More ‘Dancing,’ the Fall of Sean Combs, ‘Murder in a Small Town’ Finale, CMA Country Christmas

Dancing With the Stars

The Len Goodman Mirrorball has been rewarded — did anyone doubt it would go to Robert Irwin? — and the confetti swept up following a successful 34th season, but Dancing With the Stars isn’t finished quite yet. Capitalizing on the ratings resurgence, the show returns for a holiday special, with pros joined by surprise guests for new routines set to yuletide favorites as hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough return to the ballroom stage. Among the scheduled performers: Pentatonix, featuring Season 34 contestant Scott Hoying.

Sean Combs: The Reckoning

A four-part docuseries exposes the “really bad deeds” that led to hip-hop mogul Sean Combs’ undoing in a New York courtroom. The film, directed by Alexandria Stapleton and executive produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Johnson, features footage shot with Combs’ cooperation in the week before his arrest and indictment stunned the music world. The Reckoning charts Combs’ rise through his uncannily named Bad Boy Entertainment as he launched many notable careers and, with testimony from associates who knew him all too well, succumbed to his darkest urges.

Murder in a Small Town

A clue left at the scene of Gibsons’s latest puzzling death, staged to look like an accident, leads police chief Karl (Rossif Sutherland) to link this mystery to a long-unsolved case that has haunted his girlfriend and interim mayor Cassandra (Kristin Kreuk) all season long. The Season 2 finale sheds new light on a string of related murders, which has also caught the attention of Karl’s nosy photographer daughter, Holly (Dakota Guppy). He warns both of the women in his life to leave the crime-solving to the professionals, but will they listen?

CMA Country Christmas

A tradition for the last 16 years — and isn’t the yuletide season all about tradition? — country-music stars gather before a live audience in Nashville to celebrate the season in song. Lauren Daigle and Jordan Davis are the hosts, performing on a roster that includes Lady A, Little Big Town, Megan Moroney, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, gospel great BeBe Winans, and many more.

Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer lets her hair down in a holiday comedy as Claire, an overburdened and underappreciated mom who is mistakenly left home alone by the rest of the family. Unlike Kevin McCallister from the iconic Home Alone, she doesn’t stay at home but embarks on a cross-country adventure to claim the attention she feels is her due. “I can’t decide if she’s an icon or a train wreck,” mulls a member of her extended family. We’re thinking the former. The stacked supporting cast includes Denis Leary, Jason Schwartzman, Eva Longoria, Felicity Jones, Chloë Grace Moretz, Danielle Brooks, Devery Jacobs, and Joan Chen.

INSIDE TUESDAY TV:

• NCIS (8/7c, CBS): A kidnapping leads the team to a Navy SEAL who once escaped the Taliban but may have gone to the dark side after returning home. Back in the office, Jimmy (Brian Dietzen) updates his boss, Parker (Gary Cole), with his findings regarding the death of Parker’s mother. Followed by new episodes of NCIS: Origins (9/8c) and NCIS: Sydney (10/9c).
• Fixer to Fabulous (8/7c, HGTV): Home renovation experts Dave and Jenny Marrs return for a seventh season of makeovers in their Arkansas hometown, opening with a special project: fixing up the tornado-wrecked home of their child’s preschool teacher, including play areas and a new storm shelter.
• Hard Knocks: In Season With the NFC East (9/8c, HBO): A new season of the immersive sports series embeds with the reigning Super Bowl champs Philadelphia Eagles, as well as the Dallas Cowboys, the Washington Commanders, and the embattled New York Giants, through the final stretch of the pro football season and into the NFL playoffs in January.
• TMZ’s Most Outrageous Moments of 2025 (9/8c, Fox): The crew recaps the stories that got everyone buzzing for better or (mostly) for worse this year.
• Vanderpump Rules (9/8c, Bravo): You’ve been served — plenty of gossip — by a new crew at Lisa Vanderpump‘s SUR for Season 12 of the dishy reality series.
• What Would You Do? (10/9c, ABC): A holiday edition of the hidden-camera series spies on people being naughty or maybe even nice.
• Kimora: Back in the Fab Lane (10/9c, E!): Fashionista Kimora Lee Simmons, now a single mom of five, takes center stage again in her latest reality series, managing her Baby Phat brand while juggling family duties.
• 5-Star (streaming on Paramount+): An eight-part sports docuseries drops its first four episodes (the remaining four premiere Dec. 16), following the fortunes of four Five-Star freshman college football recruits in the Big Ten Conference.
• Matt Rife: Unwrapped — A Christmas Crowd Work Special (streaming on Netflix): The comedian explores holiday traditions while working his way through an eager audience.