"Pete's Wife" - Pete convinces Sam to invite his living wife to the mansion, only to discover she's been keeping a dark secret from him for many years. Also, Sassapis gets angry with Thorfinn for binge-cheating their favorite show without him, and Trevor learns he may have a daughter, on GHOSTS, Thursday, Nov. 4 (9:01-9:30 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Pictured (L-R) Caroline Aaron as Carol and Richie Moriarty as Pete Photo: Bertrand Calmeau/CBS ©2021 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Best-bets for Dec. 23: a ghastly good night for comedy

1) “Ghosts,” 8:31-11 p.m., CBS. In a rough season for comedies, “Ghosts” has done well. So CBS polled viewers and will rerun their five favorites here. First (shown here), Pete wants to see his wife, who’s still alive; at 9:01, Thorfinn wants a Viking funeral, now that his bones have been found; at 9:30, Samantha – the only living person who sees the ghosts – helps them play Dungeons & Dragons with her husband Jay. At 10, a music fan researches Alberta’s life; at 10:30, Hetty accidentally inhabits Jay’s body. Read more…

1) “Ghosts,” 8:31-11 p.m., CBS. In a rough season for comedies, “Ghosts” has done well. So CBS polled viewers and will rerun their five favorites here. First (shown here), Pete wants to see his wife, who’s still alive; at 9:01, Thorfinn wants a Viking funeral, now that his bones have been found; at 9:30, Samantha – the only living person who sees the ghosts – helps them play Dungeons & Dragons with her husband Jay. At 10, a music fan researches Alberta’s life; at 10:30, Hetty accidentally inhabits Jay’s body.

2) “Young Rock,” 9 p.m., NBC. In various weeks, this show gives us four versions of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson – ages 10 and 15, a college football player and a movie star. Now, thanks to Charles Dickens, all four work together in a scene. The result is fairly good and is followed by a funny “Mr. Mayor.” That’s in an all-Christmas-rerun night, with cartoons at 8 (“5 More Sleeps ‘til Christmas” and “Trolls Holiday in Harmony”) at 8 and 8:30 and music (Kelly Clarkson) at 10.

3) “Silent Night – A Song For the World,” 8-10 p.m., CW. On Christmas Eve, 203 years ago, a young Austrian priest introduced his song. The church organ had been damaged by a flood, so he used only a guitar. “Stille Nacht” would eventually be done in 140 languages – including English, as “Silent Night.” This documentary rerun is too long and too flawed, but has some gorgeous renditions by Joss Stone, Kelly Clarkson, Shelea Frazier, Katharine McPhee, Lina Markhoul and more.

4) More Christmas reruns, 8-11 p.m., ABC. At 8 p.m. is “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” an OK animated hour about Santa’s life. At 9, “A Very Boy Band Holiday” has all of the 98 Degrees guys, plus others from ‘Nsync. New Edition, Boyz II Men, O-Town and New Kids on the Block. And at 10 is “CMA Country Christmas,” with OK songs and horrible attempts at humorous hosting.

5) “In the Heights,” 8 p.m., HBO. This debuted on Broadway in 2008, introducing its 28-year-old composer and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda. It would go on to win four Tonys (including best musical) and a Pulitzer; it would also lead to Miranda’s triumphant “Hamilton.” For this movie version, he takes only a small role, with John Chu (“Crazy Rich Asians”) directing. The result is gorgeous visually and musically, while giving us people to care about.

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