Oprah and ‘The Color Purple,’ Romance at a ‘Critch’ Science Fair, Citizenship at Stake on ‘Transplant,’ ‘Mountain Men: Alaska’ Finale

Oprah Winfrey, who was nominated for an Oscar for her screen debut in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 adaptation of The Color Purple, has graduated to executive producer (also with Spielberg) of the new musical film version, opening Christmas Day. The movie is based on the Broadway musical which she also produced, in 2005 and 2015. In a behind-the-scenes documentary, Winfrey explains the appeal and impact of Alice Walker’s original novel and how it has evolved on screen and stage.

Young Mark Critch (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), who often seems like a Canadian version of Charlie Brown, is always looking for love in this charming comedy, and thinks he may have found it, along with best bud Ritche (Mark Rivera), at a regional science fair including students from other schools. The hitch: They pretend to be Protestants, because that always works. Elsewhere, Pop (Malcolm McDowell) rekindles an old romance when he encounters a former flame at a retirement home.

On another Canadian import, Syrian refugee Bash (Hamza Haq) faces his latest hurdle when he confronts his past and present during a citizenship interview. Back at York Memorial Hospital, he works with Theo (Jim Watson) to treat a young burn patient with a questionable residency status, and June (Ayisha Issa) tackles a case involving estranged twin brothers.

The hardy folks living off-grid in America’s last frontier wrap up their first harrowing season, which often made us grateful for food delivery. In the finale, premier hunter-pilot Marty escapes a blizzard, while Lauro completes a 100-mile dog race, bringing him (and his 32 huskies!) loser to Iditarod qualification.

While we anxiously await the return of the strike-delayed Season 3 of the hilarious American adaptation (on Feb. 15), the original BBC version keeps up entertained with back-to-back episodes from 2020. In the first, a garden renovation mandated by a wedding planner reveals a painful and ultimately explosive World War II memory from the Captain’s (Ben Willbond) past. Then lovelorn poet Thomas Thorne (Mathew Baynton) learns the truth about his fateful duel from 1824.