1) “Call the Midwife,” 8-10 p.m. PBS. The new season is months away, but “Midwife” annually has a Christmas special. (A previous one is shown here.) Here’s its best one yet. In a hard-scrabble section of 1969 London, good people face crises — a homeless family, an escaped prisoner, a lost traveler who has Down syndrome. There’s also joy and a “Midwife” rarity – a charming romance. Read more…
Dick Clark’s clever scheme – seamlessly blending live and taped bits into a New Year’s Eve party — has become something bigger and brasher.
This year, there will be six hours on ABC (shown here in a previous year) and five more on CBS, plus variations on CNN, NBC and PBS. There will be lots of live music – from New York, Nashville and beyond – alongside the parts taped in Los Angeles.
And in ABC’s case, there will be a title that seems longer than some shows. It’s “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2025.” Read more…
1) “A Christmas Story” marathon, 8 p.m., TBS or 9 p.m., TNT. This movie (shown here) arrived back in 1983, with a modest budget and low expectations. But it brought a fresh look at a holiday in the 1940s, when Santa seemed scary and little kids wanted BB guns. It became a favorite; now both channels air it every two hours, for 24 hours. Read more…
1) “A Saturday Night Live Christmas,” 9-11 p.m., NBC. This special – airing for the second time in six days — grabs highlights from 50 years of “SNL.” It can range from Chevy Chase to Bowen Yang … with a white-haired Steve Martin somehow around during the full span. (Shown here is this year’s Black Santa/White Santa sketch, not necessarily part of the special.)
Read more…
1) “Kennedy Center Honors,” 8:30-11 p.m., CBS. Each year, this honors arts greats with a splendid mixture of films, performances and verbal tributes. This time, it honors Bonnie Raitt, Arturo Sandoval, Francis Coppola, the Grateful Dead and (in a first) the Apollo Theater. Performers include Dave Matthews, Emmylou Harris (shown here in a previous performance), Sheryl Crow and Savion Glover. Read more…
As soon as sweet Santa and his jolly elves depart, TV will go the other way. It will be time for witches and a demon.
The dark takeover will be on the AMC cable channel, plus its streaming service (AMC+) and, sometimes, its sister channels,
AMC has obsessed on Christmas all month, with a few films – led by “Elf” and “Christmas Vacation” – running often. But this is also the channel that scored with “The Walking Dead” and bought all of Anne Rice’s novels.
So its next move is the second season of Rice’s “Mayfair Witches” (shown here) It starts at 9 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 5, simulcast on Sundance, BBC America, IFC and WeTV; other witchly things will precede or follow it. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. It was 40 years ago that Martin Short joined the “SNL” cast. Already a star from his “SCTV” time, he helped the show’s short-term rebuild; he was gone after a year, but has returned often (shown here). Now comes only his fifth time as host, two of them with Steve Martin; Hozier is the music guest. Read more…
1) Grammy trilogy, CBS. Three new specials – all from the Grammy people – offer music greats At 8 p.m. Tuesday, an Andrea Bocelli Christmas special has Jennifer Hudson (shown here with Bocelli), Dua Lipa, Josh Groban and Sofia Carson. From 9-11 p.m. Friday, we meet songwriters – Alicia Keys, Sting, Billie Eilish, etc. Then Grammy’s “Most Memorable Moments” is 9-11 p.m. Sunday. Read more…
1) Football, 8 p.m. ET, ABC. The new college playoff system opens with teams from opposite pasts. Notre Dame has won 11 consensus national championships plus 11 disputed ones; overall, it’s won 74 percent of its games. During a 66-year stretch, Indiana(shown here) won only 37 percent and two conference titles. They collide, with three more games Saturday. Read more…
1) “Nate Bergatze’s Nashville Christmas,” 9 p.m., CBS. There’s only a tad of music — one song each by Carrie Underwood (shown here) and Noah Kahan, brief bits by Darius Rucker. Instead, this focuses on comedy. Some of it is quite good, including a stand-up set by Derrick Stroup and a sketch (Bergatze discussing the future) that’s like one he did on “Saturday Night Live.” Read more…
