The Holiday Issue! Hoda & Savannah: The ‘Today’ Stars Celebrate Their First Anniversary as Cohosts

Whether they’re hosting the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in record-low temperatures or posing in sky-high heels for TV Guide Magazine’s holiday-themed photo shoot, Savannah Guthrie’s and Hoda Kotb’s smiles never dim.

Now approaching their first anniversary as Today coanchors, the longtime NBC News colleagues are a generally irrepressible duo exuding good cheer and friendship — and they’re striking ratings gold.

After Matt Lauer’s exit last November due to alleged sexual improprieties, Today has comfortably remained No. 1 among morning shows in the advertiser-coveted demo of viewers age 25–54, while steadily gaining on ABC’s Good Morning America in total viewers. (At press time, it had beaten GMA for four straight weeks.)

We sat down with the pair — after they changed into comfortable flats — to talk about their close relationship, covering tough stories and their best family Christmas memories.

Also in this issue:

• Holiday Preview: Ho-ho-hold on—you’re going to need this guide to wade through all of this year’s holiday episodes (like NCIS and Fresh Off the Boat), specials (CMA Country Christmas), marathons and movies. Plus, a handy seasonal calendar.
• Happy Days: Henry Winkler looks back on Fonzie’s first Christmas.
• Outlander: Behind the scenes: With ingenuity and major construction, the Starz hit’s Scotland set becomes 1700s North Carolina.
• Plus: Bruce Springsteen comes to Netflix; TV Guide Magazine‘s 2018 Gift Guide; Fuller House‘s family grows again; scoop on Timeless‘s send-off; and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.

#1 New Show ‘FBI’: Meet Primetime’s Toughest Crime Fighters

The scene filming on a crisp November day in New York City has all the elements of a Dick Wolf procedural. Emergency vehicles crowd the street, while police officers keep oglers away from yellow Crime Scene tape. A young man and woman stride up the steps of New York’s City College, which is standing in for a fictional school where a controversial figure was burned to death. The duo: special agents Omar Adom Zidan (Zeeko Zaki), known as OA, and Maggie Bell (Missy Peregrym), the heroes of producer Wolf’s new CBS drama, FBI.

The look of determination they each have hints at the partners’ confidence they’ll eventually find their perp. “If they’re knocking on your door, they’ve got you,” Zaki says ahead of filming this upcoming episode. “There’s no running.”

Viewers aren’t going anywhere, either. Since its September 25 premiere, FBI has won its Tuesday 9pm timeslot with more than 9 million people tuning in, making it the season’s No. 1 new show. No surprise, as it’s like comfort food to fans of Wolf’s other shows, such as NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and the Chicago franchise. While some things are different — FBI deals with federal-level cases like terrorism — familiar elements remain. Namely, bad guys are brought to justice, and Wolf treats the agents with the same reverence and respect he extends to first responders.

“I grew up in an FBI-friendly environment. My favorite uncle was an FBI agent,” says Wolf, who also produced Inside the FBI: New York, a 2017 docuseries for USA. With this drama, he has a simple goal: to show “the boots on the ground, highlighting the work that is done on a day-to-day basis to keep us all safe.”

And though the real FBI has come under partisan fire recently, “this show is not political,” Wolf continues. Indeed, the bad guys aren’t inside the bureau. In the pilot, the team brought down a white supremacist bomber and MS-13 gang members.

Upcoming episodes mix topical issues and bread-and-butter FBI concerns, like environmental violence and white-collar crime. The December 4 installment hinges on the murder of a U.S. marshal and a witness he was protecting. Maggie and OA must track down the person who leaked info that led to the hit.

The show’s strong cast also includes Sela Ward as Special Agent in Charge Dana Mosier, Law & Order veteran Jeremy Sisto as her deputy, Jubal Valentine, and newcomer Ebonee Noel as whip-smart analyst Kristen Chazal. But Maggie, a recently widowed workaholic from a law-enforcement family, and OA, a Muslim former military officer new to the FBI, are the central characters. So finding the right actors to portray them was a top priority.

Also in this issue:

• Feel-Good TV: Adventure and setbacks await in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 2. Plus: Top mood-lifters like Schitt’s Creek, One Day at a Time and The Big Bang Theory.
• Arrowverse Crossover: Three of The CW’s supershows—The Flash, Arrow and Supergirl—collide for their annual action-filled mashup.
• Vicki Lawrence: My Life on TV: The Cool Kids star talks Carol Burnett and Hannah Montana.
• Plus: Meet the crew of Syfy’s Nightflyers; Jennifer Aniston is a pageant mom in Dumplin‘; the best way to give the gift of streaming; a tribute to the late Stan Lee; J.K. Simmons talks Counterpart; and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.

