At Long Last, ‘Yellowstone’ Returns, ‘Penguin’ Finale, ‘Arcane’ on Netflix, Women of Springfield

Yellowstone

SUNDAY: It has been quite the drought for Yellowstone fans, waiting for new episodes since New Year’s Day of 2023. The good news: The hit series returns, resuming the fifth and reportedly final season with an episode airing on Paramount Network and, later, on its broadcast cousin, CBS. The bad news: Kevin Costner, aka Montana governor and ranch patriarch John Dutton, won’t be back, having left the series during the long hiatus to film his box-office dud Horizon: An American Saga amid an apparent falling-out with creator/auteur Taylor Sheridan. How will they explain John’s absence? Read what you will into the official storyline: “After an event rattles the state of Montana, nothing will ever be the same.” Whatever happens, expect more vicious combat between adversarial Dutton siblings Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Jamie (Wes Bentley). As the saying goes, there will be blood.

The Penguin

SUNDAY: The Batman spinoff ends on a dark note of near-operatic tragic grandeur, with elements of The Godfather in the fateful psychological and violent showdowns between Oz “Penguin” Cobb (Colin Farrell) and his crime-family nemesis, Sofia Gigante (née Falcon), played to the hilt by a scene-stealing Cristin Milioti. Whoever claims victory in their rise to the bottom of the Gotham underworld, it’s likely to be a hollow triumph laced with darkness.

Arcane

SATURDAY: Yet another long wait between seasons has paid off for fans of the action-adventure based on the League of Legends video-game franchise, the first streaming series to win an Emmy for best animated series. The second and final season, returning after three years, once again rolls out in three acts, with the remaining episodes dropping Nov. 16 and 23, pitting sisters Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Jinx (Ella Purnell) in an epic battle.

The Simpsons

SUNDAY: Homer, go have a donut. This week’s episode of the long-running animated staple The Simpsons belongs to the female population of Springfield, in a series of vignettes titled “Women in Shorts.” Among the guest voices: Kerry Washington, reprising her recurring role of teacher Rayshelle Peyton, and renowned food writer Ruth Reichl as herself. Also on Sunday’s animated lineup: Mark finds success on Universal Basic Guys (8:30/7:30c) writing a Baby Shark-like earworm, but if you know this show’s uninspired formula, you know that won’t last. The kids of Bob’s Burgers (9/8c) plan an open mic night at the eatery that could bankrupt the joint, and Krapopolis (9:30/8:30c) provides an ancient take on the National Lampoon’s Vacation format when the family hits the road to Storgos to celebrate the birthday of Shlub’s mother.

Santa Tell Me

The Yule Log: In the Christmas spirit yet? TV certainly is. A roster of new holiday movies begins on the Hallmark Channel, with Santa Tell Me (Saturday, 8/7c) reuniting When Calls the Heart’s Erin Krakow and Daniel Lissing, and ’Tis the Season to Be Irish (Sunday, 8/7c) sending The Good Doctor’s Fiona Gubelmann to Ireland, where her plans to renovate and flip a cottage clash with the visions of a local realtor (Eoin Macken of La Brea). On Great American Family: Christmas Under the Northern Lights (Saturday, 8/7c) stars Jill Wagner as a historian who learns to appreciate the Northern Lights with the help of a local tour guide (Jesse Hutch), and in Coupled Up for Christmas (Sunday, 8/7c), Sara Canning and Marcus Rosner are unlucky-in-love strangers who pretend to date others to win over the objects of their supposed affection. UPtv chimes in with The Case of the Christmas Diamond (Saturday, 7/6c), a holiday mystery starring Kelly Daly as a woman accused of stealing a million-dollar gem, with William Baldwin as the detective helping figure out the true culprit. And Christmas in Rockwell (Sunday, 7/6c) plays to form when a big star (Trish Stratus) heads back to her small-town family roots to find romance.

INSIDE WEEKEND TV:

• 48 Hours (Saturday, 10/9c, CBS): Natalie Morales reports on the 1995 murder of Texas schoolteacher Mary Catherine Edwards, which went unsolved for more than 25 years until forensic advances helped nail the killer—at whose wedding the victim had been a bridesmaid.
• Saturday Night Live (Saturday, 11:30/10:30c, 8:30 pm/PT, NBC): For the first original episode since the election, comedian Bill Burr returns as guest host for the second time, with Mk.gee the first-time musical guest.
• World of Warships Clash of Titans (Sunday, 6 pm/ET, Pluto TV Military Channel): An eight-part docuseries, produced in collaboration with the video-game franchise, uses archival footage and CGI to recreate famous WWII naval battles. The series repeats Monday, Veterans Day, at 6 pm/ET, and can be streamed On Demand on Pluto TV.
• Missing at Sea (Sunday, 8:30 pm/ET, ESPN): A documentary presents the first-person survival story of Ivan Gjorgievski, a software engineer who was caught in a riptide in the Aegean Sea and managed to hold on to a soccer ball for 18 hours overnight before being rescued.
• Tracker (Sunday, 8:30/7:30c, CBS): Colter (Justin Hartley) heads to an unfriendly mining town to look for a spiritually gifted missing teenager.
• The Marlow Murder Club (Sunday, 9/8c, PBS): Amateur sleuths Judith (Samantha Bond), Becks (Cara Horgan) and Suzie (Jo Martin) become civilian advisors to the local police, courtesy of Detective Sergeant Tanika Malik (Natalie Dew), as they all follow leads to stop a local killer.
• The Franchise (Sunday, 10/9c, HBO): The show-biz satire finds late-night shoots taking a toll on the crew of Tecto: Eye of the Storm, but director Eric (Daniel Brühl) is more focused on an upcoming set visit by Oppenheimer legend Christopher Nolan. Followed by Somebody Somewhere (10:30/9:30c), where Sam (Bridget Everett) goes to the doctor for her first physical in years.
• Lioness (Sunday, streaming on Paramount+): Joe (Zoe Saldaña) is ordered to bring on another team member as a backup shadow for the latest Lioness recruit, Josie (Genesis Rodriguez). After crossing paths with another agency, the covert CIA team is sent on a mission that leads to an unexpectedly alarming discovery.