Year: 2020

1) Peacock debut, www.peacocktv.com. A new streaming giant – the size of Netflix or Disney+ or HBO Max – arrives. This one is free, but you can pay extra to add shows and dump commercials. It’s stuffed with great old shows from NBC (“Frasier,” “30 Rock”) and beyond (“Downton Abbey”), plus movies, and new shows – an eight-part “Brave New World” (shown here), a David Schwimmer comedy, a conspiracy thriller, a “Psych” movie and animation, with “Curious George,” “Cleopatra in Space” and “Where’s Waldo?” Read more…

1) “World of Dance,” 10 p.m., NBC. Here’s the second half of the “duels” in the senior category, with sharply contrasting styles. Some have catchy gimmicks – a duo tethered together, sometimes breaking apart; a group that does wonders with arms and hands and even a bouncing chin. Others (including Oxygen, shown here) are high-energy dance. Two advance, joining last week’s three winners; then two of the five losers get a shot at the final spot. Amid way too many cliches, there are some great dance moments. Read more…

1) “CMA Best of Fest,” 8-11 p.m., ABC. Each summer, ABC turns Nashville’s CMA Fest into a terrific special. This year’s festival was canceled, but the special continues. There’s new music from Luke Bryan (shown here), who hosts, and from Darius Rucker; others will be shown in bits from 16 previous years. We’ll get newer stars (Luke Combs, Kane Brown, Kelsea Ballerini) and A-list veterans – Garth Brooks, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, Brooks and Dunn and more. Read more…

1) “Snowpiercer” season-finale, 9 and 9:58 p.m., TNT. As the current heat wave grips much of the country, here’s the exact opposite: The temperature outside is minus-122 Celsius, which is worse than it sounds; in Fahrenheit, we’re told, that’s minus-188, People are safe only as the train keeps moving. But inside the train, Daveed Diggs and Jennifer Connelly (shown here) battle for control. And outside, there are potent new forces. It’s a tautly crafted finale, but don’t expect an ending. Mostly, this propels us to next season. Read more…

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. It was beefy-guy night, when this aired on Super Bowl eve. JJ Watt, 6-foot-5, 288, hosted; Luke Combs, 5-8, 198, sang (shown here). Watt is a pro football star – three times named defensive player of the year. Combs played football in high school, but then soared as a singer. He’s quicklty had eight songs reach No. 1 on the country chart; “Beautiful Crazy” stayed for seven weeks. Here, he offers the important musical message: “Beer Never Broke My Heart.” Read more…