Mike Hughes

1) “Downton Abbey” (2019) and “Call the Midwife Holiday Special,” 7 and 9:07 p.m., PBS. The “Downton” movie has the elegance of the series (shown here), plus bigger stakes. The king is coming, amid schemes large (an assassination attempt) and small (the royal staff trying to seize control of household duties). That’s followed by a warm “Midwife,” set in Christmas of 1966. Medical crises complicate the wedding of Lucille, a Jamaican nurse, and Cyril, a Guyanese mechanic, student and church leader. Read more…

(Here are the five TV best-bets for Friday, Dec. 24; feel free to use in any form – all or some, print and/or web)

1) “A Christmas Story” (1983) marathon, 8 p.m., TBS and 9 p.m., TNT. This modest movie does everything right. It captures a 1940s holiday through the hopes and fears of a boy (shown here) who simply wants a BB gun. Done with droll humor, it’s become a tradition for these networks. It runs every two hours for 24 hours, so one of the two will start it at the top of each hour. Read more…

1) “Ghosts,” 8:31-11 p.m., CBS. In a rough season for comedies, “Ghosts” has done well. So CBS polled viewers and will rerun their five favorites here. First (shown here), Pete wants to see his wife, who’s still alive; at 9:01, Thorfinn wants a Viking funeral, now that his bones have been found; at 9:30, Samantha – the only living person who sees the ghosts – helps them play Dungeons & Dragons with her husband Jay. At 10, a music fan researches Alberta’s life; at 10:30, Hetty accidentally inhabits Jay’s body. Read more…

1) “Kennedy Center Honors,” 9-11 p.m., CBS. Each year, this celebrates the greats with smart films and potent performances. To honor Joni Mitchell, Bette Midler, Justino Diaz and Motown founder Berry Gordy, we get great songs from Andra Day, Kelli O’Hara, Billy Porter, Norah Jones and more, including a superb finale with Stevie Wonder (shown here in a previous performance. But the surprise is the tribute to “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels. From Steve Martin to three “Weekend Update” desks, it ripples with wit. Read more…

1) “The Bachelorette” finale, 8 p.m., ABC, with “After the Rose” at 10. Michelle Young (shown here) started with 30 guys and has gradually shed 28 of them. (The 28th, last week, was Joe Coleman who, like her, is a Minnesotan and a former college basketball player.) Young, 28, is a 5th-grade teacher who once led the Bradley basketball team with 12 points per game. Her final two choices are Brandon Jones, 26, a traveling-nurse recruiter from Portland, Oregon, and Nayte Olukoya, 27, a sales guy from Winnipeg Read more…