This week: Kennedy Center Honors; Blake Edwards tribute; Gina Gershon on ‘Glory Daze’; New Year’s Eve celebrations
The Kennedy Center Honorees include, from left, Merle Haggard, a delighted Oprah Winfrey and Paul McCartney. Photo credit: John Paul Filo/CBS
There aren’t a lot of new episodes in the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. But there are some notable exceptions.
TNT wraps up a two-part “Closer” at 9 p.m. Monday. Mary McDonnell, Frances Sternhagen and Barry Corbin guest star. A new “Men of a Certain Age” follows at 10 p.m. Monday; Penelope Ann Miller guest stars. TBS presents a new episode of “Glory Daze” at 10 p.m. Tuesday. Gina Gershon is a guest star.
The week’s biggest program is the “Kennedy Center Honors” at 9 p.m. Tuesday on CBS. The honorees are Paul McCartney, Oprah Winfrey, country legend Merle Haggard, choreographer Bill T. Jones and Broadway composer Jerry Herman (“La Cage aux Folles,” “Mame” and “Hello, Dolly!”) The high points include Jennifer Hudson’s soaring song for Winfrey, Steven Tyler’s energetic performance for McCartney and the epic production number for Herman headlined by Angela Lansbury, Carol Channing and Chita Rivera.
TCM salutes the late director Blake Edwards with five of his movies on Monday night. The films are “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” at 8; “Days of Wine and Roses” at 10, “The Pink Panther” at midnight, “Victor/Victoria” at 2 a.m. (Tuesday) and “Operation Petticoat” at 4:30 a.m. (Tuesday).
New Years’ Eve will marked across many channels Friday night. I’ll have more on these celebrations later this week. But choosing a channel is a lot like deciding which host’s party you want to attend. The notable hosts are Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest on ABC, Carson Daly on NBC, Nancy O’Dell on Fox, Anderson Cooper and Nancy Griffin on CNN and Megyn Kelly and Bill Hemmer on Fox News Channel.
From left, Broadway legends Chita Rivera, Angela Lansbury and Carol Channing sing the praises of composer Jerry Herman. Photo credit: Jeffrey R. Staab/CBS