Daily Best Bets

1) Golden Globe awards, 8 p.m. ET, NBC, with red-carpet at 7; on the West Coast, 5 p.m. PT (red-carpet at 4), rerunning at 8. Two terrific hosts, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (shown here) are back … but not together. They’re in New York and Los Angeles, respectively. Viewers might not recognize many of the nominated movies; even the TV shows – all from cable or streaming – are sometimes obscure. The dramas: “The Crown,” “The Mandalorian,” “Ozark,” “Ratched” and “Lovecraft Country”; comedies: “Emily in Paris,” “The Great,” “Ted Lasso,” “Schitt’s Creek” and “The Flight Attendant.” Read more…

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Nick Jonas (shown here) has his first turn as host (and second as music guest), launching a busy streak for NBC. Coming are the Golden Globes on Sunday and the season-openers of “The Voice” (with Jonas in one of the spinning chairs) on Monday and “New Amsterdam” on Tuesday, plus the debut of “Debris” – a well-made, science-fiction show – on Monday. Read more…

1) “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962), 8 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. John Frankenheimer was a master of TV’s first golden age and beyond, getting 10 Emmy nominations for directing, with four wins. But he also made movies, peaking with this black-and-white masterpiece, which toys with characters’ memories. It drew Oscar nominations for its editing and for Angela Lansbury (shown here with Laurence Harvey); Frank Sinatra and Janet Leigh also starred. There was a 2004 remake, but this one is hard to top. Read more…

1) “Mom,” 9 p.m., CBS. Last week, Jill — rich, single and flirty met Bonnie’s therapist Trevor — poor, divorcing and clumsy. (He’s shown here at a previous low point, dealing with Bonnie in sparse quarters. Jill was enamored … and Bonnie was dismayed. Now the relationship grows; that means more scenes with Rainn Wilson (“The Office”) as Trevor, which is “”Mom” at its best. Read more…

1) “Snowfall” season-opener, 10 p.m. to midnight, FX; also, midnight and 2 a.m. When this show started, Franklin and Melody (shown here) were college-bound kids, smart and diligent. When the third season ended, he was big in the drug boom of 1980s Los Angeles; she was an addict who shot him. Then viewers had to wait; 17 months later, we finally get more. She vanished; he barely survived and is trying to end the chaos. This is beautifully written and filmed, but way too harsh for many viewers. Read more…

1) “Superman & Lois” debut, 9-10:30 p.m., CW. Yes, Superman (shown here) has a whole city (Metropolis) – and a whole world – to protect. But at the core, he’s still a Kansas kid; in this well-crafted opener, he’s tugged back home with his family. His wife, Lois Lane, is still a star reporter, but his own newspaper job is wobbling. They have twin boys – one a top athlete, the other brainy and reclusive – who don’t know their dad’s secret … and might develop his superpowers. Now their lives will transform Read more…

1) “Independent Lens: Mr. Soul!” 10 p.m., PBS. Back in 1968, variety shows had … well, little variety. They were mostly white, mostly mainstream. Then “Soul” debuted on public-TV, reflecting the range of host Ellis Haizlip (shown here). It had Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle, but it also had jazz, poets and philosophy. Nikki Giovanni talked to James Baldwin; Haizlip talked to Louis Farrakhan and Stokely Carmichael. This vibrant film (by Melissa Haizlip, Ellis’ niece) ends with waves of emotion. Read more…

1) “All Creatures Great and Small” season-finale, 9 p.m., PBS. On Christmas Eve, nerves are tattered. The widowed Siegfried frets about courtship … his brother (shown here) suspects the veterinary school has flunked him … their housekeeper wonders if her son will visit … and James, the new vet, is forlorn: He never told Helen he loves her; now she has a Christmas Day wedding. Each of these stories is written and acted with subtle skill; it’s a great finish to a good first season. Read more…

1) “The Long Island Serial Killer: A Mother’s Hunt for Justice,” 8-10:03 p.m., Lifetime. For its 400th original movie, Lifetime went to some familiar names. This is written by John Pielmeier, who has had four Broadway plays (including “Agnes of God”) and three Humanitas nominations (winning for TV’s “Choices of the Heart”). Kim Delaney (shown here), an Emmy-winner, plays a mom trying to nudge police into action. It’s a solidly crafted film, with a real-life story that has odd surprises, but no convenient finish. Read more…

1) Denzel Washington films, cable. Some viewers can jump between Washington’s Oscar-winning performances. His first (supporting actor) was for “Glory” (1989), a brilliant film (shown here with Washington and Morgan Freeman) about a Black unit in the Union army; that’s 8 p.m. on Starz. His second (actor) was for “Training Day” (2001), as a corrupt and street-smart cop; it’s 7 and 9:30 p.m. on Vice. For more, catch “The Equalizer” (2014), at 10:30 p.m. on TNT. In a variation on the TV series, he plays a former federal agent, helping the little guy. Read more…