Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Sunday, December 22. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
I Am Britney Jean (E!, 9 p.m.): Yes, that’s awfully nice of you to identify yourself as such, television show. But it doesn’t fully answer the following question: Who is Britney Jean, exactly? The only other “Britney” Annie Zaleski’s ever known goes by “Britney Spears,” so she’ll be investigating this E! special, searching for a connection between the two.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Treme (HBO, 9 p.m.): Davis celebrates a milestone birthday, right before the show’s big jazz funeral. Phil Dyess-Nugent now realizes that a Jam Of The Month Club membership wasn't the ideal birthday gift for every character on Treme.
Getting On (HBO, 10 p.m.): Drunks on the ward! Drunks on the ward! This does not include Sonia Saraiya, because she is a professional, goddammit (and also her vacation doesn’t start until tomorrow).
WHAT ELSE IS ON?
The Good Wife (CBS, 8:30 p.m.): As we look back at 2013, take a chance to catch up with one of the finest episodes from a particularly fine year in television. Then tell David Sims he's wrong about “Hitting The Fan” all over again—because why break with tradition?
Animation Domination High-Definition (Fox, 9:30 p.m.): Fox’s cartoon flagship cedes a timeslot to its weirder late-night kid brother. It’s like an older sibling letting a younger one take a swig of beer, only the recipient of that clandestine drink is already whacked-out to begin with.
Evil In-Law (ID, 9 p.m.): As it prepares to spend time with its own in-laws in the coming week, a nation looks at the title of ID’s newest series and asks “Is there any other kind?” (We jest, in-laws of the world—you’re all wonderful.)
Beaver Brothers (Animal Planet, 11 p.m.): Presumably worried that cable viewers would react negatively to any beaver-related siblings not named Daggett and Norbert, Animal Planet buries this sneak preview beneath a big pile of lumber (i.e. Call Of The Wildman repeats.)
Die Hard (CMT, 6 p.m.): Another modern holiday tradition: Noting the hilariously Bowdlerised curses and swears inserted into the second-worst Christmas of John McClane's life. (Though nothing beats “Mr. Falcon” from Die Hard 2.)
The Sound Of Music (ABC, 7 p.m.): Okay, NBC, you’ve had your fun—now let ABC reclaim The Sound Of Music for Julie Andrews and the true Von Trapps.
Sunday Night Football: Bears at Eagles (NBC, 8:20 p.m.): With the Bears’ quarterback situation cemented by last week’s victory over the Browns, Jay Cutler returns to doing what he does best: Being the most hated man in Chicago.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Saturday Night Live (Saturday): Jimmy Fallon begins the New York-based consolidation of NBC’s late-night power, returning to his old TV home (with friend Justin Timberlake) to present viewers with a Christmas bonus. If that “bonus” is strapped bodily to Fallon or Timberlake at waist level, David Sims thinks it’s better to re-gift it.