Can we entice you into watching The Hour by promising you Q from Skyfall is in it? No?
Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Wednesday, November 28. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
The Hour (BBC America, 9 p.m.): Did you enjoy Ben Whishaw in Skyfall? Then you might also enjoy him in this excellent BBC drama, about a TV news magazine in the 1950s, which returns for its second series tonight. Okay, that was a pretty weak pitch, because we’re not really sure what the Venn diagram intersection between “James Bond fans” and “The Hour fans” is. But we assure you that you will probably enjoy this if you enjoy good things! And who doesn’t enjoy good things? Todd VanDerWerff, for one, though we’re hopeful he can be sucked in by the wonders of Romola Garai as ahead-of-her-time news producer Bel Rowley.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Arrow (The CW, 8 p.m.): For whatever reason, Oliver hasn’t revealed his secret identity to everybody he knows yet, which is too bad. Alasdair Wilkins is waiting for that to happen so that everybody on the show will sneer “Arrow!” derisively at him, just like when Alasdair whispers when he watches the show.
Survivor (CBS, 8 p.m.): We’re at the point in the season where the episode descriptions say things like, “Another castaway is voted out of the game,” so we’re just going to assume that in this episode, something crazy will happen involving Michael Skupin. Carrie Raisler is giving us good odds on that bet.
Modern Family (ABC, 9 p.m.): Mitchell and Cameron struggle to save an old tree in a park, while Gloria and Claire visit a big-box store, which will likely terrify them. Donna Bowman’s favorite big box is Home Depot; she doesn’t care who knows it! (This What’s On Tonight was sponsored in part by Home Depot.)
Supernatural (The CW, 9 p.m.): We’re glad we lived long enough to see an episode of television in which all of the mysterious deaths are taken from Looney Tunes cartoons. Phil Dyess-Nugent keeps chasing after that damnable bird, and all of his gadgets just keep backfiring on him. What a chump!
Suburgatory (ABC, 9:30 p.m.): Some of George’s friends from New York visit and find both his suburban makeover and his new girlfriend to be a source of general mirth and amusement. Brandon Nowalk would never make fun of you for your new look, baby. He knows how hard you work to look so good.
American Horror Story (FX, 10 p.m.): This week’s episode is called “Dark Cousin,” because everybody knows that the relative you least want to turn out to be evil is your cousin. Todd VanDerWerff once had an evil cousin, and he had to have that cousin exorcised. It wasn’t a fun process, but he got the job done.
Nashville (ABC, 10 p.m.): It’s only taken what feels like seven years—in which time, several Nashville mayoral elections have been run and won—but Rayna and Juliette are finally facing off again. If somebody doesn’t get slapped, Todd VanDerWerff is going to take this episode back for a refund.
Top Chef (Bravo, 10 p.m.): Perhaps in honor of the return of The Hour—okay, perhaps because of a complete coincidence—Top Chef is getting into a ‘50s mood, as the chefs recreate menus from the era. Emily Withrow would like to remind them they’ll have to cook everything in lard for true accuracy.
Key & Peele (Comedy Central, 10:30 p.m.): The second season is over as of tonight, and one of the sketches involves the last two men on Earth. Steve Heisler is willing to bet those two men will be played by Key and Peele, but wouldn’t it be cool if they were Andre Braugher and Jon Hamm instead?
TV CLUB CLASSIC
The Sopranos (1 p.m.): Christopher and Tony take a car ride together, and that ends in something completely unexpected. And that’s just in the first 10 minutes of this episode, which is one of the best Sopranos hours of all time. Todd VanDerWerff suspects he’ll be saying that a lot in the coming weeks.
WHAT ELSE IS ON
A Charlie Brown Christmas (ABC, 8 p.m.): The Peanuts Thanksgiving special aired just last week, but it’s already time for ABC to haul out this seminal Christmas special, which just might be one of our very favorite works of art ever made. Still, can’t we give Thanksgiving a little breathing room, ABC? Huh?
Christmas In Rockefeller Center (NBC, 8 p.m.): As it turns out, NBC doesn’t care about rushing the Christmas season either, as it takes this opportunity to light up the big-ass tree in front of Rockefeller Center while the light from November sweeps still shines. Don’t worry, giant tree. We still love you!
Ferrets: The Pursuit Of Excellence (PBS, 10 p.m.): This apparently first aired in 2007, which is too bad, because if it hadn’t, we could have dedicated several articles to its title alone. We’re still not sure how exactly the word “ferrets” gets followed by “the pursuit of excellence,” but PBS evidently knows.
Love You, Mean It With Whitney Cummings (E!, 10:30 p.m.): Whitney Cummings now has three TV shows, airing on three different networks. You have no TV shows, airing on no networks. Please note that this is only true, unless you are Chuck Lorre, in which case, hi, Chuck! How’s it going? We’re good!
District 9 (G4, 8 p.m.): Aliens live in South Africa, segregated from the human population in the titular district. When a human is infected with some sort of alien mutagen, things get out of hand, in this unexpected box-office hit that also proved surprisingly successful at the Oscars. Check this one out.
The Time Machine (TCM, 8 p.m.): Or you can scratch that science fiction itch through this film adaptation of H.G. Wells’ famous tale of Morlocks and Eloi living on a far-future Earth. It’s ostensibly all about British social strata or whatever, but we’re just glad this version doesn’t star Samantha Mumba.
College basketball: Michigan State at Miami (ESPN, 7:30 p.m.): What with the way they’re at opposite sides of the country, you’d expect Michigan State and the University of Miami to be natural college basketball rivals, and you’d be completely wrong about that. Still, this is the best game on tonight.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Vegas (Tuesday): If you’re still watching this and you’re under the age of 50, congratulations! CBS has a prize for you, as you’re the only one left. We’re not going to spoil what it is, but it involves “windsurfing,” “Dennis Quaid,” and “Phil Dyess-Nugent.” You lucky duck, you! Enjoy your double date!