Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Sunday, December 1. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Treme (HBO, 9 p.m.): The fourth and final season of this David Simon show premieres tonight, continuing its quiet and small-scale storytelling that never made much of a splash. Todd VanDerWerff reviewed the final season and gave it a laudatory A-minus, saying: "In his earliest musings on the series, Simon suggested that if The Wire was about what’s wrong with American cities and systems, Treme would be about what was worth preserving. But it’s possible to go even further than that. The Wire is about what happens when things fall apart, while Treme is about the hard, but necessary work of putting them back together again." And on that bittersweet note, welcome back to your work week. Phil Dyess-Nugent will be covering tonight's premiere and the rest of the season, week-to-week.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Once Upon A Time (ABC, 8 p.m.): Peter Pan gets ready to achieve his final form, but that puts Henry in peril. Regina takes this terrifying moment as an opportunity for a leisurely flashback episode about how she adopted her little boy. Gwen Ihnat questions the evil queen's sense of timing.
Bob’s Burgers (Fox, 8:30 p.m.): According to the episode summary, Linda gets back together with her high-school bandmates to "rock" their class reunion. Was their band named The Alllriiiights? If it wasn't, Pilot Viruet is going to file an official complaint.
The Walking Dead (AMC, 9 p.m.): "Just as things start to calm down at the prison, Rick and the group face imminent danger." Well, that can't be good. Zack Handlen had just settled down for a cozy, happy episode, too.
Homeland (Showtime, 9 p.m.): Brody set off on a crazy mission last week, and this week, we get to watch how that goes down. Todd VanDerWerff hands off tonight's review to Sonia Saraiya, who is decidedly more optimistic about the show this season. She might fill the entire review with "CARRIE + BRODY + QUINN OT3 4EVA," but don't let that stop you.
The Good Wife (CBS, 9:30 p.m.): CBS has quietly pushed back this show right to 9:30 p.m., to make more room for the American juggernaut that is football. Tonight, Alicia inherits money from a client, but Lockhart-Gardner moves to block the inheritance. So things are getting a little Downton Abbey in that neck of the woods. David Sims does not approve, but that's mostly because he thinks Eli doesn't do well in Edwardian dresses.
American Dad (Fox, 9:30 p.m.): Just once, we'd like to see an episode of American Granddad, where Stan sits on his front porch in a walker and yells at kids who trespass on his lawn. But that means Steve would have to procreate, and we're not sure if Kevin McFarland is ready for that.
Getting On (HBO, 10 p.m.): The second episode of this show's short season continues the long, awful march towards obscurity and death. Oh, we meant the show, not the patients! Sonia Saraiya does not think this joke is very funny.
Masters Of Sex (Showtime, 10 p.m.): Because he's getting a reprieve from Homeland, Todd VanDerWerff is going to drop in on tonight's episode of Masters Of Sex, that little intimate drama about sex researchers that Sonia Saraiya probably doesn't appreciate enough. "Fallout" is about a study participant that gets pregnant, and her quest to find the father. That's going to cause some problems.
TV CLUB CLASSIC
Doctor Who (1 p.m.): Alasdair Wilkins wanders through the fourth and fifth episodes of season one, which feature a farting alien race named the Slitheen. We do not want his job.
WHAT ELSE IS ON?
2013 Soul Train Awards (BET, 8 p.m.): Annual music gala honoring soul. Anthony Anderson hosts. Jennifer Hudson, T.I., Chaka Khan, and Tamar Braxton to perform. Dionne Warwick will be honored.
Keeping Up With The Kardashians (E!, 8:30 p.m.): Amid reports that Kanye West won't appear on his wife's family's show because he doesn't like the way it's produced (makes perfect sense to us), the Kardashians gather for the annual photo Christmas card. Are they those people who send annoying newsletters? Maybe they just send DVD sets of their show.
Return to Downton Abbey (PBS, 9 p.m.): Susan Sarandon narrates this look at the hit PBS show, which will be returning for a fourth season on the network in early 2014. We are being primed for the next Crawley invasion.
Hoarding: Buried Alive (Discovery Fitness & Health, 9 p.m.): Twin sisters face the loss of their house due to their hoarding habits—again.
The Christmas Spirit (Hallmark, 8 p.m.): "A woman lands in a coma but realizes her spirit is awake, so she tries to communicate with people in her town and convince them to change their minds about a pending real-estate development in their community."
Christmas In Conway (ABC, 9 p.m.): This Hallmark movie stars Andy Garcia, Mary-Louise Parker, Cheri Oteri, and, er, Mandy Moore. A man tries to build a ferris wheel in his backyard for his dying wife. Sonia Saraiya gave it a healthy C-minus in her advance review, but cannot deny that it is both charming and heartwarming. (Just watch out for that aftertaste.)
Sunday Night Football: Giants at Redskins (NBC, 8:20 p.m.): The Giants are 5-2 in their last seven games at FedEx field, leading us to wonder if anyone has made several "one-day express" or "overnight" or "priority mail" jokes in Washington, to alleviate their increasing sense of despair. We can start, if no one is going to. The Redskins better get delivery confirmation on that ball, because it is not coming back! Ain't nobody gonna sign for that! Okay, we will now leave. Sorry.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Grimm: We forgot there was a new episode of Grimm on Friday, but Kevin McFarland did not. In "El Cucuy," the supernatural show plays with procedural elements, with surprisingly positive results.