Festive fun

Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman turn on the charm in ‘Making It’

By Francis Babin TV Media

In the era of Peak TV, being wholesome and family friendly has become a disadvantage. To succeed and become the next big thing, a series must be gritty, dark and intense. Protagonists are usually brooding, damaged anti-heroes, and antagonists are cold and brutal. When it comes to comedies and reality television, the characters, participants and judges are almost always snarky, sarcastic and cynical — cable networks tell us that this is what sells.

But sometimes it seems like we’re starving for good, wholesome content. There have been some familyfriendly, uplifting programs that have succeeded in the shadow of grimy, attention-garnering dramas. Series like “The Great British Bake Off” have become full-blown cultural sensations, producing spinoffs and inspiring numerous imitators. These competition series can fill us with a feeling of coziness and inspiration, and they are fun to watch with the entire family. On Monday, Dec. 2, the crafting competition “Making It,” hosted by Amy Poehler (“Wine Country,” 2019) and Nick Offerman (“Good Omens”), returns on NBC just in time for the holidays.

When the DIY crafting competition series premiered in the summer of 2018, it proved to be a ratings success for the peacock network and was quickly renewed for a second season. Yet, as the time passed, fans became increasingly worried as Poehler and Offerman’s craft-off was routinely left off the schedule. It turns out that fans of arts and crafts had nothing to worry about. It seems that the long delay was simply the result of those involved trying to pick the perfect time to come back. “Making It” has received a festive upgrade and is set to give us more of what made it a hit last time around.

For those who did not catch the first season, the premise of “Making It” is really simple. Artisans from across America are pitted against one another to try to im press the “Parks and Recreation” BFFs as well as the judges. Impressing the hosts is no easy feat, and im pressing the expert judges is even harder. Returning for another round of judg- ing are Simon Doonan, creative ambassador for Barneys New York, and Dayna Isom Johnson, Etsy trend expert.

The new season functions as it did before, with competitors who are well versed with paint, fabric, wood and metal facing off against one another in two challenges each episode: “Faster Craft,” a timed project, and “Master Craft,” a themed project. Each project tests the competitors’ ability to think outside the box and puts their creativity to the test as they work with food, felt and other materials.

The holiday-themed season has the artisans taking on office makeovers and three-dimensional festive creations on top of other entertaining challenges. In addition to extraordinary fabrications that are guaranteed to inspire, viewers at home are once again in for delightfully silly puns, plenty of laughs and an allaround good time with the witty hosts.

Late Laughs

A Little Late With Lilly Singh

Poehler and Offerman told the Hollywood Reporter, “We’re sew excited to be ‘Making It’ again. We promise Season 2 will have you glued to your seats.” If you enjoyed that word play, “Making It” is going to bring you much holiday cheer.

Over the course of the second season, we will get to know and love the competitors as they share their touching and personal stories. Although the artisans are front and center, the series makes sure to give us plenty of time with our friendly hosts. Poehler is a self-proclaimed craft novice; on the other hand, Offerman is a noted woodworker. The comedic duo might not share the same skills, but they do share a passion and love for crafts and craftsmanship.

The hosts’ passion for arts and crafts and a shared goal of creating a feel-good atmosphere was undeniable the first time around, and things have not changed since then. “We want it to be a hug of a television show,” is how Offerman recalled Poehler’s original pitch to the network. The first season absolutely succeeded in doing this. It also succeeded in displaying intricate works that serve to inspire the viewer at home.

Let’s be honest, everyone loves animals! If you don’t believe me, think about how “Game of Thrones” had so many major characters getting stabbed to death and the one thing everyone talked about on Monday morning was how Jon Snow didn’t say goodbye to his wolf.

Conan

President Trump called the whistleblower “an Obama person who hates Trump” — in other words, it could be anyone.

The Tonight Show Starring

Jimmy Fallon

I want to say congrats to the 50,000 runners who finished yesterday’s New York City Marathon. I love the marathon. It’s the one day a year when you can rub Vaseline on your nipples in public and not get arrested.

The Late Late Show with James Corden

I’m not from this country, but I always assumed that a congressional subpoena was more powerful than a Facebook invite from your Aunt Linda.

The “Duck Dynasty” guys support President Trump, and if this influences how you’re going to vote, please wait until you hear who Honey Boo Boo is endorsing, just so you can make an informed decision.

ACROSS

1 ___ Five (hosts of a Netflix makeover series)

4 Cries of aversion

8 ___ Paulo, Brazil

11 Late actress McClanahan of “Maude” and “The

Golden Girls”

12 Classic hair removal brand material

19 Be in the red

20 Lock up tight

23 House shower

26 What Teller of “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” won’t do

27 Part of N.C.A.A.: Abbr.

28 “The Catcher in the ___”

29 “It’s within the ___ of possibility”

32 Public transit vehicles

34 “Big Little Lies” star Meryl

36 Yearbook sect.

37 Seth MacFarlane-created animated series about the unconventional Smith family

42 1998 novel that spawned both a 2002 cinematic and 2014 television adaptation 44 Honest ___ (Lincoln) 45 Comedian and

4 Rough, unfinished stone

5 “You’re the Worst” star Chris

6 Plant used to flavor food

7 Mixes up

8 The Romans, to many

9 The start and end of the Three Musketeers’ motto 10 Grand ___ Opry 13 Civil rights org.

Caddie’s bagful

2006 Pixar film that features

1 2009 Disney flick “The Princess and the ___”

2 German auto

By Jessica Gosse TV Media

WHAT’S NEW ON NETFLIX “V Wars”

