Mike Hughes on TV

1) “So Help Me Todd” (shown here), 9 and 10 p.m., CBS. A week before the season resumes, here’s a dandy way to get familiar wth this above-average show. First, the clever pilot film: A by-the-book lawyer (Marcia Gay Harden) and her ignore-the-book son Todd (Skyler Astin), whose detective license was suspended, scramble to find her husband. Then the second hour gets too silly at times, as Todd shirks his own case to work on hers, but is still sort of fun. Read more…

1) “Kennedy Center Honors,” 8-10 p.m. Wednesday, CBS. Here are passionate tributes, ranging from serious (Sean Penn on U2) to mocking (Matt Damon on George Clooney; they’re shown here). That’s joined by key music: Eddie Vedder for U2; Dianne Reeves for Clooney; the Highwomen supergroup and gospel greats for Amy Grant; instrumentalists for composer Tanis Leon; and Garth Brooks, Patti LaBelle, Mickey Guyton and Ariana DeBose for Gladys Knight. Read more…

1) “The Rookie: Feds,” 9 and 10 p.m., ABC. A week before it starts the second half of its season, “Feds” lets us catch up. First is the series opener: When Simone (Niecy Nash, shown here), a former school counselor, starts work at the FBI, Garza assigns her to paperwork; she resists. The rest defies credibility, yet is thoroughly entertaining. Then the most recent episode: Garza is accused of being a mole; Simone and others link to clear his name. Read more…

1) “The Year: 2022,” 9-11 p.m., ABC. It’s been a weird year. Russians, Republicans and Elon Musk expected big triumphs; so did the Dodgers in the play-offs and France in the World Cup. None of that happened, in a year of surprises in Ukraine (shown here) and beyond. Meanwhile, Covid, gas prices and Donald Trump had roller-coaster years, the economy bounced back and the newest TV stars were the 67-year-old Kevin Costner and the 4-foot-11 Quinta Brunson. ABC has a lot to summarize. Read more…

1) “Call the Midwife,” 9 and 10:30 p.m., PBS. Each Christmas Day, “Midwife” (shown here) has a movie-length film, stuffed with emotion and, at times, agony. There’s plenty of distress in this year’s well-made film: A pregnant ex-con is homeless; a dad, unable to cope with his daughter’s birth defects, stumbles into alcoholism. But there’s also joy and warmth … plus heroics from a starchy administrator. Read more…

1) “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946), 8-11 p.m., NBC. Each year, this James Stewart classic (shown here) – No. 20 on the American Film Institute’s best-movie list – gets a Christmas Eve airing on NBC. This year, it also makes the rounds of cable channels aligned with the network. It’s already been on USA and Bravo; at 6 a.m. on Christmas Day, it will start showing every three hours on E. Read more…