What’s Worth Watching: ‘The 39th Annual Kennedy Center Honors’, ‘Good Behavior’, ‘No Tomorrow’, ‘Shooter’ and more for Tuesday, December 27
The 39th Annual Kennedy Center Honors (9/8c, CBS): The list of honorees is typically eclectic and impressive, including household names and those who should be: troubadour James Taylor, actor Al Pacino, gospel great Mavis Staples, rock hall-of-famers The Eagles and Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich. Just as notable is the group of talents gathered to pay tribute during one of the classiest nights of any year. A partial list includes Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Chris O’Donnell (doing a Scent of a Woman-inspired tango with Gabrielle Anwar), Sean Penn, Bonnie Raitt, Don Cheadle, Andra Day, Placido Domingo, Itzhak Perlman, Ringo Starr, Vince Gill, Bob Seger and Juanes. As a bonus, in a special segment honoring John F. Kennedy, Tony-winning rising star Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple revival) belts The Impossible Dream. Impossible to resist.
Second Time Around: In case you missed them, Fox’s Bones (9/8c) repeats last season’s finale, with a climactic shocker setting up the start of the 12th and final season, starting next week. … NBC repeats the pilot episode of the breakout critical hit This Is Us (9/8c), setting up the moving original premise for the most winning family drama in years.
Public (TV) Interest: PBS’s American Masters looks back at the short life and enduring career of one of the 20th century’s most influential architects in Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future (8/7c, check local listings at pbs.org). This very personal profile is told from the perspective of the artist’s son, director of photography Eric Saarinen, who uses state-of-the-art drone technology to survey sites displaying his father’s most notable work, including the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. … Frontline explores the global refugee crisis in intimate detail in the two-hour Exodus (9/8c, check local listings at pbs.org), often using camera and smartphone footage filmed by refugees and migrants as they trek across 26 countries in hopes of safety, shelter and a better life.
Inside Tuesday TV: Looking for an original episode of a scripted series? On TNT’s Good Behavior (9/8c), Letty (Michelle Dockery) finally gets the upper hand on her judgmental mother, Estelle (Lusia Strus), when she bails her out of jail, reigniting the question of who should be raising Letty’s son, Jacob (Nyles Julian Steele). … The CW burns off an episode of the soon-to-conclude No Tomorrow (9/8c) in which Evie (Tori Anderson) inspires Xavier (Joshua Sasse) to work things out with his father (Steven Brand). … USA’s Shooter (10/9c), recently renewed for a second season, continues Bob Lee’s (Ryan Phillippe) nationwide search for the shooter, while wife Julie (Shantel VanSanten) deals with a betrayal closer to home.
