TV Best Bets

‘The Man Who Came to Dinner’

Distinctive character actor Monty Woolley had one of his best, most prominent roles in this 1942 version of the classic George S. Kaufman-Moss Hart stage comedy. He plays a caustic lecturer (Woolley) who’s laid up at the home of an Ohio family over the Christmas holidays after falling on ice. Upon learning his supposedly injured leg is fine, he decides to stick around just for the fun of tinkering with his hosts’ lives. Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan and Jimmy Durante also star. 7:15 p.m. on TCM.

‘It Comes at Night’

Writer-director Trey Edward Shults’ 2017 psychological horror film didn’t exactly blow the roof off the box office with moviegoers, but many critics loved how the movie was grounded in recognizably human emotions rather than jump-scares prompted by monsters and special effects. It also had a remarkably prescient premise involving a deadly and highly contagious disease that is ravaging the planet, while a man (Joel Edgerton) shelters with his wife (Carmen Ejogo) and teenage son (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) in a remote cabin. Christopher Abbott and Riley Keough also star. 7:30 p.m. on SHOW.

‘Rebuilding a Dream Christmas’

After Abbey (Meggan Kaiser) inherits a Victorian house from her late grandmother, she returns to her hometown to find someone to make necessary repairs before she puts the place on the market. She settles on Josh (Zane Stephens), a single dad and skilled builder who also was a childhood crush, to work with her, but their joint project soon starts to bring up poignant memories of past visits to her grandmother’s house. As she grows closer to Josh and his young son (Bryson JonSteele), Abbey’s priorities start to change. 8 p.m. on LIFE.

‘Disney’s A Christmas Carol’

One of the most enduring of all holiday stories gets a screen workout from director Robert Zemeckis and Jim Carrey in this inventive retelling. As expected, Carrey plays miser Ebenezer Scrooge, but thanks to the “motion capture” technique Zemeckis also used on “The Polar Express,” the actor also takes on several other characters of the Charles Dickens classic. Gary Oldman and Colin Firth also lend their likenesses and voices. 8 p.m. on DIS.

‘Last Man Standing: Suge Knight and the Murders of Biggie & Tupac’

In this 2021 quasi-follow-up to his controversial 2002 film “Biggie and Tupac,” British filmmaker Nick Broomfield re-examines the unsolved murders of hip-hop performers Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur. These artists were two of the biggest music stars of their era, but were caught in a turf war that ultimately took a lethal turn. 8 p.m. on STRZ.

‘Christmas Cookie Challenge’

The Season 5 finale of this baking and decorating competition finds Santa Claus recruiting new animals for his team, and it’s up to five cookie makers to come up with the candidates. After hosts Ree Drummond and Eddie Jackson select which reindeer replacements (in cookie form, of course) make the squad, the bakers craft one-of-a-kind 3D snowmen to complete the Christmassy scene. (TVG) 9 p.m. on FOOD.

‘The Polar Express’

Director Robert Zemeckis’ animated 2004 interpretation of Chris Van Allsburg’s holiday story features Tom Hanks in multiple roles through a technique called “motion capture,” which creates a pseudo-real look. Hanks is most recognizable as the conductor of a train that takes a youngster on a wild ride to the North Pole. Also in the voice cast are Peter Scolari, Michael Jeter, Steven Tyler and Josh Hutcherson. 10 p.m. on AMC.

‘The Survivalist’

Jon Keeyes’ 2021 action thriller, which was released directly to video-on-demand platforms, is set in the near future, a year and a half after civilization as we know it fell to the ravages of a deadly outbreak. In this terrifying and violent world, a former FBI agent (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) finds himself tasked with protecting Sarah (Ruby Modine), a vulnerable young woman who appears to be immune to the plague. John Malkovich also stars as Aaron, a psychopathic narcissist who is seeking Sarah for his own agenda. Jon Orsini also is featured. 10 p.m. on SHOW.

Actor Tom Hanks voiced the conductor in the 2004 animation “The Polar Express.”