Charlie Brown and Linus
Charlie Brown may decry the commercialization of the holidays, but there's no denying the continued popularity of his TV specials. A Charlie Brown Christmas returns to ABC Wednesday night (8/7c) for the first of two airings this month, and if the network's recent rebroadcasts of the Peanuts Halloween and Thanksgiving specials are any indication, it's sure to do well.
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Dont'a Hightower and Jeff Cumberland
NBC's first ever prime-time NFL game on Thanksgiving paid off Thursday — the New England Patriots-New York Jets contest crushed the competition.
Even though the game itself was a blowout (the Patriots won 49-19), nearly 17 million viewers tuned in, picking football over new episodes of Glee and The X Factor, as well as Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (4 million, 1.2) and the Spike Lee-directed Michael Jackson movie Bad25 (4.6 million, 1.2) on ABC.
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Lindsay Lohan
What unbecomes a legend most? Look no further than this long weekend's well-timed candidate for the TV Turkey Hall of Fame: Liz & Dick (Lifetime, Sunday at 9/8c), an epic of stunningly cynical and pathetic miscasting, a TV-movie so laughably inept it doesn't deserve to be on a first-name basis with anything resembling humanity.
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Stana Katic and Nathan Fillion
Stuffed with Thanksgiving turkey? Tired of flag football with your family? Fortunately, there are plenty of reasons to stay put on the couch all weekend long. Check out our roundup of all the parades, specials, marathons and sports on tap. (All times ET)
Network Parades and Specials
Thursday:
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (9 a.m.- Noon, NBC)
Thanksgiving Day Parade (9 a.m.- Noon, CBS)
The National Dog Show (Noon-2 p.m., NBC)
Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (8 -9 p.m., ABC)
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A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
If you're going to spend much of the Thanksgiving holiday on the couch — after all, you'll have lots of food to digest -- there's plenty of TV to watch. Check out our roundup of marathons, specials and games. All times are Eastern (ET):
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Katie Couric and Lady Gaga
These are the guest stars and events that the networks have planned for the second week of November sweeps:
Monday, Nov. 21
8/7c
Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
It's the final week of performances for the remaining three celebs: Rob Kardashian, Ricki Lake and J.R. Martinez. (Sadly, though, no Muppets!)
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Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
The guest stars and events that the networks have planned for the last week of November sweeps:
Monday, Nov. 22
8/7c
Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
Alaska's first daughter Bristol Palin, Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey and Disney's Kyle Massey are the final three in the season's ultimate dance-off. But not Brandy. Please register your conspiracy theory in the comments section below.
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Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
9/8c NBC
It's up, up and away with an assortment of beautiful balloons at the 83rd annual procession in Manhattan, a grand family-friendly gala anchored by Meredith Vieira, Matt Lauer and Al Roker. This year's Turkey Day event is stuffed with those legendary character balloons, colorful floats, marching bands and a crowd of clowns. There are also slated celeb appearances and performers, including Andrea Bocelli, Boys Like Girls, Alan Cumming, Jimmy Fallon and the Roots, Billy Currington, Gloria Gaynor, Jane Krakowski, Ziggy Marley, Katharine McPhee, Jay Sean, Carly Simon — and a certain plus-size jolly guy in a red suit.
Read on for previews of CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute, NBC's People of the Year, Paul McCartney: 'Good Evening New York City', Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and Thursday Night Football.
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House
Tuesday's tallies:
8 pm/ET
NCIS continued its super-strong season, delivering 18.16 million total viewers (up 160K week-to-week). Topping the hour in demos and placing second in viewers was House's hostage episode, which drew 12.5 mil. (What did you think of the "super-sized" 67-minute saga? Vote in our poll/discuss below.)
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (11.1 mil) was up eight percent year-over-year, while Biggest Loser (6.77 mil) shed 10 percent from last Tuesday.
9 pm
Dancing with the Stars' season-ender partnered with an audience of 20.58 million, a small increase over the May finale but down 17 percent from last November's. At 15.9 mil, The Mentalist was up a hair. Fringe (8.73 mil) fell 630K.
10 pm
Opposite DWTS' final moments, both Without a Trace (10.37 million viewers, down 12 percent) and SVU (8.55 mil, down 15 percent) took big hits.
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Michael Chiklis
The Shield
10 pm/ET FX
Whither Vic? That was some confession last week. Absolution is another matter of course, and we'll see tonight whether he'll get it as The Shield turns in its badge after seven seasons.
Read on for previews of House, Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, Dancing with the Stars and Law & Order: SVU.
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