Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Wednesday, November 30. All times are Eastern.
Top picks
The Goldbergs (ABC, 8 p.m.): “The Greatest Musical Ever Written,” The Goldbergs? Really? We don’t recall Hamilton existing in 1980-something. What are you playing at? “Barry makes fun of Adam for wanting to be in theater, but he suddenly becomes jealous when he discovers Adam and Lainey were cast in roles where they kiss each other. Barry joins the stage crew to sabotage the production, causing a rift between Barry and Adam.” Hmm.
Arrow (The CW, 8 p.m.): One hundred episodes of Arrow feels like as good a time as any to ask “what if?” After all, November is almost out of here, and it’s the perfect time to get your It’s A Wonderful Life riffs out. In the midst of all these alien-invasion shenanigans, “Oliver wakes up to a life where he never got on The Queen’s Gambit.” And guess what? Life is good, baby. “Robert (guest star Jamey Sheridan) and Moira Queen (guest star Susanna Thompson) are alive and well. Laurel (guest star Katie Cassidy) is his loving fiancée and their wedding is imminent.”
Vikings (History Channel, 9 p.m.): You know who’s not in the Christmas spirit? Vikings. History Channel’s VIkings returns for the second half of its fourth season tonight with “The Outsider.” “Ragnar returns to Kattegat and formulates a plan to head back to Wessex, where he intends to right past wrongs.”
Premieres and finales
Christmas In Rockefeller Center (NBC, 8 p.m.): After 84 years, it apparently still takes an hour to light a tree. And NBC makes sure you get that hour-long tree-lighting “gala” (their words) live. Are you in the Christmas spirit yet?
Dolly Parton’s Christmas Of Many Colors: Circle Of Love (NBC, 9 p.m.): Actually, Christmas In Rockefeller Center is fine, but the Christmas season isn’t really here until Dolly Parton arrives. And would you look at that—she’s here, with a sequel to her 2015 NBC Christmas movie, Dolly Parton’s Coat Of Many Colors. This movie “finds the young Dolly Parton and family facing an unexpected blizzard that threatens the whole clan as they make sacrifices to raise the cash to buy mom a wedding ring that dad could never afford.”
Hollywood & Football (E!, 9 p.m.): Hollywood and football are certainly things, but here’s what E! says about Hollywood & Football: “A reality series following the Los Angeles Rams on and off the football field kicks off with four players and their families getting acclimated to L.A. traffic, living expenses and exorbitant housing prices in the series premiere.” We wonder if there’s a part of the show where the players get acclimated to playing on a good team:
Entertainment Weekly Presents: ’80s Stars—Where Are They Now? (Reelz, 9 p.m.): Well, they’re probably not part of “The Greatest Musical Ever Written,” except for the host of the special, Alan Thicke. There’s always a high chance of him showing up and singing something or other.
Queen Sugar (OWN, 10 p.m.): Queen Sugar’s first season finale, “Give Us This Day,” features some righting of wrongs: “Charley goes all out to secure an investor; Nova and Calvin reunite, but not everyone is pleased; Aunt Violet tries to make amends with Hollywood; and Ralph Angel makes a shocking discovery.”
Incorporated (Syfy/USA, 10 p.m.): Let’s get this out of the way: Incorporated’s not just Gattaca the TV series. “Spiga junior executive Ben Larson hides his real identity in order to infiltrate a very sinister corporate world and save the woman he loves in the series premiere of this futuristic drama.” See? Not Gattaca at all. The show even stars Julia Ormond and Dennis Haysbert and is executive produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who are all people who weren’t involved in Gattaca. Plus, with those credits, now you get why it’s being simulcast on USA. And not just because USA thought it would be running an airing of Gattaca.
Regular coverage
Survivor (CBS, 8 p.m.)
Frequency (The CW, 9 p.m.)
Black-ish (ABC, 9:30 p.m.)
Designated Survivor (ABC, 10 p.m.)
Rectify (Sundance TV, 10 p.m.)
Streaming pick
Gattaca (Amazon Video/Google Play/iTunes/Vudu/YouTube): We just have Gattaca on the brain now.