It’s not supposed to be a stunt, though it sure looks like it. Cat expert Boone Smith climbs into a plexiglass cage that he has adorned with a wildebeest carcass to lure in a whole pack of lions that includes a few quarreling brothers. Though it has a touch of David Blaine, the exercise is more like those guys who climb into cages to lure subjects for Shark Week.
Similarly, “Man vs. Lion” (Nat Geo Wild, 9 p.m.) is kicking off the annual Big Cat Week. Boone spends some of the episode just observing cats in the wild, then he starts testing them by tying up meat up a tree to see how high they’ll jump or tying bait to a line to see how much power they have in the pull. By the time he climbs into the plastic box, they’re likely pretty annoyed with him already. But when they start rocking the box unexpectedly, we even get to see the face of the frightened cameraman (reminding us it takes two to do these kind of stunts, er, experiments). Anyway, as Boone would say, pretty awesome.
The diminutive Broadway star is star of the concert special “Kristin Chenoweth: Coming Home” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings), in which she performs at a new theater that bears her name in Broken Arrow, Okla., doing songs from “Wicked,” “Glee,” “Les Miserables,” “Phantom of the Opera” and more, backed by a 13 piece orchestra.
Elsewhere, rocker Bob Seger joins country’s Jason Aldean in concert on the latest edition of “CMT Crossroads” (CMT, 10 p.m.)
There’s a standup comedy special from Katy Perry’s ex, “Russell Brand: Messiah Complex” (Epix, 10 p.m.).
Christmas fare comes in a crush with the animated specials “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” (The CW, 8 p.m.), “Frosty the Snowman” (NBC, 9 p.m.), “Kung Fu Panda Holiday” (The CW, 9 p.m.) and “Merry Madagascar” (The CW, 9:30 p.m.).
The Friday night spotlight on Turner Classic Movies comes to a close with “Road to Utopia” (8 p.m.), “Sullivan’s Travels” (9:45 p.m.), “It Happened One Night” (11:30 p.m.), “Il Sorpasso” (1:30 a.m.), “The Happy Road” (3:30 a.m.) and “The Long, Long Trailer” (5:15 a.m.).
Other premium cable has created whole series around women in strip clubs, so the documentary “Le Bare” (Showtime, 9 p.m.) looks at the operation of a male strip club.
The latest series about bad behavior is “Momsters: When Moms Go Bad” (Investigation Discovery, 10 p.m.) re-enacted true life tales and hosted by Roseanne Barr.
“The Amazing Race” (CBS, 8 p.m.) goes to Singapore.
“Real Time with Bill Maher” is on hiatus until early next year. In its place is the terrible Vince Vaughn-Owen Wilson movie “The Internship” (HBO, 9 p.m.). But do watch those reruns of “Getting On” (HBO, 8 p.m.) and “The Comeback” (HBO, 8:30 p.m.).
Men’s college hoops includes Kansas vs. Tennessee (ESPN, noon), Georgetown vs. Butler (ESPN, 2 p.m.), Santa Clara vs. Rhode Island (ESPNU, 2:30 p.m.), UTEP vs. Xavier (ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.), Yale at Providence (Fox Sports 1, 4 p.m.), Missouri State at Alaska Ancorage (CBS Sports, 4 p.m.), Oklahoma vs. Wisconsin (ESPN, 4:30 p.m.), Minnesota vs. Georgia (ESPNU, 4:30 p.m.), Rider vs. Georgia Tech (ESPNU, 6:30 p.m.), Vanderbilt vs. Rutgers (NBC Sports, 7 p.m.), St. John’s vs. Gonzaga (ESPN2, 7 p.m.), TCU vs. Bradley (CBS Sports, 7 p.m.), Memphis vs. Indiana State (Fox Sports 1, 8 p.m.), Michigan State vs. Marquette (ESPN2, 9 p.m.), Mississippi State vs. Saint Louis (CBS Sports, 9:30 p.m.), La Salle vs. Virginia (NBC Sports, 9:30 p.m.), Baylor vs. Illinois (Fox Sports 1, 10:30 p.m.) and Long Beach Street vs. Washington (ESPN2, 11:30 p.m.).
There is a lot of college football today, with Northern Illinois at Western Michigan (ESPNU, 11 a.m.), Western Kentucky at Marshall (Fox Sports 1, noon), Nebraska at Iowa (ABC, noon), Central Florida at South Florida (ESPN2, noon), Houston at SMU (CBS Sports, noon), Arkansas at Missouri (CBS, 2:30 p.m.), Stanford at UCLA (ABC, 3:30 p.m.), Arizona State at Arizona (Fox, 3:30 p.m.), Colorado State at Air Force (CBS Sports, 3:30 p.m.), Virginia at Virginia Tech (ESPN, 8 p.m.) and East Carolina at Tulsa (ESPNU, 8:30 p.m.).
Hockey action today includes Chicago at Anaheim (NHL, 4 p.m.) and Winnipeg at Boston (NHL, 7 p.m.). In pro basketball, it’s Clippers at Houston (NBA, 8 p.m.).
Daytime Talk
Kelly & Michael: Craig Ferguson, Diane Von Furstenberg, Jessie J. The View: Norman Lear. Ellen DeGeneres: Shia LaBeouf, Diane Von Fustenberg, Jessie J. Wendy Williams: Paris Hilton. Meredith Vieira: Emily VanCamp, Kim Cattrall (rerun). Queen Latifah: Laurene Fishburne, stars of “Shark Tank” (rerun).
Late Talk
David Letterman: Michael Keaton, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Foo Fighters with Ann and Nancy Wilson (rerun). Jimmy Fallon: Bradley Cooper, Neil Diamond (rerun). Jimmy Kimmel: One Direction, Tom Verica, Jessie J with 2 Chainz (rerun). Seth Meyers: Martin Short, Coco Rocha, Simon Rich (rerun). Craig Ferguson: Kat Dennings, Jermain Fowler. Carson Daly: Wyatt Cenac, Porter Robinson, Margaret Brown (rerun). Tavis Smiley: Al Jarreau.