Daily Best Bets

1) “Kennedy Center Honors,” 8-10 p.m. Wednesday, CBS. Here are passionate tributes, ranging from serious (Sean Penn on U2) to mocking (Matt Damon on George Clooney; they’re shown here). That’s joined by key music: Eddie Vedder for U2; Dianne Reeves for Clooney; the Highwomen supergroup and gospel greats for Amy Grant; instrumentalists for composer Tanis Leon; and Garth Brooks, Patti LaBelle, Mickey Guyton and Ariana DeBose for Gladys Knight. Read more…

1) “The Rookie: Feds,” 9 and 10 p.m., ABC. A week before it starts the second half of its season, “Feds” lets us catch up. First is the series opener: When Simone (Niecy Nash, shown here), a former school counselor, starts work at the FBI, Garza assigns her to paperwork; she resists. The rest defies credibility, yet is thoroughly entertaining. Then the most recent episode: Garza is accused of being a mole; Simone and others link to clear his name. Read more…

1) “The Year: 2022,” 9-11 p.m., ABC. It’s been a weird year. Russians, Republicans and Elon Musk expected big triumphs; so did the Dodgers in the play-offs and France in the World Cup. None of that happened, in a year of surprises in Ukraine (shown here) and beyond. Meanwhile, Covid, gas prices and Donald Trump had roller-coaster years, the economy bounced back and the newest TV stars were the 67-year-old Kevin Costner and the 4-foot-11 Quinta Brunson. ABC has a lot to summarize. Read more…

1) “Call the Midwife,” 9 and 10:30 p.m., PBS. Each Christmas Day, “Midwife” (shown here) has a movie-length film, stuffed with emotion and, at times, agony. There’s plenty of distress in this year’s well-made film: A pregnant ex-con is homeless; a dad, unable to cope with his daughter’s birth defects, stumbles into alcoholism. But there’s also joy and warmth … plus heroics from a starchy administrator. Read more…

1) “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946), 8-11 p.m., NBC. Each year, this James Stewart classic (shown here) – No. 20 on the American Film Institute’s best-movie list – gets a Christmas Eve airing on NBC. This year, it also makes the rounds of cable channels aligned with the network. It’s already been on USA and Bravo; at 6 a.m. on Christmas Day, it will start showing every three hours on E. Read more…

1) “A Home For the Holidays,” 8 p.m., CBS. Each year, this offers passionate music and stories about real-life adoptiona. This year’s music is from host Gloria Estefan, Andy Grammer, Mickey Guyton, Little Big Town (shown here) and David Foster & Kat McPhee. We meet Kaz, adopted at 15 after a tough decade in foster care … And Tommy, helping his suddenly widowed adoptive mother … And two families that each began adopting after having two biological children. Read more…

1) “Top Gun” films. “Top Gun” was the box-officer champion in 1986, mixing crisp dialog, great visuals and an impressive cast, led by young Tom Cruise. Now “Top Gun: Maverick” (shown heree) is the 2022 box-office winner, with great visuals and a not-young Cruise. Today, you can catch the sequel any time on Paramount+ … the original on Paramount Network (8 and 10:30 a.m.; 1, 3:30, 6, 8:30, 11 p.m.) … or both on Epix (original, 6:10 p.m.; sequel, 8). Read more…

1) “Homeward Bound: A Grammy Tribute to Paul Simon,” 9 p.m. Wednesday, CBS. Simon (shown here) has won the top Grammy (Album of the Year) three times. Now, at 81, he’s among the performers in a night of his music. Here are stars of country (Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Brad Paisley, Eric Church, Little Big Town), jazz (Irma Thomas, Trombone Shorty), Americana (Rhiannon Giddens) and more including Stevie Wonder, Billy Porter and the Jonas Brothers. Read more…

1) “Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to All,” 8-10 p.m., CBS. Yes, Carey (shown here) will forever be linked with “All I Want For Christmas is You.” It hit No. 1 on Billboard in 2019 – 25 years after its debut; by then, it had sold 14 million physical records and topped $60 million in royalties. But she’s shown power and passion on songs from “O Holy Night” to “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.” Here’s the concert she did in two nights last weekend at Madison Square Garden. Read more…

1) “Lego Masters Celebrity Holiday Bricktacular,” 8 p.m., Fox. Sprawling over three days and four hours, this is a sorta-pleasant trifle. Four stars – Robin Thicke, Cheryl Hines, Finesse Mitchell and (shown here) the late Leslie Jordan – link with past contestants who were popular, but didn’t win. The celebs mostly do artsy details, letting the experts build sturdy creations. Read more…