Between network, cable and streaming, the modern television landscape is vast. These are some of the shows, specials and movies premiering on television this week, January 1-7. Details and times are subject to change.
Monday
INDUCTION CEREMONY TO THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME 2023 8:00 p.m. on ABC. While celebrating the music highlights of 2023 on the first day of 2024 seems a little late, for Missy Elliott and Sheryl Crowe I’ll let it slide. This ceremony, which took place in Brooklyn in November, includes performances by that year’s inductees Elliott and Crowe, as well as appearances by Stevie Nicks, Elton John and LL Cool J.
THE MONKEY BUSINESS (1931) 8 pm on TCM. The title of this film aptly portrays the hijinks that occur when the Marx Brothers stow away on an ocean liner, causing drama and laughter while avoiding the wrath of the captain and his crew.
Tuesday
FIND YOUR ROOTS 8 pm on PBS (check local listings). This show has told us that Bernie Sanders and Larry David are in fact related, best friend duo Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are 10th cousins (once removed), and Kevin Bacon shares relatives with his wife, Kyra Sedgwick. Now it returns for its tenth season, hosted, as always, by Henry Louis Gates Jr. The first episode will feature singers Ciara and Alanis Morissette.
Wednesday
I CAN SEE YOUR VOICE 8 pm on Fox. “The Voice” allows judges to hear contestants sing before seeing them. This competition program does the opposite. The judges of the show, hosted by Ken Jeong, have to score the contestants based on lip-sync challenges and facts about them. The answers are revealed when celebrity judges, including Adrienne Bailon-Houghton and Cheryl Hines, sing a duet with the contestant: either it goes very well or it goes very badly.
Thursday
THE POWER OF CINEMA 8 pm on TCM. This original six-part documentary series uses narrative devices to take a closer look at some of the most popular films of the last century. Using more than 50 cinematic scenes, the episodes address themes of paradoxes, character relationships, and heroes and villains to illuminate what makes a powerful film.
GENERAL HOSPITAL: 60 YEARS OF STARS AND COUNTS 10:00 p.m. on ABC. The first episode of “General Hospital” premiered on April 1, 1963 and is now the longest-running soap opera still in production and holds a record for most notable daytime drama awards. This special, celebrating the show’s 60 years (and counting!), features some of its actors, including Maurice Benard, Jane Elliot, Genie Francis, Finola Hughes, Kelly Monaco and Laura Wright. They’ll share behind-the-scenes memories, mistakes, and a tribute to the fans.
Friday
RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE 8 pm on MTV. The new year is exactly when we need to hear: “If you can’t love yourself, how the hell are you going to love anyone else?” RuPaul Charles returns for the sixteenth season of this drag queen competition show; As usual, we’ll see incredible custom outfits, passionate lip syncs from the queens, and panels from celebrity guest judges including Charlize Theron, Becky G, and Ronan Farrow.
Saturday
IT’S COMPLICATED (2009) 10:30 pm on E! Just because the holidays are over doesn’t mean we have to say goodbye to Nancy Meyers: the filmmaker has plenty of films for every occasion. This one stars Meryl Streep as Jane, a restaurateur who is divorced from Jake (Alec Baldwin), except their romance has rekindled, until Jane discovers that Jake has remarried and she is now “the other woman.” Meanwhile, architect Adam (Steve Martin) begins remodeling Jane’s kitchen (one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen), and you can guess what happens next.
Sunday
THE GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS 8 pm on CBS. This awards show has been struggling to recover after NBC pulled out as a broadcaster in 2022 due to ethical concerns and a lack of diversity within the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which organizes the event. In June, Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions bought the Golden Globes brand, and the voting body expanded to about 300, so change is in the air. In films, “Barbie” leads the nominations with nine, followed by “Oppenheimer” with eight; On television, “Succession” has the most nominations with nine.
THE GREAT NORTH 9:30 p.m. on Fox. This adult animated cartoon returns for a fourth season. Nick Offerman voices Beef Tobin, an eccentric father who tries to keep his equally eccentric children close. The season begins when Ham Tobin (Paul Rust) recruits his family to help him with a speech he must present during his speech class.
