1) “The Voice,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. The five finalists have one last chance to get viewer votes. Three — Brayden Lape, Bryce Leatherwood and Bodie – are with Blake Shelton; Camila Cabello has Morgan Myles (shown here), John Legend has Omar Cardona … and Gwen Stefani, alas, has no one. Read more…
“Reservation Dogs” – a quiet show in a noisy TV world – has received one of the top honors … again.
For the second straight time, it’s on the American Film Insiitute’s list of 10 TV “programs of the year.” Also repeating were “White Lotus” (which ends its season at 9 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11) and “Hacks.”
Those two are on HBO and HBO Max, which are known for big stars, big budgets and top honors. “Reservation Dogs” (shown here) is something else. A modest show with relatively unknown American Indian actors playing teens in small-town Oklahoma, it slides between comedy and drama, with occasional trips to the surreal. That’s produced by FX for Hulu; also on the list are: Read more…
For the first few minutes of “Harry & Meghan,” it’s kind of hard to like these people.
And then, surprisingly, we do. The documentary overcomes its start and offers two amiable souls.
The second half of the six-hour mini-series will arrive next Thursday (Dec. 15) on Netflix and may reverse things agaiu. For now, however, it’s an interesting ride.
The series makes the mistake of starting with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (shown here) grumbling about the forces that caused them to retreat from royal life. They’re sort of right, but what viewers see are enviable lives – beautiful places where beautiful people have lots of free time. We know they’ve been wronged, but they don’t feel like tragic figures. Then “Harry & Meghan” begins the actual chronology, which is where it should have started. Read more…
1) “National Christmas Tree Lighting,” 8 p.m., CBS. It was on Christmas Eve in 1923 that the first national tree was lit. It’s been an annual event (shown here) ever since; here’s the 100th; LL Cool J hosts the telecast, with music by Gloria Estefan, Shania Twain, Andy Grammer, Joss Stone and the Army band. For another Washington visit, catch HGTV at 6 p.m.; it looks at the White House Christmas decorations. Read more…
1) “The Voice” finale, 8-10 p.m. today, NBC, then 9-11 p.m. Tuesday, with a recap at 8. The final five get one more chance tonight; then Tuesday has music and fun. Blake Shelton performs with his three finalists — Brayden Lape (shown here), Bryce Leatherwood, Bodie) and with Kane Brown. Camila Cabello and John Legend sing with their finalists, Morgan Myles and Omar Cardona. Also performing: Kelly Clarkson, Adam Lambert, Girl Named Tom, Maluma, Breland, more. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Steve Martin and Martin Short (or Steve Martin Short for, well, short) combine to host., with Brandi Carlile as music guest. Martin has hosted “SNL” 14 times – going back 46 years — but hasn’t done it in the past dozen years. He also co-hosted once (with Short and others), co-hosted the Oscars (with Alec Baldwin) and stars with Short and Selena Gomez in the dandy “Only Murders in the Building” (shown here). Read more…
For Megan Hilty, the all-or-nothing world of show business hit some extremes.
The Covid shutdown lingered. There were no Broadway shows, no on-camera roles. “To have that taken away was a shock,” she said.
But then there was one busy stretch, a year ago. First, she was hurriedly added to NBC’s “Annie Live,” replacing Jane Krakowski, who had Covid. Two weeks after that, she was in Salt Lake City, surrounded by the 300-voice Tabernacle Choir (formerly Mormon Tabernacle Choir). “It is enormous,” she recalled in a virtual press conference. “It’s almost like bathing in sound.”
That Christmas concert (shown here) will air at 8 p.m. Tuesday (Dec. 13) on PBS and 8 p.m. ET Dec. 18 on BYU-TV. It almost didn’t happen. Read more…
1) Christmas classics, 8-10 p.m. Here are three of the best holiday films — each made for theaters, not TV. “A Christmas Story” (1983), on TNT, alternates between nostalgia and cynicism, as a boy (Peter Billingsly, shown here) struggles with a 1940s holiday. “Scrooged” (1988), on the Paramount Network, is a satire, with Bill Murray as a cold-hearted TV executive. “Elf” (2003), at 8 and 10 on AMC, has a guy (the 6-foot-3 Will Ferrell) realizing he’s not really an elf. Read more…
A strange, sad Thanksgiving seemed to prepare Idina Menzel for any bumps ahead.
She was 15 and doted-upon. Ever since she was 3, she would burst into song for her parents, her younger sister and anyone else nearby.
Then, suddenly, her parents called the guests to cancel Thanksgiving dinner. Thye told the girls there would be a divorce (an amicable one) … and then took them to a grim dinner in a restaurant.
That was an eye-opening experience, Menzel (shown here) says in her new film on Disney+. She learned that “in life, nothing is what you expect.” Read more…
1) “CMA Country Christmas,” 9 p.m., ABC. Some great back-up musicians make all the difference here. A house band, with a rousing horn section, backs many of the vocals; also, Molly Tuttle brings her gifted bluegrass group. And yes, the singers are quite good. There’s Carly Pearce (shown here), who hosts, plus Scotty McCreery, Maren Morris, Dan + Shay and more. At times, the music is too relentlessly peppy, but then the War and Treaty duo blasts a powerful “O Holy Night.” Read more…
Best-bets for Nov. 21: doctor dramas & dead(?) dog 
Best-bets for Nov. 20: country stars, nature’s star 
Best-bets for Nov. 19: Yes, TV still has comedies 
