1) “American Masters: Laura Ingalls Wilder,” 8-9:30 p.m., PBS. People already sort of know Wilder; her eight novels (and the “Little House” TV series, shown here) fictionalized her frontier childhood. But the real story is even more interesting. She had 14 or 15 girlhood homes; her family left one in the middle of the night, to escape debts. She began writing for farm magazines in her 40s and started her novels at 63 – with her daughter doing major rewrites. This warm portrait also views the biases that she reflected.
2) “Anne of Green Gables – Fire and Dew,” 9:30-11 p.m., PBS. Fresh from Laura Ingalls, PBS gives us another lovable heroine from long-ago. Anne was in a great PBS mini-series, moved to the Disney Channel, then returned to PBS for a movie trilogy, ending with this 2017 film. Heading to teacher’s college, she’s far from the elderly couple (Martin Sheen and Sara Botsford) that raised her … but close to Gilbert. She deals with death, finances and a difficult decision.
3) “Popstar’s Best of 2020” (8 p.m., CW) and “The Year 2020” (9-11 p.m., ABC). Here are two chances to remember a year we’d like to forget. (A third will be Thursday on NBC.) First is, perhaps, a lighter look. Then ABC views a year which various interviewees call a “train wreck” and a “dumpster fire.” Robin Roberts hosts a look at the pandemic, the election, the police/community crises and more, including the things people found for a diversion.
4) “Tell Me a Story” finale, 9 p.m., CW. The two-season “Story” has been a repetitive blur of hostages and shootings. Now three tales (slightly related) end. The nastiest finds Tucker and ex-fiancee Maddie in a space he designed to hold another woman hostage; Maddie is not interested in his apologies
5) “Nurses,” 9-11 p.m., NBC. If you missed the first two episodes, catch them now. Five young nurses – diverse and telegenic – start work … greeted instantly by a mega-crisis. This Canadian series sometimes tries too hard; in the second hour, four people tell key parts of their life stories. But in the Canadian style, this offers likable characters in solid-enough stories.
– Mike Hughes, TV America