Look, I don’t have anything particularly insightful to say about this shit year. It was shit. All of us had to deal with our own shit: be it being trapped in our homes, or not being able to see our friends and families, or losing our jobs, or having to go to school online, or getting sick with a disease that left us with terrible lingering side effects, or missing milestones and holidays, or being reminded that our society is deeply fragmented and that nearly half of the country is steeped in profound intractable racism, sexism and a general disregard for science, or just not being able to do simple everyday things like go to a restaurant or a movie, or maybe one of the 350,000 Americans who died from this awful virus was a friend or family member … one thing united us: this year was shit for everyone.
But this shit year is finally about to be over. Hopefully, next year will be less shit. But considering how shit this year was, I hesitate to get up my hopes.
Still: vaccines, President Joe Biden, a new series from Tina Fey and Robert Carlock … these are all reasons to be hopeful that 2021 might be a tiny bit less shit. Please, universe, please make it so.
As for tonight’s New Year’s Eve festivities, they’re going to look … a little different, a little lonelier. The official Times Square New Year’s Eve event is still happening, just without the thousands of dumb tourists soberly shivering behind barricades and wondering where, exactly, they are going to go to the bathroom. The networks say the televised shows will pretty much feel the same: live performances, hosts in Times Square. But in other ways things will be noticeably different: guests will be “teleported,” small family gatherings will be highlighted, and the only people who will be allowed in Times Square to watch the live performances will be first responders.
And, of course, one thing will remain the same: a ball will drop to mark the moment when this shit year is finally punted into the dumpster fire of history once and for all.
R.I.P. 2020 (2020 – 2020)
— Megan Amram (@meganamram) December 31, 2020
See you on the other side, guys.
WATCH THIS
Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021: Billy Porter and Lucy Hale join Ryan Seacrest in an empty Times Square to shove this asshole of a year into the dumpster once and for all. Bye. 7 p.m. & 10:30 p.m., ABC
Fox’s New Year’s Eve Toast & Roast 2021: Or hang out with Ken Jeong and Joel McHale to give 2020 the finger one last time. 7 p.m. & 11 p.m., Fox
New Year’s Eve: Escape From 2020: Hoda and Jenna look back on 2020 before seeing it out the door. 7 p.m., NBC
NBC’s New Year’s Eve 2021 with Carson Daly: OK, but does anyone actually choose to spend New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly? 9 p.m., 11:30 p.m., NBC
New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen: There’s never been a better year to get hammered with these two, honestly. 7 p.m., CNN
United In Song: Celebrating the Resilience of America: Joshua Bell, Renée Fleming, Denyce Graves, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Yo-Yo Ma, Anna Deavere Smith, Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Patti LaBelle, Juanes, members of the National Symphony Orchestra, the American Pops Orchestra and more give powerful performances to celebrate our country in a difficult year. 7 p.m., PBS
The Real Housewives of Dallas: Season premiere. 7 p.m., Bravo
Also, there are a few marathons you can binge today.
| THUR | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021 (live) |
| CBS | Young Sheldon (repeat) |
B Positive (repeat) |
Mom (repeat) |
The Unicorn (repeat) |
FBI (repeat) |
| CW | iHeartRadio Music Festival Night 1 | News/Local |
| FOX | Fox’s New Year’s Eve Toast & Roast 2021 (live) |
| NBC | New Year’s Eve: Escape From 2020 (new) |
NBC’s New Year’s Eve 2021 with Carson Daly (live) |
Glad to see this year leave. Glad to report that after 9 months I’m finally back to full pay as of tomorrow. I’m also more optimistic than you. I know many people right of center that are not racist, sexist etc. They just believe in financial responsibility, personal responsibility, and limited government. They are also appaled by the Trump administration. But like most of Houston work in oil and gas and felt they had to vote for the candidate whose party wasn’t actively campaigning to end their industry. I hope I’m right and its only the extreme right who hold those viewpoints. Like I said optimistic.