1) “The Voice” finale, 8-11 p.m., NBC. At 8 p.m., we get a quick recap of Monday’s performances. At 9, the hoopla begins. Kelly Clarkson, Michael Buble (shown here in a previous show), Sting, Dan + Shay, Myles Smith, Riley Green and Tears for Fears all perform. So do the show’s two recent winners; then we have a new one. Read more…
1) “The Voice” finals, 8-10 p.m., NBC. The five finalists (shown here, from left) are Sofronio Vasquez, 31; Shye, 17; Danny Joeph, 37; Sydney Sterface, 15; and Jeremy Beloate, 25. Each will sing an uptempo song, a ballad and a duet; then viewers will vote. On Tuesday, the show has its 26th winner. Read more…
For a brief blip, music is welcome again on primetime TV.
There used to be lots of it, you know. Singers had their own shows – from Judy Garland and Dean Martin to Sonny & Cher and Donny & Marie.
But that ended. Mostly, there’s no primetime music unless you’re giving an award … or unless it’s Christmastime.
So now we get a surge … with results that range from awful to excellent.
Let’s look at five from this year. Three (ABC’s “Holiday Spectacular” and “CMA Country Christmas,” NBC’s “Christmas in Rockefeller Center”) have aired and are still around via streaming. Two are coming up — “Little Big Town’s Christmas at the Opry” (shown here, 8-10 p.m. Dec. 16, NBC) and “Joy: Christmas With the Tabernacle Choir” (8-9:30 Dec. 17, PBS). We’ll also list others coming up. Read more…
1) Chiefs double feature, 6-8 p.m., Hallmark; 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC. The Kansas City Chiefs show up in fiction and fact. Hallmark reruns “Holiday Touchdown,” a romance filmed partly at the Chiefs’ stadium, with players in support. Then the team (shown here) – riding high, with an 11-1 record – faces its closest division rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers, 8-4. Read more…
1) “Blue Bloods” series-finale, 10 p.m. Friday, CBS. The14-year run of Police Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck, shown here) ends with one more crisis: New York’s gangs combine to demand the release of prisoners and amnesty for those on trial. Things turn deadly, involving Frank’s sons, grandson and daughter-in-law (all cops) and daughter (a prosecutor). Read more…
1) Football conference championships. You can catch two huge ones today, back-to-back. At 4 p.m. ET on ABC, the SEC has Texas (ranked No. 2) and Georgia (No. 5). At 7, CBS has top-ranked Oregon (shown here) and Penn State (No. 3). Read more…
Looking back at the Disney studio where he’d been a star, Kurt Russell had a sharp analysis.
“They used to say, ‘nothing’s changed since Walt died,’” he said. “And I used to say to myself, ‘That’s the problem.’ Because things were constantly changing under Walt Disney. Constantly.”
Disney had some flubs, but he also had innovative triumphs, from “Snow White” and “Fantasia” (shown here) to “Mary Poppins” and the theme parks. Then came …
Well, a new book (Old Mill Press, 2024) by Stephen Anderson is called,“Disney In-Between,” sub-titled “The Lost Years 1966-86.”
That was the stretch between Disney’s death (Dec. 15, 1966, at 65) and the time when Michael Eisner (who took over in ‘84) began to show success with “Roger Rabbit,” “Golden Girls” and “Oliver & Company.” Read more…
1) “Blue Bloods,” 10 p.m,, CBS. We’re a week from the end of a 14-season run. For now, it’s a typically busy hour: Eddie tries to help a guy whose apartment has been taken over; the squatter, alas, is an informant of her husband, Jamie. Also, Jamie’s brother probes a student’s death, their sister tries to find a dating match (shown here) for Anthony and their dad is suspicious of the governor. Read more…
1) “Elsbeth,” 10 p.m., CBS. With her bright colors and unrelenting cheer, Elsbeth Tascioni easily fits into the holidays. But now we meet people who top that: A couple spends all year making cheery videos and pushing Christmas projects. (The wife is played by Vanessa Bayer, shown here.) Yes, a murder will follow; it’s a clever hour in which even Elsbeth feels a tad grumpy. Read more…
1) “Christmas in Rockefeller Center,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. Here’s a Christmas combination — spectacle (the Rockettes and the lighting of a giant tree) plus lots of music. That includes Kelly Clarkson (the host), plus Jennifer Hudson (shown here at a previous event), Dan + Shay, Megan Hilty, Raye, Coco Jones, Thalia, The Backstreet Boys, and Little Big Town. Read more…
Best-bets for Jan.17: a double-Sam night 
Best-bets for Jan. 16: “Law” returns, “Dutch” improves 
Best-bets for Jan. 15: laughs, Hitchcock and a Biden farewell 
