1) “National Christmas Tree Lighting,” 8 p.m., CBS. We don’t think of President Calvin Coolidge as a festive guy, but in 1923 he presided over the first lighting of the national tree. A century later, that’s a TV-ready celebration. Mickey Guyton (shown here) hosts and sings, with Dionne Warwick, Joe Walsh, Ledisi, Darren Criss, St. Vincent, Renee Rapp and Samara Joy. Read more…
1) “The Crown” conclusion, Netflix. A great series wraps up. In each of its previous five seasons, “The Crown” drew an Emmy nomination for best drama series. (It won once, with last season still pending.) It has 64 more nominations, 20 wins and an admiring audience. Four weeks ago, the season’s first four episodes arrived, taking us to Diana’s death; now the final six spend more time on the William-and-Kate (shown here) and Harry stories, and on the struggles of a changing monarchy. Read more…
1) “Quantum Leap,” 8 p.m., NBC. Last week’s episode had a finish that was far-fetched, even by time-travel standards. Now “Leap” bounces back; an engaging story, set among spies in 1950s Egypt, marks the return of the show’s best character. Hannah (Eliza Taylor, the former “100” star) is the only person outside the lab who knows about Ben’s time-travel. He met her when she was an underemployed waitress and steered her toward her career as a physicist (shown here); now they meet again in Egypt. Read more…
1) “Christmas With the Tabernacle Choir,” 8-9:30 p.m., PBS. From its opening moments, this is a truly gorgeous concert. More than 500 volunteers are in the massive choir, orchestra and more, with Lea Salonga (shown here) — from Broadway and from Disney’s “Mulan” and “Aladdin” – as soloist. The music soars through classical and pop, sacred and secular, and David Suchet tells a moving story. This also airs on BYU-TV on Dec. 17, 21, 22 and 24. Read more…
1) “Big Brother Reindeer Games” start, 8-10 p.m., CBS. For eight hours over the next two weeks, we’ll see past “Big Brother” contestants compete in action games. The nine-person field includes the winners from 2020 to 2022 (Cody Calafiore, Xavier Prather and Taylor Hale), plus the 2016-17winners (Nicole Franzel and Josh Martinez). They’re joined by Danielle Reyes, Cameron Hardin, Frankie Grande and Brittney Haynes.Others (including Jordan Lloyd, shown here, will help with the games.) That continues Tuesday, Thursday and next week. Read more…
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. Read more…
1) “Primetime Hoops” opener, 7 and 9 p.m. ET, Fox. These days, Fox focuses heavily on live events – wrestling on Fridays, pro football on Sunday afternoons and now its new “Hoops” format each Saturday. That starts with UCLA (shown here) at Villanova and then Notre Dame at Marquette. Earlier, there’s Syracuse-Georgetown at 11:30 a.m. and Alabama-Purdue at 1:30 p.m. There’s more on cable, plus the final game of the pros’ tournament, at 8:30 on ABC. Read more…
1) “FBoy Island” finale, 9 p.m., CW. Each woman now has two guys to choose between. If she picks a “nice guy,” he has to share the $100,000; an acknowledged “FBoy” could keep it or share. That’s tough on Hali Okeowa, who has two FBoys. Daniella Grace has nice-guy Christian and FBoy Jared … who told viewers he sees no future for them, because she’s nine years older. Katie Thurston (shown here in her “Bachelorette” days) has nice-guy Vince and FBoy Benedict. Read more…
1) “Christmas at the Opry,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. Here are country stars of all sizes, from 4-foot-9 Brenda Lee to 6-foot-6 Trace Adkins. Lee recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (shown here) 65 years ago; she was 13 then and followed with a dozen top-10 hits, led by the No. 1 “I’m Sorry.” Also performing: Wynonna Judd (who hosts), Kelly Clarkson, Chris Janson, Mickey Guyton, Adam Doleac, Lauren Alaina, Mitchell Tenpenny, Meghan Patrick and Breland. Read more…
1) “Buccaneers,” Apple TV+. A week from the terrific finale, we finds lives in chaos. Nan loves two good men – Theo (a decent Duke) and Guy (his longtime friend and sometime foe). She also hates her sister Jinny, who revealed a secret to the world: Nan — shown here at the left with Theo — isn’t really descended from wealth; she was adopted at birth and “illegitimate,” a damning thing in the high society of the 1870s. Read more…
