TV Best Bets

NBA Basketball

An intracity rivalry gets another chapter tonight at Barclays Center, where Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets will defend home court from Julius Randle and the New York Knicks. While the Nets have struggled at times on the court and over the controversy surrounding Kyrie Irving, the Knicks have looked impressive, especially on the offensive end, where they’ve ranked among the league leaders in points scored in the early going. 4:30 p.m. on TNT.

‘Father Goose’

Cary Grant gives one of his most engaging later performances in this 1964 comedy. The jaunty theme song – “Pass Me By” – says it all for his character, a happily aimless seafarer reluctantly enlisted to help Australia’s navy during World War II. Supposedly alone on a South Seas island, he ends up protecting a teacher (Leslie Caron) and her students, who are on the run from Japanese soldiers. The comedy airs tonight as part of a salute to Grant. 5 p.m. on TCM.

‘Saying Yes to Christmas’

While workaholic June is back home visiting her family for the holidays, a magic Christmas wish casts a spell that compels her to say “yes” to every invitation she receives. Among them, the sudden reappearance of Blake, an old flame, soon finds its way onto her overcommitted schedule, striking some long-dormant sparks as they spend time together. Erika Prevost and Romaine Waite star in this 2021 yuletide romance. 8 p.m. on LIFE.

‘7 Little Johnstons’

Trent is forced to re-evaluate his priorities after his father’s declining health causes him to miss their annual Father’s Day gathering in a new episode called “From Croquet to Crochet.” Meanwhile, Anna is hit with the realities of living on her own, and Emma settles into her new solo room. (TV-PG) 8 p.m. on TLC.

‘Riverdale’

After each of them receives an unsettling visit from a mysterious figure who arrives in town from parts unknown, the gang find themselves confronted with some unwelcome ultimatums, some of which look like no-win scenarios, in the new episode “Chapter Ninety-Eighty: Mr. Cypher.” Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Cole Sprouse, Madchen Amick, Casey Cott, Charles Melton, Erinn Westbrook and Drew Ray Tanner star. (TV-14) 9 p.m. on KSKN.

‘Life of Crime 1984-2020’

Filmmaker Jon Alpert’s harrowing 2021 documentary takes an unsparing look at the vicious cycle of drug addiction and related street crime in New Jersey following three principal characters – Robert Steffey, Freddie Rodriguez and Deliris Vasquez – on a relentless ride through the streets and prisons of Newark, the largest city in that state. The story that emerges is one filled with violence, pain and desperation, but also love, courage, redemption and heroism. 9 p.m. on HBO.

‘I Am Jazz’

Since undergoing her 2018 affirmation surgery to align her body and mind, Jazz Jennings has been through even more life changes, graduating high school as her class valedictorian and subsequently being accepted to Harvard University. Prior to her first semester at that Ivy League school, however, she developed a mental health condition that prompted her to take a gap year. Now, as her groundbreaking reality series returns for a new season, Jazz is preparing for college, although she’s also beginning a new health regimen to shed her pandemic weight gain. (TV-PG) 9:01 p.m. on TLC.

‘Great Escapes With Morgan Freeman’

The new episode “Conquering the Wall” looks back at an escape from Pittsburgh State Penitentiary, when criminal mastermind Nuno Pontes led a small party of inmates through a tunnel they had dug under the prison wall. The fugitives made it as far as Texas before they were captured and returned to incarceration. Pontes had used his above-average intelligence and seemingly obedient demeanor to secure prison jobs that afforded him access to areas normally off-limits to prisoners at the facility. (TV-PG) 10:03 p.m. on HIST.

Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant talks to a fan during the first half of the Nov. 18 game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in New York.