Anyone know of good TV's? Either a "dumb" TV (HDMI and HDMI only), or the built-in electronics are easily rootable so you can replace the shovelware with Kodi (or stock Debian / Alpine / whatever).
Best option is LG OLED, never connect it to the network and set it to startup on HDMI1 always.
In many cases, e.g., where the owner does not have good reception of digital free-to-air stations, the "TV" is effectively used as a monitor used to watch video downloaded to a internet-connected computer with an HDMI port ("set-top box", small form factor SBC, etc.). Despite cheap storage there is a culture of throwing away the downloaded video and replacing the word "download" with "stream".
A monitor may also be combined with a computer in the same housing, but the fundamentals are the same: monitor, computer, video downloaded via internet.
To me, "smart TVs" are just a way for someone else to keep a running list of everything the owner watches.
If not, consider a large computer monitor.