Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, December 2, and Saturday, November 3. All times are Eastern.
Top picks
Comedy Bang! Bang! (IFC, 11 and 11:30 p.m., Friday): Since the waning days of this benighted year of 2016 continue to swallow up the last glimmers of joy and light from the world, tonight sees the enduringly dippy and delightful faux talk show/conceptual comedy machine Comedy Bang! Bang! come to an end. Naturally, host Scott Aukerman (a.k.a. Hot Saucerman, Yacht Rockerman, and lots more comedy aliases) isn’t going out without bringing one last double-shot of hilarity and guest-hilarity, bringing back beloved former bandleader Reggie Watts in the first of these two episodes, and fan favorites Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber (Paul F. Tompkins) and craft services master Fabrice Fabrice (Nick Kroll) in the finale. LaToya Ferguson and Emily L. Stephens have been with the show from the beginning, and they’re holding hands and alternating tears of joy and sorrow as they review the series right to the end. How can they type while holding hands? They’re professionals, that’s how. And, hey, the original Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast is still going strong. Chin up—it’s gonna be okay. (Also, check out Erik Adams’ interview with Scott Aukerman about the end of the series.)
National Christmas Tree Lighting (Hallmark, 8 p.m., Friday): President Obama presides over his last—if not the last—tree lighting.
Pete Holmes: Faces And Sounds (HBO, 10 p.m., Saturday): It’s a new standup special from the host of the funny and illuminating You Made It Weird podcast and all-around amiable goofball Pete Holmes. Reviewer Dennis Perkins says the title accurately describes Holmes’ animated and very funny style.
Premieres and finales
Pacific Heat (Netflix, 3:01 a.m., Friday): In this animated Australian cop comedy series, a group of wisecracking, perhaps-not-bright elite police chase down baddies on the sunny Aussie coast. From the trailer, there’s a suspiciously Archer-esque vibe to the whole enterprise (along with a smattering of potentially iffy racial stereotyping), and Archer doesn’t come back until January. In his pre-air review, Will Hughes says… well, you should probably read it before you decide to watch.
Tracey Ullman’s Show (HBO, 11 p.m., Friday): Happy chameleon Ullman straps on the last of her wigs, prosthetics, and broad, booming accents one more time, as the first season of her most recent cavalcade of characters comes to a close.