Between network, cable and streaming, the modern television landscape is vast. Here are some of the shows, specials and movies coming to TV this week, December 24-31. Details and times are subject to change.
monday
MARIAH CAREY: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! 9 p.m. on CBS. In November 2022, Mariah Carey went on a mini-tour performing a show with several holiday songs, featuring (obviously and most importantly) her hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” The concert he performed at Madison Square Garden returns to the small screen to revive the Christmas mood after all the presents have been opened, the spiked hot cocoas are kicking and the tension with a relative over a political reduced to a quiet simmer.
Tuesday
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING 9 pm on PBS (check local listings). If you’ve ever wondered how the prince actually got into the nutcracker, Alan Cumming is here to tell you. This version of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” takes the story from ETA Hoffmann’s 1816 book, and Cumming tells it while an orchestra plays.
Wednesday
46TH ANNUAL KENNEDY CENTER HONORS 8 p.m. on CBS. These awards took place on December 3 in Washington, but today we can see snippets of the ceremony and some of the performances. This year’s honorees are Dionne Warwick, Billy Crystal, Queen Latifah, Renée Fleming and Barry Gibb; as is tradition, each star was given special performances by others, including Missy Elliott, Rob Reiner, Dove Cameron and Michael Bublé.
THE YEAR: 2023 9 pm on ABC. This recap show, hosted by Robin Roberts and other ABC News anchors, reflects on some big moments from 2023, like the Eras Tour, Barbenheimer, the actors’ and writers’ strikes and “Vanderpump” Scandoval. Ronald Gladden, our sweet Everyman from “Jury Duty,” Missy Elliott (everywhere this week!) and some of the cast of “Dancing With the Stars” are set to appear to discuss the year that’s been, to to me, something felt as if it had just begun and would never end.
Thursday
27 DRESSES (2008) 3pm on FX. Now that Christmas is right around the corner, I can get back to my regularly scheduled romantic comedy viewings. Katherine Heigl plays Jane, who has a crush on her boss, George (Edward Burns), and is also a hopeless romantic who religiously reads the vows section of the newspaper. When her annoying little sister comes to town (my words, not hers) and starts dating George, Jane has to decide how good of a brother she wants. James Marsden also plays Kevin, a wedding reporter, who is somehow charming despite the fact that he always appears at the most inconvenient times.
friday
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO FOOTBALL 8 pm on Showtime. This show, hosted by Trevor Noah, closes it out with an episode about football — or soccer for us Americans — culture in Qatar. The episode will specifically look at the $220 billion the country, which has drawn criticism for its treatment of migrant workers and its anti-LGBTQ policies, spent on hosting the 2022 World Cup.
TIME BOMB Y2K 10 p.m. on HBO. In the late 1990s, a scare began about a computer bug dubbed “Y2K.” According to the theory, one second after midnight on January 1, 2000, computer software could malfunction because the last two digits of the year were 00, which could cause chaos such as power failures, grounded planes and inoperative life support machines. The people loaded guns and water; President Bill Clinton appointed a Y2K czar. In the end, computers easily adjusted to the 2000 date stamp. But this new documentary examines the concerns of the time through interviews with computer experts, survivalists, scholars, militia groups, conservative Christians and pop stars.
Sunday
CNN NEW YEAR’S EVE LIVE WITH ANDERSON COOPER AND ANDY COHEN 8 p.m. on CNN. To tequila or not to tequila — that’s been the question surrounding this special for the past few years. This will be Cooper and Cohen’s seventh year doing the show together, but CNN executives banned them from drinking alcohol during last year’s live broadcast, upsetting Cohen. It’s unclear if the two old friends are slinging back shots, but we do know Jeremy Renner, Neil Patrick Harris, the Jonas Brothers and Enrique Iglesias are set to appear.
PRIMETIME NEW YEAR’S ROCKIN’ EVE BY DICK CLARK WITH RYAN SEACREST 2024 starting at 8 pm on ABC. The traditional ball drop may be in New York City, but this New Year’s Eve show will take it around the world. NewJeans is set to perform in South Korea, Post Malone will be at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Las Vegas and Ivy Queen will be live in Puerto Rico. And of course, the cameras will be out in Times Square to count down to midnight.
