1) “A Grammy Salute to Hip Hop,” 8:30-10:30 p.m. (but 8-10 p.m. on the West Coast), CBS. Fifty years and four months ago, a Bronx party launched the music and mood of hip hop. This celebration includes three people who went on to big acting careers – Will Smith (re-united with DJ Jazzy Jeff), Queen Latifah (whose “Equalizer” rerun follows) and LL Cool J. (Smith and Latifah are in the center of this photo.) Others are Common, Questlove, Cypress Hill, MC Lyte, 2 Chainz, Jeezy, Three 6 Mafia and more.
2) “MasterChef Junior: Home for the Holidays,” 8 p.m., Fox; concludes Monday. Here are nine young chefs with vastly different experience. There’s Emerson, who’s only been cooking for a year; “9-year-olds shouldn’t have so much pressure on them,” he groans. And there’s Lorenzo, 11.“I’ve been preparing to be the world’s best chef since I was 4,” he says. By the end of the first hour, three kids are crying and six seem quite jolly.
3) Family fun. The brilliant “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is at 7 and 7:30 p.m. on TBS, facing a big ABC night: “Mickey Saves Christmas” and “Olaf’s Frozen Christmas” are 7 and 7:30, with the gorgeous “Frozen” (2013) at 8. At 10 p.m. is an hour of spectacular displays in“Great Christmas Light Fight,” which will then switch to two-hour blocks in the next two Tuesdays.
4) “The Gilded Age,” 9 p.m., HBO, rerunning at 10 and 11:40. Lots of stories bounce through this glitzy, 1880s drama, but in tonight’s closing minutes, one takes hold. That centers on Oscar and sends big jolts through his mother’s mansion. It’s a strong hour, setting up next week’s terrific season-finale.
5) ALSO: A tribute to Norman Lear, who died Tuesday at 101, is 6-10 p.m. on MeTV, available via DirecTV, Philo, Frndly TV, cable and sub-channels of some broadcast stations. At 8, many PBS stations have the mid-section of a three-week profile of Agatha Christie; this one centers on her 11-day disappearance. Also, new Christmas movies are at 8 p.m. on Hallmark and Lifetime, 7 p.m. ET on UpTV and 8 p.m. ET on Great American Family.