Year: 2025

Best-bets for Dec. 3: Christmas concerts, comedies

1) “Christmas in Rockefeller Center,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. Now its NBC’s turn for holiday spectacle. This one is live, with the Rockettes, the tree-lighting and lots of music. That’s from Reba McEntire (who hosts), Halle Bailey (shown here in a previous concert), Gwen Stefani, Brad Paisley, Carly Pearce, Michael Buble, Marc Anthony, New Edition and Kristin Chenowith. Read more…

PBS mid-season: strong women, big dramas, more

When PBS hits its mid-season stride, it will have lots of strong women.
Some are real (Bella Abzug, Barbara Jordan, Vivien Hargrove), some are fictional (Eliza Scarlet, shown here), some are yet-to-be-determined (female gladiators).
All will share the channel with Henry David Thoreau, Adam Sandler, animal parents, ambitious European dramas and an age-old question: Do dogs really understand words? Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 2: festive dancin’ and singin’

1) “CMA Christmas,” 9:01 p.m., ABC. This hour has plenty of country stars — Jordan Davis, Parker McCollum, Megan Moroney, Riley Green, Lady A and Little Big Town. But it also nudges elsewhere. There’s contemporary Christian singer Lauren Daigle (hosting with Davis), gospel’s Bebe Winans (shown here) and blues stars Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 1: Christmas month starts big

1) “Holiday Spectacular,” 8-10 p.m. today, ABC. Here’s the sort of spectacle Disney savors — bright colors and cheery music, inside theme parks. Derek Hough (shown here amid Disney fol;k) hosts and performs; also performing are Nicole Scherzinger, Bebe Rexha, Aloe Blacc, Trisha Yearwood, Gwen Stefani, Coco Jones and Benji and Joel Madden. Read more…

Best-bets for Nov. 30: a big night for cartoons

1) Animation, 8-11 p.m., ABC. Here’s a rarity for a broadcast network — a three-hour burst of Christmas cartoons. First are two “Prep & Landing” tales, focusing on the guys in Santa’s elite advance team. Then comes a new one (shown here) at 9, seeing them panic when things go wrong. That’s followed by “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” and “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.”
Read more…

Best-bets for Nov. 29: a day for romances and rivalries

1) “A Grand Ole Opry Christmas,” 8-10 p.m., Hallmark. One day after the Opry has its 100th-birthday event, here’s a film celebrating past and present. Gentry is whisked back 30 years, to when her late father was an opry star. There’s lots of music, plus old and new Opry people, from Bill Anderson and Pam Tillis to Brad Paisley (shown here) and Mickey Guyton. Read more…

Best-bets for Nov. 28: pups, Oz and Mario

1) “A Paw Patrol Christmas,” 8 p.m., CBS. Santa has a cold and Mayor Humdinger has a scheme: He’ll head to the North Pole and grab all the presents for himself. The others may have a better plan. “Paw Patrol” (shown here) is one of only two new primetime cartoons for the holidays; the other (a third “Prep & Landing” tale) airs at 9 p.m. Sunday on ABC. Read more…