Ian Somerhalder (“The Vampire Diaries”) returns in all his brooding glory in this new vampire drama premiering Thursday, Dec. 5. Things are different this time around for Somerhalder — he’s not playing one of the bloodsuckers, he’s fighting for the humans as Dr. Luther Swann. When a melting glacier causes the release of an unknown virus, Dr. Swann’s best friend, Michael Fayne (Adrian Holmes, “Skyscraper,” 2018), is transformed into a vicious vampire. As the virus spreads, Fayne quickly rises as a leader of the vampires, creating factions within society. Meanwhile, Dr. Swann works at the hospital desperately trying to understand how the virus originated and how it can be unique to each victim’s DNA. The growing number of vampires soon results in the outbreak of a gruesome war. Rounding out the cast are a number of well-established sci-fi actors, including Peter Outerbridge (“ReGenesis”), Laura Vandervoort (“Bitten”), Kimberly-Sue Murray (“Shadowhunters”) and Jacky Lai (“Beyond”). The series is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Jonathan Maberry, and you won’t want to miss the premiere.

“Spirit Riding Free: The Spirit of Christmas”

On Friday, Dec. 6, catch an all-new Christmas special of this popular computer-animated series. Based on the animated 2002 film “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron,” the series follows the adventures of a young girl named Fortuna, aka “Lucky,” who befriends a wild mustang named Spirit after moving to a small frontier town. In this holiday special, Lucky and her friends head to the city on Christmas Eve to try to find the perfect gift, but when an avalanche occurs, the friends struggle to return home in time for Christmas.

“Magic for Humans” Season 2

Justin Willman returns to his roots as a magician and hits the streets to amaze and bewilder in the new season of “Magic for Humans,” premiering Friday, Dec. 6. Foodies may recognize Willman from his earlier career as the host of Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars” from 2010 to 2016, as well as the host of “Halloween Wars” from 2011 to 2014. Last year, Willman took the wonder of his YouTube webseries “Magic Meltdown” to Netflix when he premiered his series “Magic for Humans,” in which he blends comedy and magic as he performs tricks and illusions for unsuspecting people. Catch all the wonder of Willman’s latest tricks in this season premiere.

WHAT’S NEW ON HULU “Reprisal”

On Friday, Dec. 6, Hulu takes feminism to a whole other level with the premiere of this neo-noir series. The show follows Doris (Abigail Spencer, “Timeless”), who lives in a male-dominated town. When her brother’s gang, which controls the town, drags her through a field by a chain attached to a truck and leaves her to die, everything changes. That day, Doris “died” and was reborn as Katherine Harlow, the vicious femme fatale determined to bring down the entire gang. The lines of justice and revenge blur as Katherine teams up with a crew of her own and goes after her assailants. The series comes from producers Warren Littlefield

(“The Handmaid’s Tale”) and Graeme Scott Littlefield (“Fargo”), and you’ll get sucked into this compelling series about the lengths to which one woman will go for vengence.

WHAT’S NEW ON PRIME VIDEO

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

Season 3

Following its eight wins at the 2019 Emmy Awards,this acclaimed series returns for Season 3, which premieres

Friday, Dec. 6. Standup comedian and 50s housewife Midge Maisel (Ra- chel Brosnahan, “House of Cards”) continues on her comedy tour in this new season, after accepting singer Shy Baldwin’s (Leroy McClain, “The Adjustment Bureau,” 2011) offer to join him on a tour across America and Europe. The new installment picks up right after the shocking Season 2 finale, when we saw Midge kiss her estranged husband, Joel (Michael Zegen, “Rescue Me”), despite having accepted Benjamin’s (Zachary Levi, “Shazam!,” 2019) marriage proposal. Season 3 is filled with just as much drama and laughter as the first two seasons, and Midge will, of course, be joined on tour by her ever-faithful manager, Susie (Alex Borstein, “Getting On”), and will meet many interesting characters along the way, including a story arc featuring a character played by Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”).

WHAT’S NEW ON APPLE TV+ “Truth Be Told”

This new streamer adds yet another star-studded original series to its lineup this Friday, Dec. 6, with the premiere of this new crime drama. Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer (“The Help,” 2011) stars as Poppy Parnell, a true-crime podcaster who rose to fame after helping with a murder investigation. Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”) stars as Warren Cave, the man Poppy put behind bars for the murder of the father of twins Josie and Lanie Burhman (Lizzy Caplan, “Castle Rock”). It’s been more than 18 years since Cave was sentenced, and when new evidence in his case suddenly comes to light, Poppy reopens her investigation. Concerned that Warren may have been framed — and that she caused the wrong man to be arrested — she digs deeper into questions that were never answered, such as what happened to the murder weapon? And how could a mother and her two daughters sleep through such a violent murder? Adapted for the streamer by “The Good Wife” producer Nichelle D. Tramble, the show is based on Kathleen Barber’s novel “Are You Sleeping?” Catch the series premiere on Friday.

The Goldfinch

At the age of 13, Theodore Decker’s (Fegley) life is changed forever while attending the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York City. While attending an exhibit, the museum is attacked by terrorists, and Theodore’s mother is killed. In the chaos of the bombing and its aftermath, Theodore takes a painting entitled “The Goldfinch,” by Dutch painter Carel Fabritius. Having no other relatives, Theo is placed with the family of an estranged friend, whose mother, Samantha (Kidman), encourages his interest in art and antiques. After returning to New York City as an adult, Theo (Elgort) continues to process the trauma of his loss that began many years ago.

Director:JohnCrowley.Stars:Oakes Fegley,AnselElgort,NicoleKidman, JeffreyWright,LukeWilson,Sarah Paulson.2019.149mins.Drama.

Continued

From the list, find each word and circle its letters in the puzzle to reveal a message relating to this week's theme