SATURDAY

DECEMBER 31

2016

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

Syfy, 8:00 a.m. ET

It’s one of TV’s more inexplicable yet wonderful annual traditions: a New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day marathon showing of The Twilight Zone on the Syfy network, selecting different episodes each year from the amazing canon of half-hours and hours from the Rod Serling canon. Because of this annual exposure, this program, more than any other Golden Age TV classic, retains familiarity among members of the new generation – at least if my students at Rowan University are any guide. Dive in any time, stay as long as you like, and look for the unfamiliar as well as the treasured. That’s always been the Twilight Zone sweet spot, after all…

DICK CLARK’S NEW YEAR’S ROCKIN’ EVE WITH RYAN SEACREST 2017

ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET

Now that American Idol is over, this annual ball-dropping bash may well become the brightest jewel in Ryan Seacrest’s crown – the thing that cements him as his generation’s Dick Clark, which, given Seacrest’s proclivity with TV production, clearly is a goal. ABC turns over a lot of time to this host, and this special, including three hours of prime time, and, after the local news, the countdown clincher beginning at 11:30 p.m. ET. Jenny McCarthy continues in her role as loose-cannon co-host.

NEW YEAR’S EVE LIVE WITH ANDERSON COOPER AND KATHY GRIFFIN

CNN, 8:00 p.m. ET

Every year at this time, Anderson Cooper puts his reputation on the line, and watches with inexplicable amusement as co-host Kathy Griffin tightropes on that line on live television, threatening to say something that will be among the first newsworthy quotes of the new year.

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! MARATHON

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

If you want to end the year with good song, good cheer, and good dancing, it’s hard to envision a better place than TCM, which presents a marathon of all the That’s Entertainment! movie compilations of the best singing and dancing moments from MGM musicals. Gotta sing! Gotta dance! Gotta watch…

LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS NEW YEAR’S EVE SPECIAL

NBC, 10:00 p.m. ET

This is the first year NBC has found time to work Seth Meyers into its New Year’s Eve mix. Let’s see what he does with it – and with such guests as Leslie Jones and Kelly Clarkson. Clarkson is scheduled to perform her song from The Hamilton Mixtape, so that’s one reason to tune in right there.

PITBULL'S NEW YEAR'S REVOLUTION

Fox, 11:00 p.m. ET

Fox’s answer to a televised New Year’s Eve party is to have Pitbull as ringleader again, in a concert broadcast live from Miami. Queen Latifah and Snoop Dogg are the official hosts this year, with such guests as Nelly and Coolio.

NBC'S NEW YEAR'S EVE WITH CARSON DALY

NBC, 11:30 p.m. ET

With his profile upped considerably by The Voice, Carson Daly gets to host NBC’s prime New Year’s Eve slot again this year – but it’s something he’s been doing for 14 years, long before The Voice. This year his cohost is Mel B., and the performers scheduled to ring in the New Year include Alicia Keys, Blake Shelton, and even some performers who didn’t judge on The Voice this year.

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David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.

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BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

Syfy, 8:00 a.m. ET

ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET

CNN, 8:00 p.m. ET

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

NBC, 10:00 p.m. ET

Fox, 11:00 p.m. ET

NBC, 11:30 p.m. ET

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