‘Last Man Standing’: We Pull Back the Curtain on the Sitcom’s Winning Return

Tim Allen and Nancy Travis are enjoying a second honeymoon of sorts. The actors star as Mike and Vanessa Baxter on Last Man Standing, the family comedy canceled by ABC in 2017 and successfully revived on Fox in September (the premiere drew 8 million viewers, and all season the show has been the top Friday series for viewers age 18–49).

Together the couple are raising their family — three grown daughters and one grandson — while dealing with work, marriage and differing perspectives.

Last Man Standing’s cast and crew are in buoyant moods on the Los Angeles set in mid-October, with production of lucky Season 7 in full swing. Almost all of the original team from both in front of and behind the camera is back, and the show films on the same soundstage as before — it feels like a family gathering even when you step beyond the stage lights illuminating the Baxter living room.

Allen and Travis are shooting a scene for the November 16 episode in which Mike and Vanessa have a serious talk with middle daughter Mandy (Molly McCook), a fashion designer who’s thinking of ditching stitching for real estate after a setback. Mandy and her goofy, good-natured husband, Kyle (Cristoph Sanders), are still living at home, so their decisions have a major impact on Mom and Dad.

The rest of the children may be out of the house, but they are very much in the picture. Air Force Academy cadet Eve (Kaitlyn Dever) visits often. Eldest Kristin (Amanda Fuller), who works with her dad at the sporting goods store Outdoor Man, and her liberal husband, Ryan (Jordan Masterson), watch their young son Boyd’s (Jet Jurgensmeyer) relationship with Grandpa Mike blossom. Later this season, the three guys go on what Allen calls a “wonderful” road trip.

Also in this issue:

• Doctor Who: The timey-wimey series’ new production designer walks us through his inspired revamp of the TARDIS.
• The Little Drummer Girl: Mind games and romance spark a thrilling spy adventure.
• Plus: Your complete guide to 52 new holiday original movies; Kurt Russell flies into the holidays as Saint Nick; Michael Douglas previews his new comedy; Dr. Oz gives his take on medical marijuana and scripted TV; Connie Britton stars in Dirty John; and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.

‘Outlander’ On-Set Exclusive: Claire and Jamie Build a New Home on America’s Frontier

A dark Scottish forest of towering pines stands in for the untamed woods of colonial North Carolina on the set of Outlander, Starz’s sexy, suspenseful time-travel romance. Huddled beside a small campfire on this chilly late-autumn night are Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan, who play soulmates Claire and Jamie Fraser. The bonnie pair are shooting a tender scene from the third episode of Season 4. “I want us to make a home together, a place that’s ours,” she says. They gaze into each other’s eyes. He kisses her gently. Swoon.

“This season is about Claire and Jamie finding and building a life in America,” Balfe says of the couple, who reunited in the middle of Season 3 after a two-decade separation during which Claire returned to the 20th century to give birth and raise their daughter, Brianna (Sophie Skelton). “We explore domesticity, but there’s also drama — and passion,” she adds during a break, her words turning to frosty clouds in the cold air. Laughing, she says, “They ain’t hung up the old boots just yet!”

In fact, reaching middle age has only enhanced the couple’s already scorching relationship. “It’s going to be even sexier because they’re in their 40s,” Heughan says. “There’s passion, always. They have great love, trust, understanding. And they rely on each other. America is a dangerous place.”

The 13 episodes about the Frasers’ new life in the New World are based on Drums of Autumn, the fourth book in Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling Outlander series about an outspoken 20th-century surgeon and her honorable Scottish Highlander husband. The story picks up a few months after the Season 3 finale, when the couple left Jamaica — where they had traveled to rescue Jamie’s nephew, Young Ian (John Bell) — only to see their ship go down off the Georgia coast.

Also in this issue:

• House of Cards: In the political thriller’s final season, President Claire Underwood takes over the Oval Office.
• The Walking Dead: Bidding a tearful goodbye to Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes. Plus: What’s next for the survivors?
• New Fall TV: Hits and Misses: We examine the new series that are dominating ratings (good job, Manifest!)—and lay out the ones that might not get a Season 2.
• Plus: Adam Sandler’s first taped special in 22 years; Alton Brown revisits Good Eats; New York Comic Con photos; must-stream Halloween episodes; secrets behind Saturday Night Live‘s wigs and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.