1) “La Brea” season-opener (shown here), 9 p.m., NBC. In a classic understatement, someone says: “Things look pretty bleak now.” Oh, it was bleak long ago, when people fell through a sinkhole and emerged in 10,000 BC, with mammoths romping. It got worse when a time portal went awry (don’t they always?); Eve was swept away and dinosaurs arrived. Now we’re just six weeks from the Feb. 13 finale. Read more…
1) College football national championship game, 7:30 p.m. ET,. ESPN and ESPN2, with pre-game at 7. This is the finish that fans might prefer: There were two tight semi-finals, eacb unsettled until the final play. Surviving were Washington (shown here)and Michigan, undefeated and ranked No. 2 and 1 when the regular season ended. Now they collide. Read more…
1) “All Creatures Great and Small” season-opener, 9 p.m., PBS. The sweet, village-veterinarian life will be shaken in this excellent season. Tristan has left for World War II and James, who’s talkimg with Helen (they’re shown here) about having a baby, might be next. Siegfried will soon hire a bookkeeper and a young vet. Tonight brings gentler problems, including a stray dog and a sort-of-stray boy. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. After a busy spurt, with eight new episodes in 10 weeks, “SNL” is on a month-long break. It has reruns tonight (Jason Momoa, shown here with Chloe Fineman, hosts, with Tate McCrae as music guest) and next week, before returning to a new episode Jan. 20, with Jack Elordi and Renee Rapp. Read more…
1) “Greatest @Home Videos,” 8 p.m., CBS. Born amid the pandemic’s burst of online originality, this has its 10th special. It’s the second with an award-show theme. Cedric the Entertainer picks the best videos from around the world, settles on a top two and lets viewers choose. Max Greenfield, who stars with him in “The Neighborhood” (shown here) shows up as “verifier of the results of stuff.” Read more…
1) “The Conners,” 8:30 and 9 p.m.,, CW. This is a first: A show that still has new episodes on one broadcast network will have reruns on another. “The Conners” (shown here) starts its sixth season Feb. 7 on ABC, but now it reruns its first season here. That starts with some terrific episodes – the first with the family impacted by Roseanne’s death, the second with David (Johnny Galecki) visiting. Read more…
1) “Magnum P.I.” finale, 9 and 10 p.m., NBC. This often juggles opposites — a sleek crime tale and a clumsy drama. That’s true in the first hour, with a clever crime scheme sharing time with a flat phone-hotline story. But the second hour (shown here) handles personal stories briskly and focuses on the crime. With one flaw – this guy was foolish to hire Magnum – it’s a winner, a good way to end the series. Read more…
1) “Only Murders in the Building,” 9-11 p.m., ABC. For three seasons on Hulu (with a fourth coming), this has combined murder mysteries with quietly clever glimpses of eccentric New Yorkers. Now the first season reruns over four Tuesdays on ABC. A has-been actor and a never-was director (played by Steve Martin and Martin Short) link with a neighbor (Selena Gomez, they’re shown here) for a true-crime podcast. Read more…
1) Rose Parade, 11 a.m. ET, NBC, ABC and RFD-TV (which repeats it at 1 p.m.). The new year starts with bursts of color and sound. The parade (shown here in a previous year) has a music theme today. It includes 19 marching bands and (as grand marshal) Audra McDonald; she’s a Broadway star with 10 Tony nominations and six wins, half of them in musicals. There are also 18 horse units and about 39 floats. Read more…
1) “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” 8-10 p.m. and 10:30p.m. to 2:13 a.m. Sunday, ABC. This year’s party goes global, with Ryan Seacrest (shown here in a previous year) cutting to music in Korea (NewJeans), Puerto Rico (Ivy Queen) and Las Vegas (Post Malone.). He’ll be in Times Square, with live music from Megan Thee Stallion, Jelly Roll , Sabrina Carpenter and Tyla. He also hasa taped California party with Janelle Monae, Ludacris, Bebe Rexha, Green day, Ellie Goulding, Doechi and more. Read more…
