Raising Hope ends its third season on special night at special time—but there’s no need to panic

Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Thursday, March 28, 2013. All times are Eastern.

TOP PICK

Raising Hope (Fox, 9 p.m.): The best live-action cartoon (that’s also a surprisingly grounded, sympathetic portrayal of working-class American life) that you’re not watching finishes its third season (and final year under the guidance of creator Greg Garcia) with back-to-back episodes on a special night. None of this is cause for alarm because:

• It’s already been renewed.
• It should get a minor ratings bump from its American Idol lead-in.
• This is probably where all of Fox’s current Tuesday-night lineup will air after NBC cuts and runs from its ancestral Must See home.
• Phil Dyess-Nugent has already seen the episodes, so there’s no worry of him accidentally driving past Natesville on his way to catch up with those sexy docs on Grey’s Anatomy.

The Vampire Diaries (The CW, 8 p.m.): After her visit to New York City, Elena works her way back to Mystic Falls via Pennsylvania. Carrie Raisler was going to make a “Transylvania”/“Pennsylvania” joke, but then she remembered The Office beat her to the punch six years ago.

Project Runway (Lifetime, 9 p.m.): The designers take inspiration from New York’s Guggenheim Museum—which is perfect, because Sonia Saraiya has always felt like Frank Lloyd Wright’s design for the museum would make a great hat.

Archer (FX, 10 p.m.): In a bit of serendipitous plotting, Archer jumps on the papal bandwagon (Popewagon? Can we just jump straight to a Popemobile joke?) a few weeks after the election of Pope Francis. As such, Todd VanDerWerff won’t go too deep into the fact that the pope is the target of an assassination attempt in this episode…

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (11 a.m.): In an appropriately crazy response to a cliffhanger involving Changeling infiltration at the highest levels of the Klingon empire, Sisko, O’Brien, and Odo are surgically altered to look like sons of Qo’nos. Worf gets a browlift, too, which Zack Handlen is still giggling about.

Gilmore Girls (1 p.m.): It’s snowing in Stars Hollow, which is one of the most gorgeous, classic-Hollywood images ever captured for TV. David Sims promises his review will not be streaked with tears of joy, shed for the sheer beauty of it all.

Fall To Grace (HBO, 8 p.m.): Something tells us this documentary on former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey—whose resignation of that office was accompanied by his coming out—was scheduled to air tonight under the assumption that the justices of the Supreme Court would’ve taken one look at the Defense of Marriage Act and been like “Hey, it’s ridiculous that some states still bar same-sex marriage. SAME-SEX MARRIAGES FOR ALL! MINIATURE AMERICAN FLAGS FOR OTHERS!”

Community (NBC, 8 p.m.): Spacetime repeats itself, and what some people considered Community’s worst half-hour (some took a more charitable view; others reveled in the soothing undulations of a miniature American flag) is offered up as sacrifice against the Sweet 16.

Jesus: Rise To Power (National Geographic Channel, 8 p.m.): Sometimes a TV special has a perfect title, and sometimes a TV special isn’t NatGeo’s Jesus: Rise To Power.

Brand X (FX, 11 p.m.): The Artful Alt-Rock Dodger halts his cavorting through the circus-like atmosphere of live television—it’s totally a circus, man, and all the animals look like Russell Brand—long enough to welcome State alum—and future co-star of a Terrence Malick movie?—Thomas Lennon.

Bridesmaids (Cinemax, 8 p.m.): Making up for a night where most of your favorite sitcoms have scattered from view: One of the finest film comedies of the past 10 years.

Heat (Encore, 8 p.m.): Al Pacino is the only cop who can stop career criminal Robert De Niro, who’s in the midst of a mind-boggling heist streak. Just call him “The 2013 Chicago Bulls.” (Wrong Heat?)

NCAA Basketball Tournament: La Salle vs. Wichita State (TBS, 10 p.m.): A late-night meeting of two Cinderella teams—one of which, to extend that metaphor further, will see their championship dreams turn back into a pumpkin around midnight Eastern.

Nashville: The Music City soap returned to new episode’s last night, boasting a special-guest roster that included Katie Couric, Wycleff Jean, and “WKRN-TV’s Lori Mitchell.” (The WKRN-TV’s Lori Mitchell?) The A.V. Club’s own special guest, Farihah Zaman, has the review.