This week’s Great British Baking Show is totally tubular

By Allison Shoemaker | November 6, 2020 | 6:00am

TV Lists What's On Tonight

This week’s Great British Baking Show is totally tubular

Screenshot: YouTube

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Friday, November 6, and Saturday, November 7. All times are Eastern.

Top pick

The Great British Baking Show (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): We can’t show you a preview for this week’s episode, because YouTube does not always provide. (Don’t go looking on your own. There is no way to search for this week’s episode at present without finding out who was eliminated.) But we can tell you this: It’s “’80s Week,” and more importantly, there’s ice cream drama. The remaining bakers (who, we’ll remind you, are quarantining together) have to make a cold confection on what was the hottest day of the year. Given that a very hot day and Baked Alaska are jointly responsible for Bingate, it’s likely that this one will prove very eventful. There will probably also be jokes about shoulder pads. We’re just guessing.

Regular coverage

The Mandalorian (Disney+, Friday, 3:01 a.m.)
Saturday Night Live (NBC, Saturday, 11:29 p.m.): Host Dave Chappelle, musical guest Foo Fighters

Election coverage

The Amber Ruffin Show (Peacock, Friday, 9 p.m.,) and Wilmore (Peacock, Friday, 9 p.m.): By the time you read this, we may actually know who won the 2020 presidential election. If that’s the case, let Steve Kornacki get some sleep and check in with these two Peacock gems.

Washington Week (PBS, Friday, 8 p.m.): On the other hand, if we still don’t know by Friday, then Steve Kornacki should still go home and get some sleep. The man looks exhausted. Consider flipping over to a special edition of Washington Week instead, which will include updates on the election results, a discussion of the president’s “no nuh-uh those votes don’t count because I said so, stop counting, no seriously stop” strategy, what a Biden transition might look like, and what’s next in the Senate, both during the lame duck session and after.

For kids

My Little Pony: Pony Life (Discovery Family, Saturday, 11:30 a.m., U.S. series premiere, back-to-back episodes): The Friendship Is Magic ponies (no Spike, alas) make its delayed Stateside premiere, bringing a new animation style to the Ponyverse.

Wild cards

Time for another wild card lightning round:

American Ninja Warrior (NBC, 8p.m., 12th-season finale): This finale was preempted by NBC’s “the fuck if we know” election coverage earlier this week; you can now watch people try to scamper up walls in peace. Probably.

The Christmas Yule Blog (Lifetime, 9 p.m., premiere): This one made the list based on the title alone, but it also sounds a bit like Emily In ~~Paris~~ New Mexico At Christmas, as it centers on a social media travel writer who learns the true meaning of Christmas from a high school music teacher who we assume is very hot.

Great Performances: One Man, Two Guvnors (PBS, 9 p.m.): James Corden (wait come back) won a Tony for a performance that looks frankly exhausting. If you’re in the mood for slapstick, try to forget how burned out you are on the Carpool Karaoke gimmick and give this a try.

How To With John Wilson (HBO, Friday, 11 p.m.): We’ll have more on this oddly moving, very funny docu-comedy next week; for now, just know that it comes from documentarian John Wilson and executive producer Nathan Fielder, and that last week’s episode, on scaffolding, made us both snort and get a wee bit teary.