Nashville’s Christmas gift to everyone is how weird it’s gotten
Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Wednesday, December 10. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Nashville (ABC, 10 p.m.): Right now, shows are either going on winter hiatus or randomly coming back from weeks off, at odds to the trends of the rest of television. Despite taking a break itself, “at odds” might be the perfect way to describe, well, odd season of Nashville. Gunnar suddenly has a child, thanks to the daughter from Spy Kids. Teddy (who is still a character) is living an even more creepy version of Pretty Woman. Rayna is working triple time to undo all Connie Britton’s good work on Friday Night Lights, Spin City, and that one episode of Life As We Know It where she played Kelly Osbourne’s step-mother. Scarlett has declared a war on black people, both by having a Mystical Negro homeless friend and stealing her black best friend’s job. Laura Benanti’s character hasn’t gone all Single White Female on Rayna yet, but keep your fingers crossed. The only things that remain constant are Deacon’s moping, Luke Wheeler’s cowboy hats, Juliette and Avery being the best characters on this show, and Will Lexington (unfortunately) not covering any Rooney songs.
In this winter finale, Luke and Rayna get closer and closer to their doomed wedding while Teddy uses his Mayoral powers to find his prostitute soulmate. Avery “makes an unexpected decision,” which, let’s face it, is probably to propose to Juliette, the mother of his unborn child. There’s no mention of whether on not Maddie continues to be a little brat, but much like The Legend Of Scarlett’s Homeless Guy, just because it doesn’t always show up onscreen doesn’t mean the show’s not still doing it. Gwen Ihnat will try to make sense of all of this.
Also noted
Arrow (The CW, 8 p.m.): Arrow chooses the more sensible (although still very much over-the-top) winter finale option, with guest stars galore: Ra’s Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Dinah Lance, and Ray Palmer. Plus, it looks like the mystery of Sara Lance’s murder will finally be coming to an end, with Ra’s Al Ghul giving Oliver 48 hours to find Sara’s killer before the League of Assassins starts their own official investigation. Of course, “official investigation” in that instance translates more to “killing the citizens of Starling City.” Alasdair Wilkins was just hoping they’d all have a White Elephant/Yankee Swap situation to figure out who did what.
Modern Family (ABC, 9 p.m.): The forever young Haley Dunphy is turning 21! That’s right, y’all—it’s “Haley’s 21st Birthday,” and it’s the last new Modern Family episode of 2014. There’s really only one question to ask about such an important event: How will the Dunphys traumatize Alex “Jan Brady” Dunphy in this episode? Joshua Alston has been working on a list of possible scenarios, and right now, it looks like a moat full of alligators at the top spot.
Kingdom (DirecTV, 9 p.m.): And now for the first season finale of the MMA family drama Kingdom, with the episode “King Beast.” It’s fight night, with everyone rooting for Ryan to get back on top of the world. The episode preview video breaks it all down: “The Fights. The Family. The Finale.” But where’s the shoehorned Christmas theme to round the episode out?
The Game (BBC America, 10 p.m.): Cold War espionage series The Game is also having its first season finale tonight. The clock in ticking for MI5 “to piece the puzzle together and avert disaster.” The KGB bombing and the mole’s confession were just the beginning, and— Again, what’s with the lack of holiday cheer, The Game? There was still Christmas during the Cold War.
Regular coverage (that takes the road most holiday-based)
The Middle (ABC, 8 p.m.) / The Goldbergs (ABC, 8:30 p.m.)
Black-ish (ABC, 9:30 p.m)