Apple TV+ Holiday Programming Lineup; 80s Stars Reunite in Lifetime Movie

Wednesday, October 04, 2023

Apple TV+ Holiday Programming Lineup; 80s Stars Reunite in Lifetime Movie

In celebration of the holiday season, Apple TV+ announced a festive lineup of all-new kids and family programming featuring the debut of the heartwarming Apple Original special The Velveteen Rabbit, based on the beloved children's classic written by Margery Williams, launching on November 22, plus brand new holiday-themed episodes from beloved series including The Snoopy Show, Frog and Toad, and Shape Island, premiering globally December 1 and a special New Year's Eve themed episode of Sago Mini Friends on December 22.

Apple TV+ will also provide special free windows for nonsubscribers to stream the iconic holiday specials from Mendelson/Melendez Productions and Peanuts Worldwide, including It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown available Saturday, October 21 through Sunday, October 22; A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving available Saturday, November 18 through Sunday, November 19; and A Charlie Brown Christmas available Saturday, December 16 through Sunday, December 17. These specials are available to subscribers now and every day.

Ladies of the '80s: A Divas Christmas

The holidays just got the diva treatment! As the tentpole of Lifetime's holiday slate, It's a Wonderful Lifetime, the network announced the movie, Ladies of the '80s: A Divas Christmas starring iconic actresses Loni Anderson (WKRP in Cincinnati), Morgan Fairchild (Falcon Crest), Linda Gray (Dallas), Donna Mills (Knots Landing) and Nicollette Sheridan (Knots Landing). Filmed earlier this year, the movie follows five soap opera divas readying for a reunion show who take on playing cupid during Christmas to bring together their director and producer as they all learn the meaning of true Christmas spirit. The movie also stars newcomers Travis Burns and Taylor Ann Thompson. Christopher Atkins, Patrika Darbo, Alec Mapa and Donna Mills' real-life daughter, Chloe Mills, also star. Lifetime's full It's a Wonderful Lifetime holiday movie slate will be announced in the coming weeks.

In Ladies of the '80s: A Divas Christmas, five glamorous soap opera actresses reunite to share the spotlight to shoot the final Christmas episode of their long-running soap opera. The producer, Alex (Travis Burns) and director Nell (Taylor Ann Thompson), who happen to be old college friends, do their best to keep things on the rails but as the ladies come together, old rivalries resurface that threaten to tear the whole production apart. With the show nearly canceled before it even begins due to the ladies' famous diva behavior, they reluctantly agree to set aside their differences and past secrets to "act" as if they all still love each other. When old sparks reignite between Alex and Nell, the ladies become eager to play cupid and conspire to bring the couple together. Along the way, the divas also discover that the love between them all is still very strong too. The movie's theme song Ladies of the '80s was written by Song Writer Hall of Fame's Steve Dorff and Michael Jay and is performed by '80s pop sensation Tiffany (I Think We're Alone Now).

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, October 19

The Simpsons - "Treehouse of Horror XXXVI" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The town is menaced by a mysterious murdering monster from out of the sewers; Krusty has a demonic special guest on his live Halloween special; Springfield's post-apocalyptic future.

Universal Basic Guys - "Golden Beans" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Mark and David start a coffee shop in the garage; Tammy and Hank struggle to keep Mernft Man from bothering customers.

Krapopolis - "Basket Baby" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
A baby arrives in a basket; Deliria encroaches on Apollo's turf; Tyrannis throws a potluck.

Bob's Burgers - "The Twinnening" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Teddy takes a handyman job next door to the restaurant and finds himself trapped inside a store full of spooky antiques.

DMV - "Pilot" (CBS, 10:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
East Hollywood Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) driving examiner Colette pines for her coworker Noa while enduring teasing from colleagues Gregg, Vic and Ceci. Also, new manager Barb rallies the crew to save their branch from government shutdown.

Electric Bloom - "How We Handled an Unexpected Visitor" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Tulip's sister comes home from college and is jealous of Tulip's bond with Jade; Posey deals with a little incident of her own.

Electric Bloom - "How We Defeated a Jingle Bell Bully" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
To help Tulip rediscover her love of Christmas, Electric Bloom is forced to team up with their sworn enemies, The Two Shellys, to try and win the Holiday Sing-Off.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 13)

Friday, October 17

Charlie Hunnam (Undeclared) - Watch Charlie on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Chelsea Frei (The Paper/The Moodys) - Chelsea appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Maz Jobrani (Superior Donuts/The Knights of Prosperity/Better Off Ted) - Maz is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
Kristin Chenoweth (Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin talks about Queen of Versailles on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Zachary Quinto (Big Mouth/So Notorious) - Zachary talks about Brilliant Minds on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
Tony Shalhoub (We Are Men/Stark Raving Mad/Wings) - NBC's Today catches up with Tony in the 9am hour.
Aziz Ansari (Master of None/Parks and Recreation) - Aziz talks about Good Fortune on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Penn Badgley (Do Over) - Penn talks about Crushmore: Essays on Love, Loss, and Coming-of-Age with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Mira Sorvino (Shining Vale) - Mira joins Sherri to talk about starring in Chicago the Musical on Broadway on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Cristela Alonzo (Cristela) - Cristela stops by Sherri's Laugh Lounge on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Penn Badgley (Do Over) - Penn talks about podcast Podcrushed on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Arnold Schwarzenegger (FUBAR) - Real Time with Bill Maher features a one-on-one interview with Arnold on HBO at 10pm.