Year: 2023

1) “Christmas at the Opry,” 8-10 p.m. Thursday, NBC. Brenda Lee recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” 65 years ago, when she was 13; she first sang at the Grand Ole Opry (and met Elvis Presley) a year before that. Now this special has singers of all sizes, from the 4-foot-9 Lee to the 6-foot-6 Trace Adkins (shown here). Others are Kelly Clarkson, Chris Janson, Mickey Guyton, Adam Doleac, Lauren Alaina, Wynonna Judd (who hosts) and more. Read more…

1) College football conference championships. Last week’s mega-game saw Michigan (ranked No. 3) beating Ohio State (No. 2). This week’s big one has top-ranked Georgia (shown here in red) facing Alabama (ranked No. 8) for the SEC championship. That’s 4 p.m. on CBS; then we can switch to Fox at 8, for Michigan and Iowa (No. 17) in the Big Ten game. Read more…

1) “25 Days of Christmas” begins, Freeform. Ever since 1996, Freeform has turned December into a Christmas marathon. That seemed big at the time … and almost modest now. Still, there’s a lot to see here. “Eloise at Christmas” (11 a.m.) has lovely visuals and Julie Andrews (shown here). “The Star” (1 p.m.), is a cartoon about animals at the nativity. Then Jim Carrey is Scrooge and the Grinch (3 and 5 p.m.), followed at 7 by “Home Alone” films. Read more…

1) “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (shown here), 8 p.m., NBC. Let’s put this with “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (now on Apple TV+) as one of TV’s all-time best half-hours. It blends Dr. Seuss’ brilliant story with Chuck Jones’ vibrant animation, adding droll narration from Boris Karloff and a booming song from Thurl Ravenscroft. It will be back on NBC on Christmas Night … after seven runs on TNT and TBS, between Dec. 10 and Dec. 23. Read more…

1) “Christmas at Graceland,” 10 p.m., NBC. Here’s a new idea: There have been three romance movies called “Christmas at Graceland,” but no concert specials. Now we have one; from the late Elvis Presley’s home (shown here), we hear holiday songs plus others made famous by Elvis. They’ll be sung by Lana Del Rey, Post Malone, Lainey Wilson, John Legend, Alanis Morissette, Kane Brown, Kacey Musgraves and War and Treaty. Read more…

1) “Fargo,” 10 p.m., FX; repeats at 11:01, 12:02, 1:03. Last week, we met a quiet Minnesota mom (Juno Temple) named Dot … her gentle husband … his rich and fearsome mom … and the North Dakota sheriff (Jon Hamm, shown here) who said Dot is his runaway wife. Now both sides prepare for a Halloween showdown that airs next week. As always, tonight has great dialog, beautifully played. Read more…

1) “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” 8 p.m., CBS. Rudolph (shown here) comes to the rescue: CBS dumped “Loteria Loca” (after just four episodes), leaving a gap on Mondays. Now “Rudolph,” originally set for last Friday, has been moved here. Afterward, it jumps to the Freeform cable channel, where it will run on Dec. 3, 4, 21, 24 and 25. Read more…

1) “Magical Holiday Celebration,” 8-10 p.m., ABC. Derek Hough and his sister Julianne host and sing, in cheery Disney World and Aulani Resort settings. Mickey Guyton sings alone and with Michael Bolton; Adam Blackstone pairs with Andra Day. Others include Chris Janson, Tori Kelly (shown here), Chrissy Metz, Robin Thicke, Ian Tongi and the Smashing Pumpkins. Read more…