Around the Remote: Tuning in to New Year’s parties
Don’t miss
NEW YEAR’S CELEBRATIONS: Why put up with the crowds and the noise when you can ring in 2014 from your couch? As usual, TV is here to help. “Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2014” (10 p.m. Tuesday, ABC) has the upbeat host presiding over the party in Times Square with performances by Robin Thicke, the Fray and Jennifer Hudson. Other options include “NBC’s New Year’s Eve With Carson Daly” (10 p.m., NBC), which has Mariah Carey and Blake Shelton on the talent bill, and “New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin” (9 p.m., CNN), featuring its usual odd-couple pairing. Just remember to vacuum up the confetti in the morning.
Other bets
SUNDAY: Actress Shirley MacLaine, opera singer Martina Arroyo, and musicians Herbie Hancock, Billy Joel and Carlos Santana all get their due during “The 36th Annual Kennedy Center Honors.” Glenn Close hosts the event. 9 p.m., CBS.
SUNDAY: In the “Call the Midwife Holiday Special,” the residents of Nonnatus House relive the trials of wartime when they are notified that an unexploded bomb has been uncovered nearby and the district has to be evacuated. 7:30 p.m., KCDT.
SUNDAY: Break out the red beans and rice. “Treme,” the highly admired, but lightly viewed, drama set in post-Katrina New Orleans ends its four-season run with its series finale tonight. Here’s hoping for some proper closure. 9 p.m., HBO.
MONDAY: In the holiday special, “Happy New Year, Charlie Brown,” our beloved blockhead has a homework assignment that causes him some not-so-good grief: Read “War & Peace” over the winter break. Agggh! 8 p.m., ABC.
TUESDAY: “Live From Lincoln Center” features the New York Philharmonic and cellist Yo-Yo Ma collaborating on a program of dance-inspired works, including “Bolero.” Audra McDonald hosts. 7 p.m., KSPS, KCDT
WEDNESDAY: It’s another floral extravaganza as the “125th Tournament of Roses Parade” blooms in the streets of Pasadena. Vin Scully is the grand marshal. 8 a.m., ABC, 8:30 a.m., NBC.
THURSDAY: The hysterical sitcom “Community” launches its fifth season with a pair of episodes. The first has Jeff (Joel McHale) returning to Greendale to gather evidence for a lawsuit. 8 p.m., NBC.
THURSDAY: Set in 1985, “The Assets” is a new eight-part miniseries based on the real-life efforts of a CIA counterintelligence officer (Jodie Whittaker) to unmask a traitorous mole. Harriet Walter and Paul Rhys also star. 10 p.m., ABC.
FRIDAY: The reality series, “Undercover Boss,” concludes its fourth season by catching up with some past head honchos, who discuss the impact the show has had on their lives and businesses. 8 p.m., CBS.
SATURDAY: In the TV movie, “Blindsided,” a reclusive, blind photojournalist (Michelle Monaghan) lives quietly in her New York penthouse – until a sadistic criminal looking for a hidden fortune enters her life. 8 p.m., Lifetime.