Allman joy

Jason Aldean and Darius Rucker will be part of an all-star tribute to the late Gregg Allman during the "CMT Music Awards." Other expected highlights: A duet between Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban and the sight of Earth, Wind & Fire sharing a stage with Lady Antebellum. Hardware will also be passed out, time permitting.

7 p.m., CMT, TV Land, Nick

Good Santa

Musician/actor/screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton adds film curator to his list of credentials when he takes over TCM's prime-time block, starting with "The Man With the Golden Arm," which features one of Frank Sinatra's most focused performances. That's followed by "Giant" and "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid," the latter being a worthy selection if it wasn't the truncated two-hour version.

7 p.m., TCM

Guess who's coming to dinner

Ali Wentworth reminds us that she's much more than just Mrs. George Stephanopoulos with her late-night parody series "Nightcap." Season 2 will include visits from Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin and Bob Saget.

7 p.m., Pop

Neal Justin