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Christmas in Rockefeller Center
It’s all about the giant tree. And the performances. And the Radio City Rockettes, celebrating their 100th year. The tree-lighting ceremony from iconic Rockefeller Center, home to NBC‘s 30 Rock headquarters, is nearly as long-standing a tradition, dating back to 1931. (It was televised for the first time in 1951.) Country-music legend Reba McEntire (of The Voice and Happy’s Place) hosts the special for the first time, joined by fellow Voice coach Michael Bublé, with more music from Marc Anthony, Halle Bailey, Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth, Laufey, New Edition, Brad Paisley, Carly Pearce, Gwen Stefani — and the amazing Rockettes. The festivities are capped by the lighting of the 75-foot-tall, 45-foot-wide, 11-ton Norway Spruce from upstate New York, with some 50,000 LED lights illuminating the plaza. Christmas time is here.
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Christmas in Nashville
The party continues in Music City with a tuneful special hosted by country-music star Trisha Yearwood from Nashville’s lively Category 10 hotspot. She’s joined by fabled Saturday Night Live alum Bill Murray & His Blood Brothers, plus Lauren Alaina, NE-YO, The War and Treaty, and Trace Adkins for a celebration of Christmas classics.
Amanda Matlovich
Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent
There’s one last crime for detectives Henry Graff (Aden Young) and Frankie Bateman (Kathleen Munroe) to solve as the Canadian spinoff signs off for its first season. The victim: a renowned defense attorney who’s shot and killed in an alley. Her client list of A-listers could provide the clue to what secrets she was harboring that led to her demise.
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Palm Royale
John Stamos joins the campy 1960s comedy as Dr. Dusty Magic, a shady lawyer who doubles as a part-time gynecologist and swoops in to offer the embattled Maxine (Kristen Wiig) some guidance when the feds take her into custody after she’s framed by the duplicitous Norma (Carol Burnett), who’s vanished and presumed dead (though we know better). When Norma’s will is read, new complications arise for Maxine’s ex Douglas (Josh Lucas), whose new life with pregnant and power-hungry Mitzi (Kaia Gerber) is threatened by a vengeful Cuban mobster — because why not.
My Secret Santa
In a reversed Mrs. Doubtfire scenario, single mom Taylor (Alexandra Breckenridge) adopts an elaborate old-man disguise to land a job as Santa at a posh ski resort. What could go wrong? Maybe falling for the handsome hotel manager (New Amsterdam‘s Ryan Eggold), who can’t see through the fat suit and beard. Yet.
INSIDE WEDNESDAY TV:
- Shifting Gears (8/7c, ABC): Matt’s (Tim Allen) plan to teach grandson Carter (Maxwell Simkins) to drive is thwarted when he realizes his own license has expired.
- Survivor (8/7c, CBS): Revenge fuels one castaway’s game plan, targeting the player who eliminated their closest ally. Followed by The Amazing Race (9:30/8:30c), where the penultimate leg leads teams through iconic Paris sites, including the Eiffel Tower and Moulin Rouge.
- Abbott Elementary (8:30/7:30c, ABC): Gregory’s (Tyler James Williams) Garden Goofballs has become a boys’ club, but that’s about to change. And girlfriend Janine (Quinta Brunson) wants to start a fashion club, causing principal Ava (Janelle James) to scoff at the teacher’s sartorial style: “You bought that outfit at Build-A-Bear.”
- Cheap A$$ Beach Houses (9/8c, HGTV): You don’t have to break the bank to live near the beach — or so the realtors insist in this series, launching with back-to-back half-hour episodes. In the opener, snowbirds from Flint search for a bargain in Fort Myers Beach, Florida.
ON THE STREAM: