1) CMA Awards, 8-11 p.m. Wednesday, ABC. It’s a good time for country women. Ella Langley (shown here) and Miranda Lambert lead in nominations, including two best-singles (“Choosin’ Texas” and “Be Her”) from the Langley album Lambert produced and co-wrote. Lainey Wilson hosts; all three will perform, as will Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Megan Moroney and more. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. John Mulaney (shown here), a favorite at “SNL,” returns. He was a writer on the show, co-creating Bill Hader’s Stefon character. Since then, he’s hosted six previous times, often offering parts of a stand-up comedy routine, instead of the usual host patter. Phoebe Bridgers has her second turn as music guest. Read more…
1) “Happy’s Place,” 8 p.m., NBC. This comedy is elevated by guest stars — again. Last week, it was Jane Lynch; this time, it’ James Denton and (really) a duck. One flirts (shown here) with Reba McEntire — just as he did in her “Reba” show; the other imprints on Steve. Despite some flaws, it’s a funny episode. Read more…
1) “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” 9 p.m., NBC. Last week, “Chicago Fire” had its 300th episode; now “SVU” (same producer and same network) doubles that. It’s the 600th, trailing only “The Simpsons” (815) and “Gunsmoke” (635). For this hour, Christopher Meloni is back as Stabler; earlier (shown here with Mariska Hargitay), he did 12 seasons, left for a decade and now returns occasionally. Read more…
1) “Band of Brothers,” 11:30 a.m. to 1:49 a.m., AMC. On Veterans Day, here’s a rerun of a mini-series (shown here) about a real-life World War II unit. It’s masterfully done — as is Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan,” at noon and 8:05 p.m. on Showtime. Also, military-movie marathons are on Turner Classic Movies and digital channels called FMC and Movies. Read more…
In a logical world, this Sunday would be a national holiday.
It’s the 100th birthday of NBC. More importantly, it’s the 100th anniversary of national (almost) broadcasting.
There were lots of local radio shows in 1926. But on Nov. 15, one show reached 21 cities, from New York to Kansas City. Over four-plus hours, people heard an orchestra, an opera singer, comedians and five bands.
It was hugely ambitious. Would NBC always be like this?
Not really. The next night, the new network included “Jolly Buckeye Bakers” and “Auction Bridge Lessons.” Twenty years later, when NBC’s TV network debuted, it had “Geographically Speaking,” “Esso Newsreel,” “Fight Film Filler” an “I Love to Eat.” In the years that followed, it would include a talking chimp, two talking cars and a guy who could transform into animals.
But that same network would give us “West Wing,” “Seinfeld,” “Friends,” “Hill Street Blues,” Johnny Carson and “Saturday Night Live” (shown here). All in all, it’s been a good century. Read more…
1) “We Chose to Go to the Moon,” 8-10 p.m., PBS. This Carnegie Hall event views the space race through personal glimpses and epic music from an orchestra and six Broadway stars. After a slow start, it has a moving “Sounds of Silence” and a soaring “Aquarius,” later, there’s a rousing “Rocket Man” and a ballad Mark Armstrong wrote about his dad (shown here), the lunar pioneer. Read more…
The main function of November seems to be to keep Halloween from colliding with Christmas.
At least, that’s how it feels at the Freeform cable network. Fresh from its “31 Days of Halloween,” it has its plans for “25 Days of Christmas.”
This year’s line-up does have a few additions. It debuts a Christmas edition of “The Thrifting Show” at 10 p.m. Dec. 3 and adds a couple of Disney Channel shows — “A Very Jonas Christmas Movie” (9 p.m., Dec. 7) and “Mickey’s Home Alone” (2 p.m., Dec. 19).
Mostly, however, this is about re-rerunning certain mainstays. They include: Read more…
1) “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins,” 8:30 p.m., NBC. Bobby Moynihan has been everywhere lately. He did a recent “Saturday Night Live” and is a regular on “NCIS: Origins” (including a key flashforward with Mark Harmon) and on this show: He plays Reggie’s freeloading ex-teammate (shown here, right); now come funny twists as people ponder his value. Read more…
The Christmas TV season will start a day earlier this year.
It will begin on Thanksgiving eve, thanks to Dorothy and Mickey and such.
ABC had already announced that it will air “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” — a long-ignored, half-hour gem — at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 25. Now CW has picked that same time for “The Wizard of Oz” (shown here).
The mini-network will also air “Oz” on Dec. 20, as part of a season that includes three Dolly Parton shows, a few new specials and some semi-ancient cartoons. That includes: Read more…
Best-bets for Nov. 14: Kids (and grown-ups) choose fun 
Best-bets for Nov. 13: fun romances, fatal romance 
Best-bets for Nov. 12: 600th “SVU,” 7th “Cupertino” 
