Carson Daly and Keith Urban share NBC’s New Year’s Eve duties
BY JAY BOBBIN
This year, NBC’s New Year’s Eve party returns Carson Daly to the festivities – and it also involves Nashville substantially, thanks largely to Keith Urban. Recently named entertainer of the year at the CMA Awards, Urban will appear from the country-music capital’s Bicentennial State Park during the celebration Monday, Dec. 31. However, much of the program – one hour in primetime, then another surrounding the midnight ball drop – still will originate from New York’s Times Square, where “The Voice,” “Today” and “Last Call’s” Daly will be joined by Chrissy Teigen and “Saturday Night Live’s” Leslie Jones. Diana Ross, Kelly Clarkson, John Legend (Teigen’s husband), Blake Shelton and Andy Grammer also will supply songs. Urban has been elsewhere on the dial on New Year’s Eve before, and he says, “It’s a long-term plan. I love bringing in the new year in our town, and Nashville needs that singular, big New Year’s Eve show. We’re just going to keep building it, year upon year, if we get the chance. “My drive is to have people all around the world see Nashville as a destination for New Year’s Eve,” Urban adds. “Everyone instinctively thinks, ‘The ball drop is in New York, so that’s where we gonna go,’ but Nashville has grown in leaps and bounds. And what an incredible destination for people to come to and bring in the new year.”
Keith Urban appears on “NBC’s New Year’s Eve” Monday.
Weblinks
Daly took last New Year’s Eve off, and he notes that with only one other exception, “I think I’ve been (on TV for it) every year since 1998. That started with MTV, when their studios were right there in Times Square. Last year was lovely because I was with my wife and my family at home, which was a nice change, but it was almost weird. I felt a magnetic pull to Times Square. I was almost itching.” Last month’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was the coldest on record, and Daly has sampled just about every outdoor condition possible on New Year’s Eve. He maintains he’s ready again. “I’ve been out there for some recordbreaking cold temperatures,” he recalls. “I feel like this time, it’s going to be unseasonably warm, and maybe that’s just wishful thinking. It’s been a pretty mild December, so I’m really holding out.” Daly expects some warmth to be supplied by the “great group” he’ll be surrounded by: “Chrissy and I did the show together in part a couple of years ago. John Legend has become a good friend, and he’ll be on ‘The Voice’ for Season 16. We love Leslie, and I’m so grateful Keith has decided to go with us; the party he’ll host in Nashville will give us a not-so-New-York-centric feel for the show.”
In Focus
The Peacock Network rings in 2019 with featured performances by Diana Ross, Kelly Clarkson, Andy Grammer, John Legend and Blake Shelton in “NBC’s New Year’s Eve,” airing Monday. To find out more about Times Square history and fun facts, visit
https://www.timessquarenyc.org/
Marching bands, equestrian teams and floral floats take to the streets of Pasadena, Calif., in The 130th Tournament of Roses Parade, airing Tuesday on ABC, NBC, Hallmark Channel and Univision. Learn more about this New Year’s Day tradition at
www.tournamentofroses.com/rose-parade
“Doctor Who” took a break from its usual Christmas Day airing tradition but is back to celebrate with a new “Who Year’s Day” episode on Tuesday. The year doesn’t start off well when cen-
turies of evil begin to stir and the Earth is in great danger. Get more show news and updates by visiting https://www.doctor-
who.tv
Now that the decorations are put away and the in-laws have gone home, you may need a vacation. If the holidays left your wallet a little light, HGTV can help. Enjoy a full day of shows on Tuesday with “Caribbean Life,” “My Lottery Dream Home” and more without leaving the couch. Catch all the relaxtion at
https://www.hgtv.com/shows
Mowers are Moving Special end of the Year deals! COME SHOP FOR YOUR MOWER WHEN PRICES ARE THE BEST. LOOK FOR THE SIGNS ON OUR SPECIAL DEALS!
“Black Monday” (series premiere - Jan. 20, Showtime)
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This scathing new comedy series wrings laughter out of bleak events as it revisits Oct. 19, 1987, when Wall Street suffered the worst stock market crash in its history. At its core, the show is a chronicle of how a brash group of outsiders wound up tanking the world’s largest financial system after taking on the blue-blood members of this old-boys club. Don Cheadle, Andrew Rannells and Regina Hall head the solid ensemble.
December 30, 2018 - January 5, 2019