Mike Hughes on TV

1) Thanksgiving Day parade (shown here in a previous year), 8:30 a.m. to noon, NBC. There’s lots of music, including 12 marching bands and 26 floats, bearing Jon Batiste, Chicago, the Muppets and more. But NBC will start a half-hour earlier than usual, to include the Rockettes and the casts of five Broadway muscials — “Spamalot,” “Back to the Future,” “Shucked,” “& Juliet” and “How to Dance in Ohio.” Also, Broadway’s Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells will work the parade route. Read more…

1) “Countdown to Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” and “Saturday Night Live Thanksgiving,” 8 and 9-11 p.m., NBC. Two specials nudge us into the holiday mood. First is a look preparations for the parade, before coverage begins Thursda (8:30 a.m. on NBC, 9 on CBS). Then is a collection of “SNL” sketches (a past one is shown here), including Debbie Downer dinner, friendsgiving and many more. Read more…

1) “Fargo” opener, 10 and 11:20 p.m., FX. This is “Fargo” at its best – weird and wild one moment, slow and droll the next, but always fascinating. A Minnesota mom (Juno Temple,shown here) accidentally gets in a fight, sparking events. There’s death, destruction and her claim that nothing happened. We meet her sweet husband, his disturbing mom and, in the 11:20 episode, a villain (Jon Hamm). The result is beautifully written and, at times, fiercely violent. Read more…

1) “The Late Show,” 11:35 p.m., CBS. David Letterman (shown here) finally visits his old domain. For 12 years, he hosted “The Late Show” in the Ed Sullivan Theatre, sometimes getting huge ratings. But he left in 2015 and Stephen Colbert took over. Letterman, now 76, has confined himself to a one-on-one interview show for Netflix. He did 22 episodes over four years, but the last was almost a year ago. Now he visits Colbert’s show. Read more…

1) “Hotel Portofino” and “World on Fire” season-finales, 8 and 9 p.m., PBS. Two continuing dramas, each wtih World War II as a key factor, offer deep characters and strong emotions. The pre-war “Portofino” (shown hre in a previous episode) finds hope for saving the hotel, but agony for people near Lucian — his wife, his lover and his friend. For the wartime “Fire,” Harry is back from the front, but his wife is re-joining the Resistance and his mother is, as always, abominable. Read more…