Year: 2023

1) “Fargo” opener, 10 and 11:20 p.m., FX. This is “Fargo” at its best – weird and wild one moment, slow and droll the next, but always fascinating. A Minnesota mom (Juno Temple,shown here) accidentally gets in a fight, sparking events. There’s death, destruction and her claim that nothing happened. We meet her sweet husband, his disturbing mom and, in the 11:20 episode, a villain (Jon Hamm). The result is beautifully written and, at times, fiercely violent. Read more…

1) “The Late Show,” 11:35 p.m., CBS. David Letterman (shown here) finally visits his old domain. For 12 years, he hosted “The Late Show” in the Ed Sullivan Theatre, sometimes getting huge ratings. But he left in 2015 and Stephen Colbert took over. Letterman, now 76, has confined himself to a one-on-one interview show for Netflix. He did 22 episodes over four years, but the last was almost a year ago. Now he visits Colbert’s show. Read more…

1) “Hotel Portofino” and “World on Fire” season-finales, 8 and 9 p.m., PBS. Two continuing dramas, each wtih World War II as a key factor, offer deep characters and strong emotions. The pre-war “Portofino” (shown hre in a previous episode) finds hope for saving the hotel, but agony for people near Lucian — his wife, his lover and his friend. For the wartime “Fire,” Harry is back from the front, but his wife is re-joining the Resistance and his mother is, as always, abominable. Read more…

1) “A Merry Scottish Christmas,” 8-10 p.m., Hallmark. For six years, Lacey Chabert and Scott Wolf (shown here) were “Party of Five” siblings. Now they do it again, in her domain; this is at least Chabert’s 17th Christmas movie. This one, filmed in Scotland, has them visit their estranged mother, who has a secret. Read more…