CBS plans a modest-but-cheery Christmas

CBS has announced a modest-but-cheerful batch of Christmas shows.
Barring late additions, the line-up has no holiday movies, no holiday music specials and two animated specials — one new, one not. Filling in will be some other weekend specials (Kennedy Center Honors, family film awards, Latin music), plus some festive game shows.
CBS was once a holiday powerhouse. It remains the ratings leader in its regular shows, but its holiday ones — Frosty, Rudolph, Charlie Brown, etc. — gradually went to other networks.
This year’s line-up includes:
— “A Paw Patrol Christmas” (8-9 p.m. Nov. 28) is new; “Reindeer in Here” (shown here, 8-9 p.m. Dec. 6) is an amiable tale CBS debuted three years ago.
— Games. “Hollywood Squares” opens its season with two Christmas-themed half-hours, at 8:30 p.m. Dec. 21, but 8 p.m. on the West Coast. For the three days after that, the daytime “Let’s Make a Deal” and “The Price is Right” will have holiday themes.
— Ongoing shows. Several have Christmas episodes. The most promising night might be Dec. 18 — a two-part “Ghosts” at 9 p.m., followed by a “Elsbeth,” with a “Nutcracker” ballet production turning deadly.
— Also: Some unrelated specials get holiday-season spots:
… Dec. 13: The Family Film and TV Awards, 8-9 p.m.
… Dec. 23: Kennedy Center Honors, 8-10:30 p.m. This year, that includes lots of masked men — the four members of the Kiss rock group and Michael Crawford of “Phantom of the Opera” — plus actor Sylvester Stallone and singers George Strait and Gloria Gaynor.
… Dec. 26: “A Grammy Celebration of Latin Music,” 8-10 p.m.
… Dec. 31: “Nashville’s Big Bash,” 8-10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. The New Year’s Eve party includes country’s Jason Aldean, Lainey Wilson and Bailey Zimmerman, plus gospel great CeCe Winans.