It’s a rare day that all our Screen Scholar recs are not new content–ok, one is in just its second episode–but it’s all episodic shows captured mid-season, but all prestige. In their way.

JASON’S PICK:
Succession [HBO, 9p]
There’s a part of me that so wants to hate this silly show about end-stage Capitalism gone amok in what’s essentially the Fox News boardroom, but damned if the last episode didn’t have me sitting on the edge of my seat–even if I’m not entirely sure what all the bargaining meant. In any case, Kendall is disowned, and Shiv totally screwed, but even after all the strife, everyone who was a part of the company is still part of the company. So, what comes next as the increasingly unhinged Kendall Roy celebrates his birthday in a typically unhinged style? I’m (embarrassingly) glued and apparently you and many critics are too. Although, if Kendall raps again, all bets are off!

BRAD’S PICK:
Fear the Walking Dead [AMC, 9p]
We shift back to Morgan this week on the walkers prequel spinoff. He searches for Al, problem is, he’s not the only one searching. This season has put a lot on the table and even went full Mad Max at one point. Morgan does remain the heart holding all this together–seeing his next move will say a lot about where the show is going.

FIONA’S PICK:
Yellowjackets [Showtime, 10p]
The story continues to unfold as we watch the aftermath of the plane crash and back in the present we watch as the surviving adults continue to be haunted by their past. Last week we began to see the intricacies of their adult relationships. We learned from Shauna that they all agreed to stay out of the spotlight, but Natalie is back in town and seems uninterested in keeping a low profile. 

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE:

• First, we got the Power… then, we got… Power Book II: Ghost and as we start season two of this spinoff series, as its tagline says, it’s time to deal with the consequences of Tariq’s actions in the original series finale where he made that show’s lead and this show’s titular character the titular apparition he is in the spinoff. Was that a spoiler? Can you spoil a show that ended over a year ago? Does it matter given the trailer itself has a huge spoiler for the first season finale? Could anyone even unpack the twisted, poorly conceived prose in this write-up? We’ll probably never know. In any case, it all seems like a lot, but if you’re interested, it all happens on Starz.
• On the other hand of the grim-gleeful spectrum, the Food Network brings us Kids Baking Championship: Light Up the Holidays.
• The always delightful Cardi B hosts the 2021 American Music Awards, in all her rolled-R glory. The trophies are doled out and the performances performed on ABC.

• On the HBO Sunday comedies, Molly is having a rough time of it, while Issa is feeling more blissful as we cruise into the middle of the final season of Insecure. On Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry stumbles through some of the usual awkward interactions, this time involving traffic, a court case, a golf course, and his reluctance to pray for a friend’s father.
• With a title that plays off the 50th state’s nickname, Fatal Frontier: Evil in Alaska digs into a murder case in the great north.
• Lifetime and Hallmark come together right now over the sweet Christmas romance flick. On the former, it’s Baking Spirits Bright where a fruitcake maker falls in love with her marketing consultant (we’re not making that one up). Is the latter’s offering even sweeter. Given it’s Hallmark, all bets are off for A Kiss Before Christmas where James Denton is granted a wish by the world’s most sociopathic Santa and loses his wife (Teri Hatcher) and the rest of his happy family and has to figure out a way to win over a woman who is not a stranger and based on the title he has until some point on December 24.