1) “Taylor,” 8-10 p.m., CW. At a New Jersey park, a girl saw 12-year-old Taylor Swift, confidently singing original songs to a few people. She soon was a Swift fan, playing her songs constantly during tough times. Such early glimpses are the best parts of this biography. We see the current stardom (shown here) and commotions, but we also see a young star-to-be and her fans. Read more…
You won’t often find me writing about a novel (or reading one).
But I have to comment on Sophie Kinsella, who died today (Dec. 10) at 55, of brain cancer.
Some people know her for writing two books that became the 2009 movie “Confessions of a Shopaholic” (shown here) That’s a fairly pleasant comedy (streaming on Netflix and Disney+) that stars Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy.
But that was just the start. She wrote 10 books in the “shopaholic” series and 13 others, all under that “Sophie Kinsella” pen name. Read more…
This is the new reality for TV networks:
If you want a new (or returning) show to get noticed, you’d better have a football game to precede it. That’s what Fox will do for its two new shows (on Jan. 4 and 25) and its best returning one (“Animal Control,”shown here, Dec. 28).
In recent years, pro football games have thoroughly topped other shows in the Nielsen ratings. Fox has adjusted by introducing a scripted series just as the game ends, in all time zones — 8 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. PT, for instance.
This time, the network will focus on two bright shows and one darker one: Read more…
1) “American Masters,” 9 p.m., PBS. Here’s a joyous journey through Dick Van Dyke’s life. He turns 100 Saturday, so there’s a lot to cover. We see his elastic face and body in a nightclub act. His TV shows floundered until the brilliant “Dick Van Dyke Show” (shown here). Then came “Mary Poppins” and some serious turns, reflecting his struggle with alcoholism. Read more…
It’s rare these days for networks to make sudden switches in their schedule.
Lately, however, there have been two in the same slot, 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13. One involves politics, the other Taylor Swift (shown here):
— CBS has scheduled a “town hall” interview with Erika Kirk. She became the CEO of Turning Point USA after her husband, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated in September. It will be an invited-guest event with Turning Point members. The previously scheduled show — the Family Film and TV Awards –will be pushed back tlo Dec. 20.
— CW has inserted “Taylor,” a documentary biography of Taylor Swift. The film talks with long-time fans, music jopurnlists and music colleagues, tracing her rise from an 11-year-old knocking on Nashville doors to a global superstar. It arrives on her 36th birthday, the day after two tour-related films reach Disney+ and Hulu. Read more…
This is one of those double birthdays that can keep your head swiveling.
On Saturday (Dec. 13), Dick Van Dyke turns 100 … and Taylor Swift turns 36.
It’s kind of like “Barbieheimer,” when the “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” movies opened the same day, right? Now you don’t know what to put on the birthday cake. “Van Swift?” “Swift Dick?” Maybe not.
To complicate things further, both will be featured Friday through Sunday on TV, cable and streaming. (See box at the end.) Read more…
1) “Frozen” (2013) and “Frozen II (2019),” 6 and 8:25 p.m., Freeform. These animated gems (SHOWN HERE) lead an extraordinary night of movies. It ranges from the 1946 Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” (8 p.m., USA) to the 2025 terror of “Sinners” (6:40 p.m., HBO). Also at 8, MGM+ has “Big” (1989) and Showtime has “The Godfather” (1972). Read more…
Wandering into the lobby during “Wicked: For Good,” I saw reassuring signs of life.
There were kids scurrying about, eager to see “Zootopia 2.” And there were the boom-boon sounds of “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.”
Together, those three films remind us that people are — at least for now — returning to movie theaters. They also remind us that: Read more…
1) “The Amazing Race” finale, 9:30-11 p.m., CBS. This started with 13 duos, each with a “Big Brother” alumnus. Now two are definitely still in — Jag Bains with his brother Jas and Kyland Young and his girlfriend (also from “Big Brother”) Taylor Hale. As this starts, the final spot will go to Joseph Abdin and his brother Adam or Izzy Gleicher and his fiance, Paige Seber (they’re shown here in an early episode). Read more…
1) “The First Christmas,” 8-10 p.m., ABC. In the midst of all the candy-cane fluff, there’s actually a serious, documentary-style movie about the nativity. The actors playing Mary and Joseph and others are unknown, but the host is very known. That’s Kevin Costner, who also stars in the brilliant “Field of Dreams” (1989), from 6-8:30 p.m. on BBC America. Read more…
Best-bets for Dec. 13: swift and steady, stars soar 
Best-bets for Dec. 12: time to celebrate two stars 
Best-bets for Dec. 11: frozen treats for the holidays 
