1) Football, all day. The new playoff plan has tripleheaders today and Sunday. The six winners – plus the Chiefs and Packers, who have byes – return next weekend, two steps from the Super Bowl. Today has the Bills and Colts at 1:05 p.m. ET on CBS and the Rams and Seahawks at 4:40 p.m. on Fox. At 8:15, NBC has Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay (shown here) facing Washington, the only play-off team with a losing record. Read more…
1) “Frontliine,” 9 p.m., PBS. Breaking its usual pattern, “Frontline” is showing a film it didn’t make. That’s partly a bad thing; “A Thousand Cuts” has a scattered approach, without the direct power we expect from “Frontline.” Still, this has an important story: Maria Ressa (shown here) is a Filipino native who became a New Jersey teen, a CNN bureau chief and founder of the Rappler reporting website in the Philippines. As Rappler questioned President Rodrigo Duterte, he attacked “fake news” and “presstitutes.” Read more…
1) “Mr. Mayor” debut, 8 and 8:30 p.m., NBC. After making lots of money, Neil (Ted Danson, shown here) had empty time. So, of course, he ran for mayor of Los Angeles. Now that he’s been elected, he needs … well, projects and plans and such. This is a clever shows that takes sly pokes at trendiness and (in the second episode) adds some broader humor. Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, the “30 Rock” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” duo, produce, with Holly Hunter and Bobby Moynihan in support. Read more…
1) “Name That Tune” debut, 9 p.m., Fox. This is a night when ancient game shows suddenly return to prime time. “Tune” began on radio in 1952, moved to primetime -TV (NBC and then CBS) the next year, then slid to daytime and two syndicated runs – one with the future Kathie Lee Gifford as vocalist. Now it’s back, with Jane Krakowski (shown here) as host and Randy Jackson as the producer and bandleader. Read more…
We hear a lot about “the American dream” – especially when a pandemic might sideswipe it.
But what is that dream? PBS “American Portrait” reminds us how varied it can be.
It can be something huge. A young Alaskan dad links with a friend to start their own airline; a student struggles to get into medical school – a chance that was denied to her mother in Afghanistan.
Or it can be more basic: A young construction worker (shown here) and his girlfriend, dreamig of some day having a house and a family. Those three stories are at the core of the “Portrait” opener, at 9 p.m. Tuesday (Jan. 5). Read more…
1) “Zoe’s Extraordinary Playlist” season-opener, 8 p.m., NBC. The second season starts six weeks after Zoey’s dad died. Deep in mourning, she hasn’t returned to work and hasn’t seen either of the guys in her love life. She also hasn’t experienced her ongoing quirk – seeing people express their hidden emotions via pop songs. When Zoey (Jane Levy, show here) does return, there are big changes – including a new co-worker, played by the delightful Harvey Guillen of “What We Do in the Shadows.” It’s a great start. Read more…
1) “The Bachelor” opener, 8-10 p.m., ABC. Back in June, ABC announced its first Black “Bachelor.” Now, after COVID delays, we meet Matt James (shown here), 29. At Wake Forest, he was a receiver (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) who had injuries and then a strong senior year – 40 catches, 401 yards and a brief pro try-out. He got an economics degree, works in New York and also started a project teaching kids about food and exercise. In the opener, he meets 32 women, including two lawyers, a pharmacist and a ballerina. Read more…
1) “Call Me Kat” debut, 8 p.m., Fox. Like any good daughter, Kat got a college degree and a good job; then, alas, she quit and used her money to start a cat cafe. Her mom (Swoosie Kurtz) is displeased, but Kat (Mayim Bialik, shown here with Cheyenne Jackson) seems happy with life, her co-workers and her cats. Jim Parsons, Bialik’s “Big Bang” husband, is producing this, based on a British comedy. It’s lightweight, but it has likable people (including Leslie Jordan, Kyla Pratt and Cheyenne Jackson) and a goofy, throwback appeal. Read more…
1) Orange Bowl, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN. The Texas A&M (shown here) players fumed when they were passed over for the four national-championship slots; ranked No. 5, they face North Carolina (No. 24). That ends an ESPN triple-header, with the Gator Bowl (North Carolina State and Kentucky) at noon and the Fiesta Bowl (Oregon and Iowa State) at 4 p.m. Also, ABC has the Outback Bowl (Mississippi and Indiana) at 12:30. Read more…
1) Rose Parade, morning. Three traditions have crumbled: The parade (shown here from a previous year) has been around since 1890, the Rose Bowl game has been in Pasadena since 1916 (plus a 1902 experiment) and the Rose Bowl stadium has held it since 1923. Not this time. The parade was canceled; the game was moved to Texas. Three networks, however, will show past parades, plus new music. Revised plans have that from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on ABC, NBC and Hallmark; on the West Coast, however, ABC will be 8-10 a.m. Read more…
