Thanksgiving movie, TV show suggestions: What we're watching

By Los Angeles Times Staff

Nov. 22, 2023 12 PM PT

Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who needs something to watch between food comas this weekend.

If you’re already full up on football, the contributors behind our weekly guide to home viewing have recommendations for you, a grab-bag of new and old, comforting and confrontational, popular and under-the-radar. Here’s what the pop culture experts at The Times will be bingeing this holiday weekend. Besides leftover turkey sandwiches, that is.

Barbra Streisand specials

Barbra Streisand stands on a checkerboard floor in an empty department store in 1965.

Inspired by Barbra Streisand’s delightful, incisive and superbly haimish memoir, “My Name Is Barbra,” I’ll be going back to her first television specials, which, while not streaming officially, may be easily found in the groves of YouTube. The 1965 “My Name Is Barbra,” which aired on CBS four days after Streisand’s 23rd birthday, was taped late at night after Broadway performances of “Funny Girl,” with scenes shot after-hours at the tony department store Bergdorf Goodman. “Color Me Barbra,” from the following year, was partially shot at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and partially on a circus set, with Streisand dancing with penguins and comparing profiles with an anteater. As with her Columbia Records contract, the singer — and such a singer — had creative control. Streisand goes into the productions in detail in her book, should you care to know more. — Robert Lloyd

‘The Curse’

A couple stands before an empty lot with a boom mic hanging above them.

We’re a family of Nathan Fielder fans. “Nathan for You,” “The Rehearsal,” “How to With John Wilson” (part of the expanded Fielder-verse), even Fielder’s early YouTube videos — all have brought cringe-comedy joy to our household. Other families may spend this weekend watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or football. The highlight of our communal viewing will be the third episode of Fielder’s bizarro, genre-bending new series “The Curse,” a squirm-inducing satire about a shallow married couple (Fielder and Emma Stone) trying to mount an HGTV home-flipping show in a down-on-its-luck New Mexico community. We apparently like our comfort viewing a little uncomfortable. — Josh Rottenberg

‘Elf’

An oversize elf sits at a desk in a classroom filled with normal-size elves at desks.

As my two boys get older, my husband and I have begun introducing them to longer series and films that we love. And now that my oldest better understands ideas like Santa and the Christmas season, we’ve started playing holiday movies. “Elf” is one of my favorites — it’s hard to believe it’s now 20 years old. The movie is just plain silly fun, but it’s also heartwarming. Will Ferrell leans into his character hard and few could pull off yellow tights like he does. And you have the added pleasure of hearing Zooey Deschanel sing Christmas carols. It’s a classic that I hope my boys giggle about just like we have these past two decades. — Maira Garcia

‘Frybread Face and Me’

I recently stumbled upon the trailer for “Frybread Face and Me” and have been looking forward to its release on Friday ever since. Written and directed by Billy Luther, the coming-of-age film follows Benny (Keir Tallman), a kid sent to spend the summer with his grandmother on the Navajo reservation in Arizona instead of at home in San Diego. What’s teased is the budding relationship between Benny and his cousin (Charley Hogan), nicknamed Frybread Face, who shows him the ropes and joins him on (mis)adventures. As someone who also grew up spending school breaks with faraway grandparents, the film’s premise tugged on the right nostalgia heartstrings. And with this being my first Thanksgiving without my grandmother, I’m sure I’ll get a bit weepy watching Benny get to know his. (Netflix) — Tracy Brown

‘House’

A grumpy man in a hospital bed holds a stuffed elephant.

Though I’m a devoted binge-watcher, I’m not typically a rewatcher of TV: once through “Gilmore Girls” (in six weeks) or “Grey’s Anatomy” (in six months) is commitment enough. The lone exception is “House,” Fox’s Sherlock Holmes-inspired medical drama about brilliant, broken diagnostician Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), his warm-hearted friend Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) and the ambitious protégés in their orbit. (I even have a well-worn Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital T-shirt.) Like all good procedurals, the structure of “House” — diagnostic MacGuffins and cascading health crises culminating in a satisfying, climatic solution — makes it easy to slip into any given episode without context, which is why I first fell in love with it on cable, in syndication. And like all great procedurals, the series rewards true fans’ sustained attention with creative narrative arcs and long-term character development, particularly House’s will they/won’t they relationship with dean of medicine Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein). Make it deep enough and you’ll come upon one of recent history’s most inspired twists on the cast “shake-up,” a reality-style competition for spots on House’s team at the start of Season 4 that I could devour as a stand-alone miniseries any day of the week. That is, if I didn’t love the rest of “House” so damn much. (Hulu, Peacock, Prime Video) — Matt Brennan

‘The Lord of the Rings’ Trilogy: Extended Edition

A young hobbit stands behind a wizard with long gray hair and beard who's smoking a pipe

Every holiday season, my son and I revisit the greatest franchise in the history of cinema, in part because our love of the films is deep and true, forming a mother/son bond I trust will last a lifetime. (It’s also as a reminder of those shining years during his childhood when the holiday box office glowed with fantasy — “LOTR,” the “Harry Potter” franchise and, briefly, the Narnia films.) But mostly because, among many other highlights, there is no better death scene than that of Boromir (Sean Bean), no more captivating battle scene than the one at Helm’s Deep and no more marvelous marriage between technology and performance than Andy Serkis’ Gollum. (Max) — Mary McNamara

‘The Old Man and the Pool’

A man posing as if falling over onstage in front of a blue background

Mike Birbiglia is at it again. The long-form comic continues his streak of successfully mining various health problems for the stage — this time, outlining how a foreboding doctor’s visit spurs him to take up exercise via swimming at the local YMCA. When I watched the 85-minute set live during its world-premiere run at the Mark Taper Forum last year, before it went on to Broadway and the West End, I enjoyed the low-stakes laughs, the self-deprecating tangents and the bittersweet insights about aging — all the ingredients for an easy stream with the family over the holiday weekend. Pairing this one with any of his other four Netflix specials would also be a safe bet. (Netflix) — Ashley Lee

‘Psych’

Pair that upscale turkey leftover sandwich with this comedy procedural full of ’80s pop culture references for the ultimate comfort experience. The eight seasons of “Psych,” which starred James Roday Rodriguez as wise-cracking “psychic” detective Shawn Spencer and Dulé Hill as his long-suffering best friend, Burton “Gus” Guster, are full of laughs, heart and guest appearances from most of the stars of “The Breakfast Club.” If you’ve never seen the show, start with “American Duos,” the first episode of Season 2 — it’s a parody of “American Idol” featuring a cantankerous Simon Cowell-esque judge played to perfection by Tim Curry. (Amazon Prime Video, Peacock) — Vanessa Franko