Lear’s great life had Bunker-ish roots

Hovering over Norman Lear’s life was one indomitable force.
That was his father. “I loved him, but I didn’t always like him,” Lear (shown here), who died Tuesday at 101, once told reporters.
Hyman “Herman” Lear “was going to make and have a million dollars in 10 days to two weeks, all his life,” Lear told the Television Critics Association in 2016. “And, of course, he didn’t come close.”
And then his son surpassed any such dreams. He became “a television hero,” said Michael Kanto, said in 2016, the year he produced an “American Masters” profile of Lear that many PBS stations will rerun at 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8. Lear’swho produced a PBS profile of Lear that year. Lear’s success could be measured in: Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 8: blue bloods and tanned studs

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…

Christmas mega-list? Here’s an update

Yes, the Christmas TV season has already been going on for a few weeks (or a few months or maybe a few years).
But there’s a lot more coming, so it’s time for an update. We’ve added several late-scheduled shows, plus details on some of the others, including the “CMA Christmas” special Dec. 14 with (shown here) Trisha Yearwood and Amy Grant. We’ve also deleted everything before today (Dec. 5), plus one show that was shelved.
(For general reference, the original list still exists, under “stories.”)
This skips most Christmas episodes of regular shows and (with a few exceptions) reruns of TV movies. For theatrical films, it includes the eternal ones and skips the rest. Also, it barely scratches the vast resources of streaming networks; check your streamer for details. Here we go: Read more…

News bits: Oliver, Capote, “Dance.” more

Here’s some definite job security: “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (shown here) has been renewed for three more seasons.
That takes the show (11 p.m. Sundays on HBO, then on Max) through its 13th season. It’s currently on a roll, with seven straight Emmy awards for best variety talk series … approaching the string of 10 straight by “The Daily Show” … where Oliver was a correspondent.
Other TV news involves a new “Feud” mini-series. the return of “So You Think You Can Dance” and a new season of “Independent Lens” documentaries: Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 7: Opry rocks around Christmas tree

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…

Best-bets for Dec. 6: high drama for romance and Republicans

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…

Too much Christmas? Not by these standards

Sure, we might wonder if TV overdoes the holidays.
Two channels had new Christmas movies in October. Others jumped in as soon as the Thanksgiving Day parade ended. A week later, another proclaimed the “25 days of Christmas.”
But in some parts of the world, that would be restraint. In the Philippines, Lea Salonga said in a virtual press conference, “the Christmas season actually starts in September.”
Now she stars in “Christmas With the Tabernacle Choir,” at 8 p.m. Dec. 12 on PBS and at 8 p.m. ET Dec. 17 on BYU-TV. “I told my brother about it,” she said, “and he was like, ‘Oh my, that’s huge!’” Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 5: “Dancing” finale and Halloween mayhem

1) “Dancing With the Stars” finale, 8-11 p.m., ABC and Disney+. This show kept saying last week was important, because dancers were straining for a spot in the finals … then, oddly, it advanced all five of them. Now we have Xochiti Gomez (shown here), who is 17 and trying to be the second-youngest champion (after gymnast Laurie Hernandez), plus Charity Lawson, Jason Mraz, Alyson Hannigan, and Ariana Madix. Mraz will also sing; there will be performances by 2022 champ Charli D’Amelio (also a teen) and co-hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 4: Blake’s shows, past and present

1) “The Voice,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. It’s time (a bit later than usual) for live shows to begin, with viewers voting. That leads into a special with the former “Voice” star, Blae Shelton (shown here). “Voice” now has its top 12 performers – two teens (Ruby Leigh, 16, and Tanner Massey, 19), five in their 20s and five in their 30s. On Tuesday, we’ll learn which nine advance to the semi-finals Read more…