Becoming a Lantern, ‘Walking’ Not-So-Dead, More Dolly Tributes

Lanterns

SUNDAY: The offbeat superhero saga puts its season-long intergalactic mystery on hold for a week to offer welcome context to new recruit John Stewart’s (Aaron Pierre) lifelong dream to become the next Lantern. Laura Linney makes her highly anticipated debut as an enigmatic Guardian overseeing John’s interview. When she tells him, “Most candidates ask, ‘Why me?’” he doesn’t hesitate to tell her that he knows exactly why he’s there. Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) may not be thrilled to have an eager newbie breathing down his neck to inherit the almighty ring, but by the end of the hour, John makes a good case for why he’s the right guy for the job.

The Walking Dead: Dead City

SUNDAY: “I think that we would have been friends in another life,” Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) recently shared with Maggie (Lauren Cohan) in a quiet moment between these sworn-enemies-turned-allies. (Maybe if he hadn’t slaughtered her husband during their first horrific encounter!) While Negan assesses the damage of his latest violent outburst, Walking Dead indulges his fantasy with an episode-long “what if” scenario in which New York City is still very much alive, and a meet-cute during the Christmas season brings farm girl Maggie into city slicker Negan’s charismatic orbit. There’s an almost Hallmark quality to their day on the town — except for that pesky ankle monitor suggesting there’s a darker side to this imaginary Negan. Big surprise!

Remembering Dolly: A Rhinestone Life

SUNDAY: The tributes keep coming for the beloved entertainer and humanitarian Dolly Parton, whose passing on Tuesday at 80 unleashed a treasure trove of musical and video memories. Entertainment Tonight has been covering the Nashville legend since 1982, and a prime-time special hosted by ET‘s Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner captures Dolly’s wit, wisdom and warmth in excerpts from her many interviews, with new testimonials from famous fans including Dionne Warwick, Melissa Etheridge, Debbie Allen, Diane Warren, and Jennifer Nettles.

Also on Sunday, ABC repeats Tuesday’s Dolly Parton: An American Original news special (10/9c), preceded by a screening of her 1980 hit movie 9 to 5 (7:30/6:30c), featuring her Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated title song. On the nostalgic MeTV channel, the 2024 biographical special Dolly Parton: Big Hair, Bigger Heart airs at 5 pm/4c, followed by a special episode of Collector’s Call (6/5c) that tours what’s touted as the world’s largest private collection of Dolly Parton memorabilia, including glittery costumes, her banjo and bedroom furniture from her personal Dollywood suite.

Little League Baseball World Series

SATURDAY: The tournament enters its final weekend with four teams vying for top honors in games played in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. On Saturday, the International Championship game pits Japan against Curacao (12:30 pm/ET, ABC), followed by the U.S. Championship game (3:30 pm/ET) between the Mountain region, represented by Henderson, Nevada, and Great Lakes, represented by Hamilton, Ohio. The winners move on to the World Series Championship game, airing Sunday at 3 pm/ET on ABC. (The third-place consolation game airs earlier Sunday at 11 am/ET on ESPN.)

US Open Tennis

SUNDAY: Action gets underway at the year’s final Grand Slam tennis tournament on the sprawling grounds of the USTA’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens. The men’s field is wider open than usual, with last year’s champ Carlos Alcaraz returning to the court after sitting out the French Open and Wimbledon with a wrist injury, and his main rival, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, withdrawing with a knee injury, leaving Alexander Zverev as the top seed. At 39 years old, No. 4 Novak Djokovic could be a spoiler, but there are always surprises and upsets in the opening rounds. On the women’s side, No. 1 seed and defending champ Aryna Sabalenka appears vulnerable, with Americans Jessica Pagula and Coco Gauff the No. 3 and 4 seeds. Anything can happen. Coverage of the first day continues at 3 pm/ET on ESPN2, then ESPN picks up the action at 4:30 pm/ET and again for the evening matches starting at 7 pm/ET.

INSIDE WEEKEND TV:

• Much About Love (Saturday, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel): It’s a war of wits, inspired by Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, when a TV director (Ashley Williams) rekindles her theater roots at a Shakespeare festival where she encounters an old flame (Niall Matter).
• The Copycat Killer (Saturday, 8/7c, Lifetime): The Rookie‘s Melissa O’Neil is a criminal profiler who unravels when a fan is murdered in the method of a serial killer she caught years ago. Greyston Holt costars as a journalist who takes a special interest in her, and her story.
• Voices: United by the Beautiful Game (Sunday, 12:30 pm/11:30c, streaming on Fox One): Mike Hill hosts an overview of the summer’s FIFA World Cup tournament.
• The 41st Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards (Sunday, 8/7c, BET): Kirk Franklin hosts and performs during the ceremony from Charlotte’s Spectrum Center, honoring the best of gospel music with a “Feels Like Home” theme.
• The Whole Story With Anderson Cooper (Sunday, 8/7c, CNN): Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh reports “The End of the World as We Know It,” immersing himself in the growing subculture of doomsday preppers in North America.
• Robot Chicken Adult Swim Special (Sunday, midnight/11c, Adult Swim): Adult Swim marks its 25th anniversary by gathering iconic characters from its many series (including Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Venture Bros., Smiling Friends and more) for an ill-fated cruise, with Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law taking the culprits responsible for the disaster to court.
• Lioness (Sunday, streaming on Paramount+): The Lioness team exerts muscle as they conduct an off-the-books sting on a network of Russian intelligence assets hidden in plain sight. The FBI isn’t thrilled with the CIA’s rogue operation, but Secretary of State Mullins (Morgan Freeman) puts national security over protocol.