1) “Must Love Christmas” (2022), 9-11 p.m., CBS. Last year, CBS debuted three Christmas films – one poor, one so-so and this one, which is actually quite good. It has a likable star (Liza Lapira of “Equalizer,” shown here), lush visuals and a solid gimmick: She’s struggling with her Christmas novel and we glimpse at scenes from it. And unlike most of these, we keep guessing about her romantic future.
2) Bowls. Early in the season, Ohio State survived close calls (a 4th-and-7, a 3rd-and-19) to score with one second left, beating Notre Dave 17-14. Notre Dame would lose two more games; Ohio State would keep winning, envision a national championship … then lose to Michigan. Now both have their day: The Cotton Bowl has OSU (ranked No. 7) and Missouri (9), at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN; the Sun Bowl has Notre Dame (16) and Oregon State (19), at 2 on CBS.
3) “Craft in America, 9 and 10 p.m., PBS. There are miniature versions of everything, it seems. There are tiny doughnuts, little merry-go-rounds, elegant furniture at 1/12th scale, with hand-stitched cushions. That’s in the second of two hours of this season-opener. We even see the ultimate collector, who formed his 107,00 pieces into miniature bands and villages and more.
4) “American Sniper” (2014), 8 p.m., HBO. Lately,we’ve been marveling at Bradley Cooper’s brilliant craftsmanship as director, co-writer and star of “Maestro” and “A Star is Born.” Still, we should remember that he’s also skilled when simply acting in someone else’s film. This one, directed by Clnt Eastwood, captures the human depth of a Navy SEAL sharpshooter.
5) ALSO: There are plenty of other action-movie stars – Chris Hemsworth in “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017), at 7:15 p.m. on TNT; Nicolas Cage in “National Treasure” (2004), at 8 p.m. on FX; and Keanu Reeves in the John Wick films, at 6, 8 and 10:30 p.m. on USA. And there are a couple more bowls, besides the ones mentioned earlier. ESPN has the Gator – Kentucky and Clemson (No. 22) at noon ET and Liberty (Memphis and Iowa State) at 3:30.