SUNDAY
JANUARY 6
2019

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

CBS, 1:00 p.m. ET

Today’s AFC Wild Card game features two teams whose franchises have moved from city to city – or whose cities have hosted more than one team throughout FL history. Los Angeles and Baltimore, now the respective homes of the Chargers and Ravens, do battle today. The Chargers have the better record, at 12-4, and also have super-hot quarterback Philip Rivers. But the Ravens, even with a 10-6 record, won their division and are hosting, and have a hot QB of their own: rookie Lamar Jackson.

 
  
 
 

NBC, 4:30 p.m. ET

The last time the Philadelphia Eagles were underdogs in the postseason, they won the Super Bowl. This year, the Eagles barely squeaked into the playoffs: The Chicago Bears have home-field advantage for this NFC wild-card game, and also have the better record: The Bears are 12-4, while the defending Super Bowl champs are a meager 9-7. Still, with Nick Foles at QB, the Eagles have another chance to defy expectations and fully embrace the role of the underdog.

 
  
 
 

NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET

The hosts this year are Sandra Oh, who’s riding very high thanks to Killing Eve, and Andy Samberg, whose Brooklyn Nine-Nine moves this week from Fox, where it’s been the past five years, to NBC, home of the televised Globes. For full-length Globe stories, see Alex Strachan's TV That Matters and Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes.
 
  
 
 

PBS, 8:00 p.m. ET

The new season of Victoria, starring Jenna Coleman as young Queen Victoria, arrives next Sunday on the PBS Masterpiece series – so tonight, as prelude and reminder, PBS presents the final three episodes from last season. These culminate with the “Comfort and Joy” episode, which has a surprising climax for a period drama series: an action sequence involving Prince Albert’s sudden collapse into the thin ice of a lake in winter, with Queen Victoria risking her own life to save him. And according to the real Queen’s royal diary, it really happened – and sets the scene for next week’s new season of shows. Check local listings.

 
  
 
 

Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET

Okay, I give up. Two Sundays in a row now, I’ve screwed up by misidentifying episodes as finales. Two weeks ago, I called Escape at Dannemora a miniseries finale, when there was still one more episode to go. And last week, I thought it was the season finale of Ray Donovan, when it still had three episodes to go. All I can say is, it’s harder keeping track these days – and it’s far from my all-time journalistic error. That occurred in the late 1970s, when I reviewed an NBC made-for-TV musical sequel to L’il Abner called L’il Abner in Dogpatch Today. I wrote, and the paper printed it, that if Al Capp, the cartoonist creator of L’il Abner, were still alive, this new NBC program would have killed him. Well, he was alive. So I wrote a retraction about his being dead, and the paper printed it the next morning. Except, overnight, he did die – so the day after that, I had to print another retraction, saying that when I had said Capp was dead, he was alive, but when I said the next day he was alive, he was dead. Sigh. So no, Ray Donovan is not presenting its season finale tonight. But even if it is…

 
  
 
 
 
 
Read and add comments HERE for today's Best Bets!
 
 
 
 
Leave a Comment: (No HTML, 1000 chars max)
 
 Name (required)
 
 Email (required) (will not be published)
 
JFQIE
Type in the verification word shown on the image.
 
 
 Page: 1 of 225  | Go to page: 
4483 Comments
 
 
Adams
Checking out classic television recommendations and archival TV reviews is always a great way to discover hidden gems and nostalgic shows to watch. Having dedicated guides makes finding quality entertainment so much easier. While discussing classic media and online entertainment options with friends recently, someone also recommended checking out platforms like [thorfortune](https://thorfortunes.it/) for a smooth and engaging user experience. Thanks for sharing this helpful update!
Aug 19, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Robin_B
Great breakdown! Having well-written television like this makes evening downtime so much more engaging. When I'm taking a break between episodes or just relaxing after a long day of screen time, I usually unwind for a bit with a few casual rounds on [chicken road](https://chickenroad.gr.com/) before starting the next season. Really appreciate the thoughtful recommendations on this site!
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pemerintah Indonesia, persetan dengan situs web ini, mereka menipu orang.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini benar-benar bajingan, berbohong kepada orang-orang dan mencuri uang seperti penipu kotor yang sebenarnya.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para bajingan penipu ini benar-benar sampah, pembohong keji yang mencuri dari orang-orang yang tidak bersalah. Persetan dengan para penipu kotor ini dan permainan penipuan mereka yang menyedihkan.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Penipuan murahan yang berpura-pura sah. Jangan sampai tertipu.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Layanan palsu, ulasan palsu, janji palsu—100% sampah penipuan.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini mengira orang-orang itu bodoh. Modus penipuan yang sama, omong kosong yang sama.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu licik menjalankan operasi kotor yang dibangun di atas kebohongan dan penipuan.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Penipuan murahan yang berpura-pura sah. Jangan sampai tertipu.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu yang memalukan memangsa orang-orang dengan klaim palsu dan kebohongan.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini mengira orang-orang itu bodoh. Modus penipuan yang sama, omong kosong yang sama.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini adalah pembohong profesional. Siapa pun yang mempercayai mereka hanya ikut memperkuat penipuan mereka.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini adalah pembohong profesional. Siapa pun yang mempercayai mereka hanya ikut memperkuat penipuan mereka.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pemerintah Indonesia, persetan dengan situs web ini, mereka menipu orang.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pemerintah Indonesia tangkap situs web sialan itu
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Penipu sejati, persetan denganmu, jalang!
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Hanya sekelompok penipu lain yang melakukan bisnis kotor secara online.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini adalah pembohong profesional. Siapa pun yang mempercayai mereka hanya ikut memperkuat penipuan mereka.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Penipu berkualitas rendah tanpa integritas dan penuh kebohongan.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
 
 Page: 1 of 225  | Go to page: 
 
 

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.