‘Golden Bachelor’s Final Rose, Chuck Lorre’s ‘Bookie,’ ‘Family Switch’ and ‘Obliterated’ on Netflix, Grinch Strikes Again

Disney/John Fleenor

The Golden Bachelor

Gerry Turner is one emotional guy. Wearing his heart on his sleeve throughout this inaugural season of the more mature Bachelor spinoff, the 72-year-old Indiana widower has anguished every time he’s sent a woman away without a rose. “The only time I’ve felt worse in my whole life was when my wife passed away, and this is a close second,” Gerry says in a trailer for the two-hour finale, where he’ll presumably choose between the last two ladies who joined him in Costa Rica. Will it be Theresa, 69, the upbeat financial services pro from New Jersey? Or Leslie, 64, the saucy fitness instructor from Minneapolis? While there must be a better way to find a soulmate late in life, Golden Bachelor has provided a welcome respite from the fame-seeking hot bodies of Bachelor Nation. (And what are the chances whoever doesn’t get the final rose will become the Golden Bachelorette? And for Leslie in particular, there’s always Dancing with the Stars looking for golden-age talent.)

Max

Bookie

Chuck Lorre’s (Mom, Two and a Half Men) sardonic style is on bold display in this pungently dark comedy, co-created with Nick Bakay, about embattled L.A. bookie Danny Colavito (Sebastian Maniscalco), who takes bets from his car like a less successful version of The Lincoln Lawyer. The pilot episode (all that was made available for preview) introduces Danny on a hectic day of debt collecting that leaves him battered, bruised and possibly in deep legal jeopardy. Adding to his woes: the prospect of legalized sports gambling in California, which could bankrupt his business. The supporting cast includes Omar J. Dorsey as Ray, a former NFL player who accompanies him as muscle (“I’m mostly a visual deterrent”) and Lost’s Jorge Garcia as a former drug dealer—legalizing marijuana was his downfall—who becomes his fair-weather driver.

Colleen Hayes/Netflix

Family Switch

Fans of Freaky Friday (and even Jennifer Garner’s 13 Going on 30, which gets a shout-out) will enjoy this family comedy about the entire Walker clan experiencing a slapstick body switch, courtesy of an astrological reader (the eternal Rita Moreno). This means mom and dad (Jennifer Garner, Ed Helms) switch bodies with daughter and son (Emma Myers, Brady Noon), and even the toddler and family dog trade personalities. While the Walker work to reverse the curse, major life events confront each of the characters, who are still adjusting to their new looks, ages and attitudes.

Netflix

Obliterated

Most decidedly not for the family audience, this raunchy R-rated action comedy presents a 24-like ticking-clock scenario that imagines what would happen if Jack Bauer and his CTU anti-terror team had gotten wasted before knowing the world was at risk. That’s what happens when CIA agent Ava Winters (Shelley Hennig), macho team leader Chad McKnight (Nick Zano) and their colleagues (memorably including The Walking Dead’s Paola Lázaro as a lusty sniper) party into the night after defusing a nuke-bomb threat in Las Vegas. By the time they learn the bomb was a decoy and the city is still at risk, they’re in no shape to save the world. Or are they? The wacky mayhem continues over eight episodes.

Courtesy of Everett Collection

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

We say goodbye to November with a taste of Christmas courtesy of one of the all-time greats: Chuck Jones’ marvelous adaptation of Dr. Seuss with humor, heart and song telling the tale of the bitter Grinch (voiced by narrator Boris Karloff) who plots to rob the innocents of Whoville of their holiday happiness. Little does he know. Every time I watch—and I watch at least once a year—the Grinch’s loyal canine sidekick Max reminds me of the dachshund I grew up with. Followed by 2007’s Shrek the Halls (8:30/7:30c), a terrific holiday companion to the Shrek franchise featuring the original voices including Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots.

Max

Julia

David Hyde Pierce does double duty in a memorable episode of the dramedy inspired by the life of French Chef Julia Child (the great Sarah Lancashire). As the Child household prepares for a visit from a Life magazine journalist, loving husband Paul (Pierce) is surprised by an unannounced visit from his twin brother Charles (also Pierce). Julia’s not the biggest fan of her husband’s peevish lookalike, but she’s got larger concerns on the work front when WGBH boss Hunter Fox (Robert Joy) ambushes the station’s biggest star with a new twist: product placement. (If you watched Apple’s Lessons in Chemistry, you’ll already know how well this goes over.)

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

Hero World Challenge (12:30 pm/ET, Golf Channel and streaming on Peacock): Tiger Woods returns to pro golf for the first time since the Masters in April, joined by a field of 20 of the top players at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas. (NBC picks up coverage on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.)
Selena + Chef: Home for the Holidays (8/7c, Food Network): The celebrity cooking series moves from Max to Food Network for a four-part holiday special, starting with a visit from Alex Guarnaschelli to help the Only Murders in the Building star prepare a feast for a tree-trimming party.
Son of a Critch (8/7c, The CW): In what sounds like a classic sitcom setup, young Mark (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) finds his grades slipping after an encounter with a hypnotist. Maybe Pop (Malcolm McDowell) should consult the trickster, to help him lose weight and fit back into his pants.
Time for Her to Come Home for Christmas (8/7c, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries): The latest in the Come Home for Christmas franchise stars Shenae Grimes-Beech as a woman grieving her mother who decides to lead a small town’s church choir to avoid the holiday blues. Grey’s Anatomy’s Chris Carmack co-stars as an Army vet who further brightens her season.
Transplant (9/8c, NBC): There’s turmoil at home for Bash (Hamza Haq) after sister Amira (Sirena Gulamgaus) runs away, while back at the hospital, the nurses’ work stoppage creates a crisis for Dr. Devi (Rekha Sharma).
Ghosts UK (9/8c, CBS): In back-to-back episodes, Robin (Laurence Rickard) enjoys a lunar eclipse while owners Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) and Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) contend with a greedy neighbor, then the couple entertains an offer to sell Button House.

ON THE STREAM:

Virgin River (streaming on Netflix): Season 5 of the serialized drama continues with two special holiday episodes in which Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) considers searching for her biological father while Jack (Martin Henderson) tries to grow his business amid new secrets and threats emerging in the Northern California town.
Wild Crime: Blood Mountain (streaming on Hulu): The third season of the Wild Crime true-crime franchise devotes four episodes to the case of Meredith Emerson, who disappeared in 2008 while hiking on Georgia’s Blood Mountain. The investigation leads to a suspect in several other disappearances, suggesting a serial killer on the loose.
Paris in Love (streaming on Peacock): The reality show’s second season follows Paris Hilton and her husband as they become new parents, with the socialite making headlines after publishing a shocking memoir.
The Kardashians (streaming on Hulu): The Season 4 finale depicts Kim dabbling in TV acting while Kourtney takes Kris and Khloé on tour to San Francisco.
Off Season (streaming on Topic): A six-part French thriller set in the Alps between France and Switzerland involves the search for the Edelweiss serial killer who leaves corpses on both sides of the border.