Henry Cavill and his glorious wig return for The Witcher’s second season

Also this weekend: Prime Video’s rom-com With Love, Mahershala Ali in Apple TV Plus’ Swan Song, Chloë Grace Moretz in Hulu’s futuristic Mother/Android

By Saloni Gajjar | December 17, 2021 | 6:00am

TV Lists The Witcher

Henry Cavill and his glorious wig return for The Witcher’s second season

Henry Cavill in The Witcher season two Photo: Jay Maidment/Netflix

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Friday, December 17, and Saturday, December 18. All times are Eastern.

Top picks

The Witcher (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): “Season two of The Witcher is more of a wintry, somber affair than what’s come before. It’s sullen in some respects, more determined in its mission now that its cast has grown more comfortable in their roles and its dark prophecy is finally (finally) beginning to take shape. Even the frisky bard Jaskier (Joey Batey) is singing a more maudlin tune this go-around. Yet The Witcher’s second season is vastly more confident about leaning into the high fantasy and higher stakes of Andrzej Sapkowski’s lore, opting to let characters such as the wizened witcher Vesemir (Kim Bodnia) speak of forgotten histories instead of taking safer, more randy detours.” Here’s Jarrod Jones’ full review of the Henry Cavill-led sci-fi series’ second season.

Regular coverage

The Wheel Of Time (Amazon Prime Video, Friday, 12:01 a.m.)
Saturday Night Live (NBC, 11:29 p.m.): SNL airs its last episode of the year with Paul Rudd as host and Charlie XCX as musical guest.

Wild cards

Decoupled (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): If you’re a fan of Marriage Story, Scenes From A Marriage, or even the short-lived Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson ABC sitcom Splitting Up Together, this Indian-origin dramedy is for you. A misanthropic writer and his startup-founder wife juggle their impending divorce with the absurdities and annoyances of life in their affluent world.

Swan Song (Apple TV+, Friday, 12:01 a.m.): “Mahershala Ali’s sheer charisma can’t save Swan Song from its general inertness. Writer-director Benjamin Cleary takes a ‘tell and show’ approach to dramatic storytelling, with frequent voiceover or explicit dialogue underlining otherwise observable events. Ali and Naomie Harris share chemistry together, best expressed in their strained meet-cute, but their relationship is so sparsely developed that it’s difficult to get too invested in Cameron’s sacrifice. Emotions are constantly stated instead of conveyed—likely a deliberate choice, in light of Cameron’s inability to communicate his feelings to his wife, but still one that transforms Swan Song into a literalist slog to sit through.” Read Vikram Murthi’s complete review of the film here.

Mother/Android (Hulu, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): Set in the near future where humanity is at war with artificial intelligence, Georgia (Chloë Grace Moretz) and her boyfriend Sam (Algee Smith) make a treacherous journey to escape only days away from the arrival of their first child.