MONDAY DEC 1
He’s bared it all on Broadway. Now Daniel Radcliffe promises “ emotional nakedness” on Inside the Actor’s Studio, where he’ll talk about his career swerve from tween idol Harry Potter to horse lover/blinder in Equus. (Bravo, 8 p.m.)
Khaled Hosseini, author of New York Times bestseller and serious tearjerker A Thousand Splendid Suns will remind Stephen Colbert’s audience that their disintegrating stock portfolios are but a trifle when compared with the value of human life. (Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.)
Billionaire investor/adventurer Steve Fossett disappeared in September 2007 while piloting a small plane high over the Nevada desert. Discovery Channel star Steve Searles was wrapping up a film shoot nearby when a hiker discovered the crash site. Within hours, Searles and his production team had inked a deal to document the Fossett mystery, and the resulting footage, and subsequent investigations, now arrive in Steve Fossett: What Went Wrong? (10 p.m.)
TUESDAY DEC 2
Our initial response to the latest installment of the History Channel’s Universe series, “ Sex in Space,” was: teach us how to date in New York, then we’ll give a damn about doing it in orbit. But the episode promises to get to the bottom of whether NASA astronauts have ever joined the 220-Mile High Club, so (sigh) we’re in. (9 p.m.)
Speaking of space, the BIO network has given former Enterprise captain and Emmy winner William Shatner his own talk show. In Shatner’s Raw Nerve, the king of career resuscitation will have “heated conversations with the hottest names in Hollywood.” The guest list is a mixed bag—opening the series is Touched By an Angel’s Valerie Bertinelli—but we’ll tune in for the Shatner histrionics alone. (11 p.m., followed by an episode featuring Tim Allen)
WEDNESDAY DEC 3
Our pick of the week: the Sundance Channel premieres Spectacle: Elvis Costello With… The intimate talk show hosted by the original cool geek flaunts an impressive guest roster that begins with Sir Elton John (also an executive producer), The Police, Rufus Wainwright, and Bill Clinton—who just might jam! (9 p.m.)
Fox’s latest UK import Secret Millionaire follows moneyed folks who anonymously infiltrate the plebian masses for a week, Barbara Ehrenreich-style. They work for minimum wage and find a few lucky commoners worthy of their largesse. Louisiana fast-food entrepreneurs Todd and Gwen Graves star in the season opener—expect prizes, tears, and, quothe Entertainment Weekly, “a thousand uses for ground meat.” (8 p.m.)
Ah, the duality of womanhood in the media milieu. CBS brings the glitter, the glamour, and a $5 million bra with The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, not to mention a presumably ecstatic Usher as musical guest. (10 p.m.) Then segue into the brilliant-newswoman bonanza on the late-night talk shows: Arianna Huffington drops by The Daily Show (Comedy Central, 11 p.m.), followed by Barbara Walters on The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m.), and CNN’s Christiane Amanpour delights on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. (NBC, 11:35 p.m.)
THURSDAY DEC 4
As if to prove she was slumming it on Colbert, Walters anoints—for the 15th annual time—her 10 Most Fascinating People on ABC the very next night. The glimmering lineup includes Tina Fey, Tom Cruise, Miley Cyrus, Will Smith, Rush Limbaugh, Bill Clinton, Katherine Heigl, Michael Phelps and—the big get—Don Imus in his first interview since being fired from his radio show for racist prattle. The #1 most fascinating person won’t be announced till showtime. Think an Obama can win this one, too? (10 p.m.)
We know you’re skeptical, but NBC’s Kath & Kim grows on you (in a good way). Perhaps this is the week to give it a chance, as Maya Rudolph, fresh from her brilliant turn as Michelle Obama on SNL, guest stars as a life coach and spiritual advisor to Molly Shannon’s stressed-out Kath. (8:30 p.m.)
FRIDAY DEC 5
His hands may shake, but his ire never wavers in Lewis Black: Red, White, & Screwed. The Daily Show contributor takes aim at all things Republican, and more than a few things Dem. (Comedy Central, 10 p.m.)
SATURDAY DEC 6
Set your DVR: VH1 is replaying its four-part series, Sex: The Revolution, the story of how bra burning, Stonewall and Deep Throat changed America. (8 p.m.)
Malkovich! Malkovich! Malkovich! The Emmy-winning thespian and director will host Saturday Night Live, along with musical guest T.I., whose much-lauded recent album Paper Trail was written while he was under house arrest. (11:30 p.m.)
LOOKING AHEAD…
Finally, Barack Obama makes his first Meet the Press appearance since he became president-elect. Will Tom Brokaw, on what could very well be his last day as host, dare grill the golden boy? (NBC, Sunday, Dec 2, 10:30 a.m. in most East Coast markets)
Nicole Ankowski has lived in Ohio, Oakland, and on the high plains of South Dakota, but is now proud to call Brooklyn home. She wrote for alternative weekly papers in the first two states, and tried to learn Lakota in the last. (The vowels can be tricky.) She just earned her MFA in Creative Writing and has been published in Beeswax literary journal. She is unable to resist good writing or bad TV.