What’s On Tonight: Revolution has gotten pretty good! Hey, why are you walking away from us? We’re not crazy!
Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Wednesday, November 20. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Revolution (NBC, 8 p.m.): Maybe, like a lot of other right-thinking individuals, you gave up on this show at the end of its mostly moribund first season. And maybe, once it moved to Wednesdays at 8, where you were already watching any of the many other choice options on at that time (which is basically anything on any other network not named The X Factor), you forgot it even existed. Well, Les Chappell is here to tell you, from his tower on high, that the show has gotten a lot better this season! No, really! And even if it weren’t better, it would at least be weirder. It has magic fireflies now! What could be better than that? Check out the fall finale to see if this one is for you.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Arrow (The CW, 8 p.m.): Here is one of the programs you may be watching instead of Revolution. You are probably right to do this, because this has really developed into a fun, entertaining superhero show that puts that other superhero show (you know which one) to shame. Alasdair Wilkins just got arrow’d.
The Middle (ABC, 8 p.m.): The Heck family is celebrating Thanksgiving this week, probably because they won’t be on the air to do so next week (or if they are, ABC is burning off a less tasty episode because no one will watch). Will Harris is having a plate from last year’s Thanksgiving he saved just for the occasion.
Survivor (CBS, 8 p.m.): Sadly, the castaways are not celebrating Thanksgiving this week, though we think the show would be inestimably improved by everybody having to track a turkey through the jungle’s wild undergrowth. Carrie Raisler tracked a turkey all the way to the poultry counter of a Whole Foods.
Modern Family (ABC, 9 p.m.): Jay meets some “old colleagues” at a closet convention, and if that isn’t code for him being revealed to be a deeply repressed homosexual, then we don’t know how to read the subtext of TV Guide blurbs anymore. One of the TV Club all stars will walk you through the revelations.
American Horror Story (FX, 10 p.m.): Fiona always wanted to have one last love affair, and last week, she met legendary serial killer the Axeman of New Orleans. (Don’t blame us; he always insists on that billing.) Will this be a love for the ages? Or just one more thing for Todd VanDerWerff to keep track of?
The League (FXX, 10 p.m.): The fifth season ends with a one-hour finale that’s actually just two episodes slapped together, so the network can pretend they’re one and not have to air one the night before Thanksgiving. The show’s been renewed for a sixth year, but Pilot Viruet might be off the train by then.
South Park (Comedy Central, 10 p.m.): Last week’s episode unexpectedly revealed itself to be the first part of perhaps several chronicling the kids’ battles on Black Friday—and also allowing Trey Parker and Matt Stone to do a Game Of Thrones parody. Marcus Gilmer is psyched; he loves all of those things!
Top Chef (Bravo, 10 p.m.): The chefs have to cook up a 300-pound hog. Presumably, they didn’t have to hunt it themselves, but if they did, then Padma could turn to them, smile demurely, and say, “Pigs are one thing. It is man that is the most dangerous game.” Sonia Saraiya would be so into that happening.
Key And Peele (Comedy Central, 10:30 p.m.): Every week, Key and Peele come to us to ask if this will be the week they are the top pick in What’s On Tonight, and every week, we pick something else. Maybe next week, guys! Unless you’re scared of Thanksgiving, too. Brandon Nowalk doesn’t blame you one bit.
MONTHLY CHECK-IN
Nashville (ABC, 10 p.m.): We dropped our regular coverage of Nashville last month, but that doesn’t mean we won’t check in on it from time to time. In fact, how does once per month sound? Gwen Ihnat takes a look at what’s been up in Tennessee since we last dropped in on Rayna and Juliette’s jackanapes.
TV CLUB CLASSIC
Mad Men (1 p.m.): Pete Campbell’s back from his honeymoon—he got married to Alison Brie!—and he’s kickin’ ass and takin’ names. Todd VanDerWerff always watches this show as the story of the secret rise and heroism of Pete Campbell, which may be why Todd never leaves his house and has no friends.
WHAT ELSE IS ON
Rich Man, Poor Man (Encore, 8 p.m.): We don’t know what prompted Encore to say, while digging through its archives, “Fuck it! Let’s air the seminal miniseries that made Americans so obsessed with the format for a decade and turned Nick Nolte into a star!” but we’re glad that they did. Thank you, Encore.
Back In The Game (ABC, 8:30 p.m.): ABC will replace this weak-sauce comedy about James Caan and Maggie Lawson and Little League baseball with the returning Suburgatory (yay!) in mid-January, so you’d better get in your last chances to watch the show before it’s unceremoniously taken from you.
Preachers Of L.A. (OWN, 9 p.m.): This week’s episode of this surprisingly popular (okay, surprisingly popular by OWN standards) reality show will feature “social content.” We’re not sure what that means. Will the preachers read tweets live on air? Will they show Vines you’ve made about their adventures?
Buying Nude: The Naked Realtor (TLC, 10 p.m.): This is also a television program that exists.
Scream 4 (Spike, 8 p.m.): We thought about seeing this one in theaters, because we were just the right age to have hit the initial wave of Scream mania in the mid-‘90s, but then we realized no matter how much you might want to support the career of Aimee Teegarden, she probably just dies quickly anyway.
Judgment At Nuremberg (TCM, 9:45 p.m.): Maximilian Schell won an Oscar for his acting in this film, forever ending the question of which Oscar winner for acting has the name you’d most want to be your own. C’mon. Even if you’re a woman, how could you pass up a name like Maximilian Schell?
NBA Basketball: Pacers at Knicks (ESPN, 7 p.m.): The Bulls finally handed the Pacers their first loss a few days ago, and now the Knicks see if they can keep the Pacers’ losing streak alive. We’re not exactly betting on that happening, but stranger things have happened in ol’ Knickerbocker Town.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sons Of Anarchy (Tuesday): FX sent out a press release on this episode that told us we needed to warn the Mountain and Pacific time zones of spoilers before reading our review posted on East Coast time. Zack Handlen thinks that better mean that Jax gets revenge on his enemies by piloting a giant robot.