Holiday TV offers old favorites, new treats
From Walt Disney World to Rockefeller Center to the Grand Ole Opry House, television makes highprofile stops to celebrate Christmas. Those destinations are on this week’s itinerary as networks savor, as the song goes, “the most wonderful time of the year.”
ABC devotes two hours to “The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration” at 9 tonight. Julianne Hough and Nick Lachey host from Orlando. Jesse Palmer is at Disneyland. The performers include Ciara, Darius Rucker, Fifth Harmony, Hanson, Fitz and the Tantrums, Jason Derulo and Lea Michele. “Frozen” stars Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel duet.
NBC rolls out “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” at 8 p.m. Wednesday. “Today” supplies hosts Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker. Brett Eldridge, Jennifer Nettles and Gwen Stefani perform. The high point is the lighting of the 75-foot-tall tree, a Norway spruce from State College, Pa.
Reba McEntire hosts “CMA Country Christmas” from the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville at 8 p.m. Monday on ABC. The twohour special features Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Bryan, Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town and Trisha Yearwood.
The networks will repeat beloved specials. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” airs at 8 p.m. Tuesday on CBS. Burl Ives narrates. “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” which debuted in 1965, returns with its classic songs at 8 p.m. Nov. 30 on ABC.
The holiday specials take many forms. “A Very Pentatonix Christmas” offers the group in its second annual special at 10 p.m. Monday on NBC. The guests are Jennifer Hudson, Jay Leno and Darci Lynne Farmer, winner of “America’s Got Talent.”
“The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” travels to China at 10 p.m. Tuesday on CBS. Harry Styles, Miguel and Tony winner Leslie Odom of “Hamilton” perform. The models include Karlie Kloss, Candice Swanepoel, Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio.
“Bruno Mars: 24K Magic Live at the Apollo” may not strictly be a holiday special, but it is a gift. CBS presents the singer’s first prime-time special at 10 p.m. Wednesday. He starts atop the Apollo marquee in New York, a good spot for a singer atop the music world. 7 tonight 9 p.m. Tuesday 8 p.m. Friday