CBS presents WILLIE NELSON’S 90TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, a concert special honoring the legendary career of music icon Willie Nelson, Sunday, Dec. 17 (8:30-10:30 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+)*. Pictured: Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson Photo: Joshua Timmermans/Blackbird Presents ©2023 Blackbird Presents. All Rights Reserved.

Week’s top-10 for Dec. 11: Music soars; dramas end

1) “Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration,” 8:30-10:30 p.m., CBS (but 8-10 p.m. on the West Coast). Nelson turned 90 almost eight months ago, but why quibble? A 12-time Grammy winner, he performs in a concert that has his sons, Lukas and Mikah, plus more. There are stars from country (George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton) and beyond (Keith Richards, Norah Jones, Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow, Beck, Gary Clark Jr. and Snoop Dogg, shown here with Nelson). Read more…

1) “Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration,” 8:30-10:30 p.m., CBS (but 8-10 p.m. on the West Coast). Nelson turned 90 almost eight months ago, but why quibble? A 12-time Grammy winner, he performs in a concert that has his sons, Lukas and Mikah, plus more. There are stars from country (George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton) and beyond (Keith Richards, Norah Jones, Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow, Beck, Gary Clark Jr. and Snoop Dogg, shown here with Nelson).

2) Conclusions of “Buccaneers” (Wednesday, Apple TV+) and “The Crown” (Thursday, Netflix).Two great shows conclude. “The Crown” won’t really surprise us — these final six episodes focus on princes William and Harry, after their mother’s death — but the show, finishing its sixth season, is beautifully written and played. “Buccaneers” has to surprise us; Edith Wharton died before finishing the novel. This mini-series has comes up with a brilliant ending.

3) “Big Brother Reindeer Games,” 8-10 p.m. Monday, 9-10 p.m. Tuesday, 8-9 p.m. Thursday, CBS. In the final weeks before Christmas, CBS goes for fun, with past “BB” contestants in action games. That continues on the same days next week, with a $100,000 prize. And at 8 p.m. this Friday, CBS shows the lighting of the National Tree. Music is by Mickey Guyton, Dionne Warwick, Joe Walsh, Ledisi, Darren Criss, St. Vincent, Renee Rapp and Samara Joy.

4) “The Voice,” 8-10 p.m. today and Tuesday, NBC. A week before the finale, Gwen Stefani is already down to one singer (Bias). John Legend has two (Lila Forde, Mac Royals), with three apiece for Reba McEntire, (Jordan Reiner, Jacquie Roar, Ruby Leigh) and Neil Horan (Nini Iris, Mara Justice, Huntley). Tonight’s performances will be recapped at 8 p.m. Tuesday; at 9, we’ll learn which five reach the finals. Also, Legend and Horan will perform.

5) “Christmas With the Tabernacle Choir,” 8-9:30 p.m. Tuesday, PBS. Here is a truly splendid holiday concert. More than 500 volunteers are in the massive choir, orchestra and more, including young dancers and an epic organist. Lea Salonga — of Broadway and Disney (“Mulan,” “Aladdin”) fame – solos, in a night ranging from classical to pop. David Suchet (PBS’ Poirot) tells the deeply moving story of a man who helped save 669 children from the Holocaust.

6) “Quantum Leap,” 8 p.m. Wednesday, NBC. After a so-so hour last week, “Quantum” bouinces back with a good one that’s set among Egyptian spies. Eliza Taylor, the former “100” star, has her third full episode as Hannah, the scientist who is the only person (outside the lab) who knows about Ben’s time-travel. That’s followed at 9 by a “Magnum P.I.” that starts slowly, then has a neat plot twist and a long and spectacular (if highly unlikely) chase scene.

7) Season-finales of “Sullivan’s Crossing” (8 p.m. Wednesday, CW) and “The Gilded Age” (9 p.m. Sunday, HBO). Here are opposite approaches to wrapping a season. “Crossing” turns dead-serious, piling problems atop Maggie, her father Sully and her maybe-love-interest Cal. “Age” turned serious last week, when Oscar was scammed out of most of his mother’s fortune. Now, as competing opera seasons open, it skillfully balances pain and joy.

8) Cartoon classics, Saturday, Two of TV’s all-time greatest half-hours return. One is “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” at 8 a.m. Saturday on TBS and 5:03 p.m. Sunday on TNT — leading into the clever “A Christmas Story” (1983) at 5:33. The other is “A Charlie Brown Christmas”; Apple TV+ makes it available to non-subscribers on Saturday and Sunday. Also Saturday, CBS has “Rudoph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” at 8 p.m. and “Frosty the Snowman” at 9.

9) Bowl barrage begins,. Over a 10-day stretch, 41 college-football bowl games will crash across our TV screens. That starts Saturday, including two on ABC – Miami of Ohio and Appalachian State at 3:30 p.m. ET, UCLA and Boise State at 7:30. ESPN has the other four: Ohio and Georgia Southern at 11 a.m.; Louisiana and Jacksonville State at 2:15 p.m.; Fresno State and New Mexico State at 5:45 p.m.; and Caifornia and Texas Tech at 9:15 p.m.

10) “The Sound of Music” (1965), 8-11 p.m. Sunday, ABC. With gorgeous Rodgers-and-Hammerstein songs, this fits the season; here’s its annual Christmastime run. That wraps a crowded holiday week that includes a Barry Manilow special (10 p.m. Monday, NBC), “CMA Country Christmas” (8-9:02 p.m. Thursday, ABC), “A Saturday Night Live Christmas Special” (8-10 p.m. Thursday, NBC) and the Hollywood Christmas Parade (8-10 p.m. Friday, CW).

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