Soap dish

Eva Longoria may never graduate to movie star status, but her accessible sex appeal and willingness to trip on her high heels made "Desperate Housewives" bearable long after the series had hardened into a stale pretzel. She's the main attraction in "Telenovela," a sitcom that eavesdrops on the backstage bickering at a Spanish-language soap opera. The series, which NBC is offering as a sneak preview this week before its official January debut, is unlikely to revitalize a network as "Housewives" did for ABC. But it's a pleasure to see a deep, diverse cast, including Jencarlos Canela and Diana Maria Riva, do more than portray devious maids and hotblooded lovers. As much as the series does for actors of color, it also appears committed to story lines about the challenges of aging, most notably in arcs about a middle-aged woman getting her groove back and Longoria's character always looking over her shoulder to see if the ingénue from "All About Eve" is waiting in the wings. 9 p.m. Monday, KARE, Ch. 11

Mild Bill

The weirdest thing about "A Very Murray Christmas" is that it really isn't all that weird. Despite the presence of Bill Murray, an actor who telegraphs impure thoughts with just the cock of an eyebrow, his long anticipated Netflix special ends up being as subversive as a Dr. Seuss tale written under the influence of rum-raisin cookies. Even Miley Cyrus parks her wrecking ball to blow the tinsel off the tree with a reverent version of "Silent Night." Now streaming on Netflix

The defiant ones

"U2: Innocence + Experience Live in Paris" was postponed due to the terrorist attacks, which makes this special, scheduled to tape earlier in the day, more than just a concert. Hits such as "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" and "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" — songs of defiance and reflection — should provide plenty of goose bumps and even a few tears. 8 p.m. Monday, HBO

On top of ol' Smoky

The biopic "Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors" focuses on the country-music legend's early years growing up in Tennessee's Smoky Mountains, which means fans will still be deprived of the dirt behind her duets with Sylvester Stallone from the neglected masterpiece "Rhinestone." 8 p.m. Thursday, KARE, Ch. 11

Neal Justin