goofy music video entitled The Super Bowl Shuffle. It was a fairly ballsy move to release a video with that title in the midst of your season, and both star quarterback Jim McMahon and running back Walter Payton initially refused to participate for that reason. They ultimately changed their minds and the result was a true pop culture moment. 

The song sold more than a million copies and hit #41 on the Billboard Top 100 chart. It even inspired a Patriots response video which was released just before the Super Bowl and is mostly notable for including actor Robert Urich.

HBO didn't provide me with a screener ahead of time, but it almost doesn't matter. "The Super Bowl Shuffle" is four minutes or so of extremely goofy fun and it's hard to imagine a documentary about it won't be worth watching. It's also hard to imagine that modern-day agents and managers would ever allow their clients to participate in a similar project in 2025.

Stranger Things (Netflix, Wednesday)
There's not much I can say about this final season until it premieres. And honestly, either you're looking forward to this or you're not. So view accordingly.


Jingle Bell Heist (Netflix, Wednesday)
There are a ton of Christmas movies premiering this season and one of my favorites so far is this tale about two reluctant wannabe thieves who decide to rob the cruel owner of a large department store. Olivia Holt plays Sophia, a store worker who desperately needs money to save her ailing mother and Connor Swindells plays Nick, a down-on-his-luck repairman who teams up with a reluctant Sophia to attempt to pull off a big score. There are a lot of traditional Christmas movie tropes - secrets surface and feelings for each other deepen - but there are also some nice twists towards the end. But the biggest reason to watch is Holt, who has a nice comedic touch and is completely charming in every scene. It's one of the better new Christmas films I've seen this year.



WondLa (Apple TV, Wednesday)
I'm putting together a list of underappreciated shows and this animated series is a likely candidate. Its third and final season premieres this week and this story of a teen girl learning she's not alone in the world and then finding herself in the midst of a budding war between humans and aliens is just a fun watch. It's not especially violent and it's not trying to hammer home a bunch of deep societal messages. It's just an old-school action-packed animated sci-fi series and I have really enjoyed it - even if I am not at all the target audience for the show.

The More The Merrier (Hallmark, Friday)
I literally just received the screener for this as I was writing this newsletter. So I haven't watched it, but here is the official logline and I'll give you an update tomorrow or Wednesday: "Alice (Boston), an emergency room doctor at a small, rural hospital, always volunteers to work the Christmas Eve overnight shift and goes the extra mile to make the holiday merry and bright for patients and staff. When the hospital gets snowed in, Alice and Brian (Penny), the newly hired top-rated cardiologist, find themselves in the middle of a bona fide baby boom when three women – including the only OBGYN for miles around – go into labor on the rarest birthday of the year. As they team up to bring these bundles of joy into the world as the night wears on, Alice, Brian and the rest of the staff also work hard to make the holiday feel festive for all the patients. Though they may have different approaches to medicine – and to life – there’s a spark between them and by the end of their shift it’s clear that this may be the Christmas Eve that changes them both forever."

SPONSORED MENTION




ODDS AND SODS
* For those of you who have hoping to see more of Simon Cowell, I have great news for you. Although maybe not so great news for the rest of us. The new series Simon Cowell: The Next Act premieres Wednesday, December 11th on Netflix. Here is a first video look at the series. Here are some photos from season one. And here is the official logline: "Music mogul and record executive Simon Cowell has single handedly created some of the biggest music superstars in the world. In this brand-new Netflix docu-series, cameras follow him everywhere as he sets out to do it again, to try and create the next global boyband sensation. This is unlike any show he has made before. From raw open casting calls to the release of their debut single, this is an all-access pass for viewers to catch every moment of Simon’s next chapter. Will he strike gold once again?"

* Netflix has canceled Lena Dunham's Too Much after one season.

* Netflix announced that it has won the drama Trigger Point in "a competitive situation" and ordered the project straight to series. It will star Joel Edgerton. And here is the brief, official logline: "Trigger Point is an action crime drama about a group of former Tier One Special Forces Operators who sell their elite skills to the criminal underworld behind the front of a private military contracting firm — and the FBI agent who’s hunting for them."

* On December 1st, BritBox is premiering The Other Bennet Sister Yule Log: "In Jane Austen’s world, the drama crackles like a roaring fire. To celebrate the author’s 250th birthday, BritBox invites viewers to cozy up by the hearth inspired by The Other Bennet Sister."

* Season four of Industry premieres Sunday, January 11th on HBO. Here is the official logline: "At the top of their game and living the lives they set out to have as Pierpoint grads, Harper (Myha’la) and Yasmin (Marisa Abela) are drawn into a high stakes, globetrotting cat-and-mouse game when a splashy fintech darling bursts onto the London scene. As Yasmin navigates her relationship with tech founder Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harington) and Harper is pulled into the orbit of enigmatic executive Whitney Halberstram (Max Minghella), their twisted friendship begins to warp and ignite under the pressure of money, power, and the desire to be on top."

* Despite the less-than-ideal reviews, Hulu has renewed All's Fair for a second season.

TWEET OF THE DAY



WHAT'S COMING TODAY AND TOMORROW

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24TH:
* Bel-Air Season Premiere (Peacock)
* Blossoms Shanghai Series Premiere (Criterion Channel)
* Everybody Loves Raymond 30th Anniversary Reunion (CBS)
* Harry Wild Holiday Special (Acorn TV)
* I Am Boxer Series Premiere (Hulu)
* Kevin Hart: Acting My Age (Netflix)
* Missing: Dead Or Alive Season Premiere (Netflix)

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25TH:
* Good Sports Series Premiere (Prime Video)
* Is It Cake? Holiday (Netflix)
* Lidia Celebrates America: A Nation Of Neighbors (PBS)
* Shakespeare And Hathaway: Private Investigators Season Premiere (BritBox)
* The Shuffle (HBO)
* Three Idiots In Kenya Series Premiere (Netflix)

SEE YOU EARLY TUESDAY MORNING!