Year: 2019

1) “Kennedy Center Honors,” 8:30-10:30 p.m most time zones, but 8-10 p.m. PT., CBS. This is an annual gem, filled with great music and smart little films and tributes. And now it’s more pop than ever. Two great singers, Trisha Yearwood and Carrie Underwood, tackle Linda Ronstadt songs. John Legend, Ne-Yo, Cynthia Erivo and the Jonas Brothers all do the music of Earth, Wind & Fire. There’s classical music (honoring Michael Tilson Thomas), a Sally Field tribute … and even a “Sesame Street” tribute (shown here), with music from Thomas Rhett. Read more…

1) “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman,” 8 and 9 p.m., CBS. These two classics (from 1964 and ‘69) have already had separate runs on CBS this season. Now we can catch them together … with the vastly inferior “Frosty Returns” at 9:30. If you need them again, “Rudolph” and “Frosty” (shown here) will be back-to-back on cable’s Freeform on Dec. 20, 21, 24 and 25. Read more…

1) “Gone With the Wind”(1939), 8 p.m. to midnight ET, Turner Classic Movies. We can start the weekend with a true classic (shown here), No. 6 on the American Film Institute’s all-time list. A documentary about the making of the film follows at midnight; the booming “Music Man” (1962) precedes at 5:15. Read more…

1) “The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition” opener, 9 and 10 p.m., ABC. It’s a double-spice show, with Emma “Baby Spice” Bunton (shown here) and Anthony “Spice” Adams hosting. Paul Hollywood (from the British original) and Sherry Yard are the judges. This starts with 10 contestants, including Brother Andrew Corriende, who briefly managed a bakery and worked as a talent-agent assistant, before becoming a friar. They’ll face three challenges each hour, starting today with cakes and bread Read more…

1) “Making It,” 9 and 10 p.m., NBC. In a world of noisy reality competitions, this is a quiet delight. Its approach is as basic as its contestants – people who create beauty using anything from wood and paper to noodles and balloons. One host, Nick Offerman, is a master craftsman; the other, Amy Poehler, isn’t. Those two (shown here) produce the show and offer puns and droll humor. Still, the real stars have been the contestants – from a teen drop-out to an airplane engineer – who make things. Tonight, one will win $100,000. Read more…

1) “The Conners,” 8 p.m., ABC. A terrific show slides into its “winter break” with a moderately good episode that’s kind of morose. Things are hardest on Denise (Sara Gilberet), who really didn’t need any more bad news. But her dad (John Goodman) finds everyone forgetting his birthday; his new sorta-girlfriend (Katey Sagal) is being sniped at by his late wife’s sister Jackie (Laurie Metcalf). Metcalf (shown here with Goodman) is a skilled actress, but Jackie is written and played way too broadly, one reason this is only kinda good. Read more…