1) Football, 7 p.m. ET, CW; pre-game at 6:30. Let’s call this the PAC-12 Conference championship game. That was a big deal in the days with UCLA, USC and Oregon. Alas, those teams and others departed, leaving a sort of PAC-2. (Six new ones will join in 2026.) Now those two collide, with Washington State (shown here, with a 8-2 record) at Oregon State (4-6). Read more…
1) “Great Performances,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. Here is pure, passionate music. Backed by great Nashville musicians, 18 women and two groups perform the songs of Patsy Cline. Most are very good and a some are great, especially Wynonna (shown here in a previous performance), capturing the emotional power of “Sweet Dreams” and “Crazy.” Read more…
We can quit worrying about orphaned situation comedies, floating around without partners.
Fox finally has a sitcom to pair with “Animal Control.” Those shows arrive Jan. 2 … six days before ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” finally gets a pairing.
For Fox, that’s part of a busy mid-season shuffle. The network adds an exceptionally strong drama (“Doc,” shown here) and obsesses on its Feb. 9 telecast of the Super Bowl. Read more…
1) “Grey’s Anatomy” (shown here), 9 p.m., ABC. After a quick start, this nears a long break; after tonight, it won’t return until March 6. Tonight’s hour (the season’s eighth) comes in a heat wave. Amelia and Winston try tough surgery; Jo and Lucas see an errand go awry. Read more…
At times, a show might demand extra patience.
A prime example is “Nugget is Dead: A Christmas Story” (shown here) from 8-10 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 21) on CBS.
At first, viewers might just be annoyed, because this bumps CBS’ best night. (“Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage” slides to 10 p.m.; it repeats its delightful opener, followed by a “Ghosts” rerun.)
Adding to the problem is the fact that the movie gets off to a weak start. Some of the humor comes from overlapping dialog; that’s problematic because it involves Australian accents and characters we don’t yet know. But stick around. “Nugget” turns out to be a rare blend of sharp comedy and sturdy drama, with a bit of holiday warmth around the edges. Read more…
1) Country Music Association awards, 8-11 p.m., ABC. Luke Bryan and Lainey Wilson host and sing; Peyton Manning merely hosts. Post Malone links with Chris Stapleton for “California Sober,” Thomas Rhett with Teddy Swims for a mash-up. Also: Dierks Bentley, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Combs, Eric Church and more, with a lifetime award for George Strait (shown here). Read more…
This a question few of us are ever asked:
What’s it like, really, to carry an enormous cross?
“Heavier than I thought it would be,” Kaliko Kauahi said.
That duty falls to her in the third episode (shown here) of “St. Denis Medical,” which airs at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19. A patient insists surgery can’t begin until her cross arrives; it was up to Val (Kauahi’s character), the administrative nurse, to hoist it out of the truck and through the hospital corridors. Read more…
1) “Night Court” season-opener, 8:30 p.m., NBC. The opening scene is quick and brash – when was the last time you saw anyone smash Faberge eggs? — and goofy, but in a good way. The rest continues to have offbeat fun, giving Dan (John Larroquette) big questions: Why is his nemesis (Wendie Malick, shown here with Dan and a defendant) here? And could he be the father of Abby’s boyfriend? Read more…
The music world has plenty of people who flash and fade, who soar and then sag.
But occasionally, it has someone whose work seems eternal. That includes Patsy Cline, the subject of a PBS concert at 9 p.m. Friday (Nov. 25), under the “Great Performances” banner. (Shown here is one of the performers, Grace Potter, at a previous evet.)
“The fact that we’re here, 61 years after her passing, is a testament” to her impact, Julie Fudge — who is Cline’s daughter and a producer of the special — told the Television Critics Association.
Yes, 61 years. On March 5, 1963, Cline died in a plane crash. She was 30, with a husband, a daughter and son (ages 4 and 2) and a rising career. Read more…
1) “Leonardo da Vinci,” 8 p.m., PBS, rerunning at 10; concludes Tuesday. His mind in perpetual motion, da Vinci painted, sculpted, invented and more. He abandoned many projects, but the ones he finished – Mona Lisa, The Last Supper (shown here), etc. – are renowned. Like previous Ken Burns films, this is beautifully filmed; unlike them, it’s fairly impersonal. Read more…
Best-bets for Dec. 4: music, comedy and a final peak 
Best-bets for Dec. 3: lots of music, Christmas and beyond 
Best-bets for Dec. 2: Strong dramas and silly vampires 
