Year: 2021

1) “Secrets of the Dead,” 10 p.m., PBS. Back in 1607, the painter named Caravaggio was fleeing from murder charges. He reached Malta … fled again the next year … but left behind some of his greatest works. In 1984, one of them (shown here) was stolen; three years later, it was returned and arrests were made. That story is told zealously by Father Marius Zerafa, now 92, in a beautifully filmed hour. A painter, sculptor and Oxford grad, Zerafa spent eight months negotiating for the painting’s return. Read more…

1) “New Amsterdam,” 10 p.m., NBC. It’s time for Max to leave the hospital; he promised to move to England with his loved one, Dr. Helen Sharpe.(They’re shown here in a previous episode.) What could possibly slow their departure? How about a lethal, hospital-wide epidemic? There are a couple flaws here — a minimizing of what would be an intense CDC presence, also, some over-the-top scenes with parents in deep denial. Still, it’s an excellent episode. Read more…

1) “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” 8 p.m., CBS. Everyone seems to be starting Christmas early this year, so Rudolph (shown here) arrives three days before Thanksgiving. He’ll be back on CBS on Dec. 19, with several Freeform stops in-between. More cartoons – MANY more – will arrive Friday and Saturday. Read more…

1) “American Music Awards,” 8-11 p.m., ABC. Cardi B (shown here) hosts a show stuffed with stars. One song links BTS and Megan Thee Stallion; another has Carrie Underwood and Jason Aldean. There’s even a boy-band mash-up, with New Edition and New Kids on the Block. Other performers include Kane Brown, Bad Bunny and Olivia Rodrigo … who leads with seven nominations. She’s up for artist of the year, alongside The Weeknd (with six nominations), BTS, Drake, Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande. Read more…

1) “The Hunt for Planet B,” 9-11 p.m. ET, CNN. On Dec. 18, the Webb telescope (shown here in artist’s rendering) is slated to be blasted a million miles away – four times the distance to the moon. It’s a $10-billion, 20-nation project, 100 times stronger than the Hubble. Among other things, it will probe two planets that have the right conditions for life. This richly crafted film meets the men and (especially) women involved, including one who was the root of Jodie Foster’s character in “Contact” (1997). They’re fascinating people. Read more…

1) “Dean Martin: King of Cool,” 8–9:30 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. Martin was known by everyone, this film says, thanks to 150 records, 60 movies and an eight-year TV series. Yet no one really knew him. In Steubenville, Ohio, he spoke only Italian until he was 6, quit school in 10th grade, boxed and dealt blackjack. Later, he stuck to a reserved, cool-guy image. Here’s a neatly detailed profile, including the moment (shown here) when Frank Sinatra maneuvered a live-TV reunion of Matin and Jerry Lewis. This will be followed by his films, “The Caddy” (1953), with Jerry Lewis, at 9:30 and “Rio Bravo” (1959), with John Wayne, at 11:15 p.m. Read more…