Mike Hughes

1) “Next” finale, 8 and 9 p.m., Fox. Monday’s episode ended with LeBlanc stealing a computer virus from his old office … with swarms of cops failing to rush outside and find him. There are many such moments tonight that jettison credibility. (On the first night of a black-out, people are already starving, with violent mobs roaming the street?) If you can overlook these, you’ll enjoy a tense story, as LeBlanc and Shea (shown here) try to contrive a bomb  and destroy a computer program that’s keen on world domination Read more…

1) “The Bachelorette,” 8-10 p.m., ABC. It’s been a strange season: First, the show was delayed because of COVID, which limited its locations. Then the original “bachelorette” decided way too soon, exiting with the guy she chose. Now her replacement (Tayshia Adams, 30, shown here) makes her choice. Last week, she ousted Ben Smith. That leaves three guys: Ivan Hall, 28, an aeronautical engineer; Brendan Morris, 30, who does commercial roofing; and Zac Clark, an addiction specialist. On Tuesday, we’ll see her decision. Read more…

1) “The Sound of Music” (shown here, 1965), 7-11 p.m., ABC. Here’s a holiday tradition for ABC. It doesn’t have Christmas scenes, but offers joy, warmth and great music. Loosely based on the true story of a teacher who formed a family singing group, it has Rodgers-and-Hammerstein music at its best, both whimsical (“Do-Re-Mi,” “Maria,” “Favorite Things”) and potent (“Sound of Music,” “Climb Every Mountain”). It won five Oscars, including best picture, and Julie Andrews won a Golden Globe for best actress. Read more…

1) Football conference finals. It’s conference-championship time, with bowl berths at stake. ABC has three games – the Big 12 (Oklahoma, ranked No. 10, and Iowa State, No. 6) at noon ET, the ACC (Notre Dame and Clemson, No. 2 and 3, shown here in a previous game) at 4 p.m. and the American Athletic Conference (Tulsa, No. 23, and Cincinnati, No. 9) at 8. There are more, including the Big Ten at noon ET n Fox (Ohio State, No. 4, and Northwestern, No. 14) and the SEC at 8 p.m. on CBS (Alabama, No. 1, and Florida, No. 7). Read more…

1) Animation, everywhere. The night starts with the very best: The brilliant “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is 7 p.m. on TNT, rerunning at 7:30 p.m. Then you could switch to ABC, for “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” (shown here) at 8 and “Shrek the Halls” at 8:30; both have so-so stories, but lush, movie-style animation. Then it’s over to Freeform for the “Grinch” cartoon movie (2018) at 9 p,m., “The Star” (2017) at 11 p.m. and “Simpsons” Christmas reruns at 1 and 1:30 a.m. Read more…

1) “A Christmas Carol” (1999), 8 and 10 p.m., TNT. It’s a three-Carol day, which some people might figure is two – or even three – too many. Freeform has the Jim Carrey version (2009) at 3:45 p.m.; FX has the Guy Pearce one (dark, dreary and way too long) at 8 and 11:30. But give this one a try; it’s sharply filmed and Patrick Stewart (shown here) is the consummate Scrooge. Read more…