Best-bets for Dec. 13: A 14-year run concludes

1) “Blue Bloods” series-finale, 10 p.m., CBS. For 14 seasons, Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) has led the New York City police department and a Reagan family filled with cops (shown here is Donnie Wahlberg, who plays is oldest son) and an assistant district attorney. Now there’s one final crisis, with gangs combining to demand the release of prisoners. Edward James Olmos is a guest star. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 12: rock, Rudolph, Elsbeth

1) “Billboard Music Awards,” 8-10 p.m., Fox. After 17 years elsewhere, the awards return to their original network. Michelle Buteau, a comedian, hosts; performers include Coldplay, Seventeen, Teddy Swims, Tyla (shown here) and more. Up for the Top Artist award are Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, Zach Bryan, Sabrina Carpenter and Drake. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 11: Smokey, Frosty, Jamie, more

1) “A Motown Christmas,” 9-11 p.m., NBC. Spanning generations, this is hosted by Smokey Robinson, 84, and Halle Bailey, 24. His contemporaries – Gladys Knight, the Temptations, Martha Reeves — perform; so do younger stars: Jordin Sparks (shown here),Jamie Foxx, Andra Day, Ashante, Jordin Sparks, Pentatonix and the cast of “MJ: The Musical.” Read more…

Fame, fun and a jumbo-sized concert

Fame can bring some odd moments, it seems.
For Lesley Nicol, that was “being recognized in a field in China.” An “ancient old farmer” stared at her, she said, then told a translator: “That’s the lady from the ‘Downton Abbey’ movie.”
And for Mike Maliakel (shown here with Nicol), it was singing in front of the same mega-choir he used to watch on TV. “You physically feel it vibrating through your core.”
Both are featured in the Tabernacle Choir’s Christmas concert on PBS (8 p.m. Dec. 17; 9:30, Dec. 24) and on BYUtv (often, starting 9 p.m. ET Dec. 19). Read more…

Bright lights, joyful sounds, dreadful introductions

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…

Best-bets for Dec. 8: double-Chiefs and “Equalizer”

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…