1) “Countdown to Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” and “Saturday Night Live Thanksgiving,” 8 and 9-11 p.m., NBC. Two specials nudge us into the holiday mood. First is a look preparations for the parade, before coverage begins Thursda (8:30 a.m. on NBC, 9 on CBS). Then is a collection of “SNL” sketches (a past one is shown here), including Debbie Downer dinner, friendsgiving and many more.
2) “Sullivan’s Crossing,” 8 p.m., CW. Life keeps getting tangled for Maggie, the Boston surgeon (facing a medical review) who retreated to her dad’s Nova Scotia resort. Amid fractured relationships with her boyfriend and her dad, she has key moments with Cal, the lawyer-turned-handyman. It’s a good episode, setting up a pivotal one next week.
3) “Nova,” 9 p.m., PBS. For many African-American families, genealogy can seem impossible, blocked by the indifference of slave-era records. Here, however, is a charming portrait of a family that makes an elaborate effort, with officers, reunions and, at times, fresh discoveries.
4) “The Naughty Nine,” 8-9:35 p.m., Disney Channel. Stunned that he didn’t get anything from Santa, a 5th-grader figures he’s on the naughty list. His solution is to link with eight other naughty-listers for a North Pole heist. Santa (Danny Glover) might not approve. On Thursday, the film moves to Disney+.
5) Reality shows. CBS has new episodes of its two reality giants – “Survivor” at 8 p.m. and “The Amazing Race” at 9:30. Fox, however, reruns last week’s “Masked Singer,” at 8. In the masked-music tradition, it had a song from two characters in the Trolls movie; then its contestants did boy-band hits from the past. Next Wednesday, whether we’re ready or not, will be disco night.