1) “The Grio Awards,” 8-10 p.m., CBS. This aired on Thanksgiving weekend, when viewers were scarce; now it gets a second chance. There’s music (Jennifer Hudson, Coco Jones (shown here), Smokey Robinson, Patti LaBelle, Boyz II Men) plus awards for Black icons – Denzel Washington, Mariah Carey, Eddie Murphy. Misty Copeland, Al Sharpton and more. Sheryl Underwood and Roy Wood Jr. host. Read more…
1) “American Masters,” 9 p.m., PBS. Before glam rock, before the phrase “rock ‘n’ roll” was popular, there was Little Richard (shown here). Ringo Starr and Keith Richards were both teen fans. They’re included in this documentary; so is Pat Boone, now 89, who covered “Tutti Frutti,” blissfully unaware of any sexual connotations. It’s a fascinating story that sees Richard survive drugs, deceit and bias. Read more…
1) “Genius: MLK/X” openers (shown here), 9 and 10:15 p.m., National Geographic Channel. These two men had little in common … yet everything in common. Martin Luther King Jr. grew up in clergy comfort, had his own church at 25 and mastered non-violent protest. Malcolm X grew up roughly, went to prison, ignited rage. Yet they helped reach the same goals; this eight-parter tells the story well. Read more…
1) “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans” openers, 10 and 11:30 p.m., FX. This starts with a delicate glimpse (shown here): A cheated-on wife despairs; a guy deftly calms her with words and pills. She’s Babe Paley, wife of the CBS chairman; he’s Truman Capote, a brilliant writer and eccentric soul. Perfectly played by Naomi Watts and Tom Holland, they launch a mini-serieis that is elegant, intelligent and not for everyone.
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1) “Quantum Leap” return,10 p.m., NBC. “Quantum” leaped from a fairly good first season to an excellent second. Alongside its time-trekking, it now has Ben’s personal pain, after he vanished into a time-twisted fog, His ex-fiancee has a new guy who plans to propose. Also, Ben keeps bumping across Hannah, a physicist he loves. This episode (he’s a bounty-hunter, shown here) brings much of that together Read more…
1) “The Irrational” return, 10 p.m., NBC. This was one of the few scripted shows that helped rescue us from an all-rerun autumn. It had nine new episodes, were filmed before the strikes; now it returns for the season’s final four. Alec (Jesse Martin, shown here), the survivor of a church bombing, tries to help a boy who is a burn victim. Read more…
1) Football, 3 p.m. ET, CBS; 6:30 p.m., Fox. Now we learn which teams will be in the Super Bowl on Feb. 11. Today has the Chiefs at the Ravens, then the Lions (shown here) at the 49ers. For the Chiefs, this is an annual custtom; they’ve been in three of the past four Super Bowls, winning twice. The Lions, by comparison, have never been there. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Justin Timberlake (shown here) used to be a steady force on the show. He was just the host twice, just the music guest twice (once in ‘NSync), both on three other times. He also had four uncredited stops. But he hasn’t been back for a decade, except for the 40th-anniversary special. Now he’s the music guest, with Dakota Johnson getting her second turn as host. Read more…
1) Figure skating, 8-11 p.m., NBC. The national championships continue through Sunday, but this is the night viewers prefer – the women’s finals. (Shown here, in a previous event, is returning champion Isabeau Levito.) Still coming are finals for dance (2:30 p.m. Saturday, NBC), pairs (8 p.m. Saturday, USA Network) and men (2 p.m. Sunday, NBC). Read more…
1) “Hell’s Kitchen” finale, 8-10 p.m., Fox. Three young chefs remain in the running for the $250,000 prize and the head-chef spot at a Las Vegas restaurant. Ryan O’Sullivan, 25, is from Ireland; Johnathan Benvenuti, 28, is from California and Sammi Tarantino (shown here), 25, is originally from Ohio. In the first hour, they impress guest chefs; in the second, the top two prepare a menu and a full dinner service. Read more…
