Between network, cable and streaming, the modern television landscape is a vast one. Here are some of the shows, specials and movies coming to TV this week, Nov. 6-Nov. 12. Details and times are subject to change.
Monday
FRIENDS MARATHON beginning at 10 p.m. on Nickelodeon. I can easily say that Chandler Bing is one of my favorite fictional characters of all time — so last week’s news of the death of Matthew Perry (the actor who portrayed him on “Friends”) was especially devastating. Though unexpected, shocking and heartbreaking, I am going to try to focus on Perry’s gift that keeps on giving. This sitcom marathon starts with “The One With the Baby on the Bus” (no explanation on this needed) and goes into the wee hours of the morning. Please read this next sentence in Chandler Bing’s iconic intonation: Could I be anymore thankful that this show exists?
Tuesday
BEAT BOBBY FLAY: HOLIDAY THROWDOWN 9 p.m. on Food. The chef Bobby Flay has been beating most people he goes up against on his long-running competition show and I am sure nothing is going to change during this holiday themed show (returning for a second season). The “Holiday Throwdown” spinoff starts with a Thanksgiving- episode, where Flay will compete against the chefs Darnell Ferguson and Bryan and Michael Voltaggio (who are brothers) to make the best Thanksgiving meal.
STAND UP & SHOUT 9 p.m. on HBO. This is like the movie “Fame” for a modern era. Instead of taking place in the 1980s at New York High School of Performing Arts, this movie, a documentary, follows students at the Hill-Freedman World Academy who are taught how to write and produce original songs — and of course, perform them. It also touches on the positive effects that music education can have on a community.
Wednesday
THE 57TH ANNUAL CMA AWARDS 8 p.m. on ABC. Grab your cowboy boots and get ready for performances of “Leave Me Again” (Kelsea Ballerini), “White Horse” (Chris Stapleton), “Where the Wild things Are” (Luke Combs), among others, as Country Music Awards presenters hand out honors for entertainer of the year, album of the year and more.
REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE 8 p.m. on NBC. NBC’s Lester Holt, Kristen Welker and Hugh Hewitt are set to moderate the third Republican debate of this election cycle, broadcast live from Miami. As of the time of publication, Governor Ron DeSantis, former Governor Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, former Governor Chris Christie and Senator Tim Scott have qualified to participate. There are fewer candidates this time around as Republican National Committee has raised the threshold for qualifying in terms of both polling numbers and the number of donors.
YOU WERE MY FIRST BOYFRIEND 9 p.m. on HBO. In a style similar to the quirky “PEN15,” this documentary(ish) feature, shows the filmmaker Cecilia Aldarondo reliving some of the defining moments of her less than ideal teenage years through re-creations of scenes with herself and actors. She also tracks down old friends and enemies with the ultimate goal of self-acceptance.
Thursday
HAIRSPRAY (1988) 9 p.m. on TCM. Though I can’t help but be partial to Zac Efron as Link Larkin in the 2007 edition of this film, I can appreciate the original as well. The movie follows the Baltimore teenager, Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake), who gets a big break in her dreams of stardom when she is hired onto “The Corny Collins Show.” She starts a romance with Link (in this case, Michael St. Gerard) and fights to integrate the show. John Waters directs in what may be one of his most tame productions (most of his other movies are rated X, but this is PG).
Friday
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S ROMEO AND JULIET (1996) 9 p.m. on TCM. This Baz Luhrmann rendition of the classic tale takes place far away from Europe and is instead set in the fictional Verona Beach, Calif., and the Capulets and the Montagues aren’t warring families, but rival gangs. The movie “invents a whole new vocabulary for a story of star-crossed young love,” Janet Maslin wrote in her New York Times review. “It calls for pink hair, screaming billboards, tabloid television stories, music-video editing and a little hot dog shack called Rosencrantzky’s on Verona Beach.”
Saturday
ALBERT BROOKS: DEFENDING MY LIFE 8 p.m. on HBO. Albert Brooks might be best known for the 1987 film “Broadcast News,” which earned him an Academy Award nomination, but his directing, acting and comedy career has been nothing if not diverse. From voice acting on “The Simpsons” and “Finding Nemo,” to his roles in “Drive” and “Taxi Driver,” Brooks has done a little bit of everything. This documentary features a look at Brooks’s career from the perspective of castmates, friends and family, as well as Brooks himself.
Sunday
THE CURSE 10 p.m. on Showtime. Are Nathan Fielder and Emma Stone a pair I really saw acting together? Not really. Am I here for it? Absolutely. This comedy follows husband and wife Asher (Fielder) and Whitney (Stone) as they struggle to conceive a baby under the shadow of a supposed curse — all of this happening as the couple star in a “Love It or List It”-type HGTV show.
