Timeless climbs into the Lifeboat for one last wibbly wobbly ride
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Thursday, December 20. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Timeless (NBC, 8 p.m., series finale): Oh, sweet Timeless. Canceled. Un-canceled, three days later. Terrific season finale. Canceled again. And that, after three days came and went, seemed to be that. But perhaps NBC just likes fucking with us, because about a month later, the network un-canceled Timeless again. The triumph of the show’s fervent fan base was bittersweet, however, because the Time Team (Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter, Malcolm Barrett, and friends) have not been revived for a third season. Instead, creators Eric Kripke and Shawn Ryan were granted a two-part finale. Call it a Christmas-in-July miracle, fulfilled just around the corner from Christmas proper.
Honestly, we’re inclined to be grateful for any chance Kripke and Ryan have to resolve the second season finale’s devious cliffhangers, which included the death of fan favorite Rufus (Barrett) and the arrival of a Future-World Wyatt (Lanter) and Lucy (Spencer), who turned up in the bunker in a duplicate lifeboat, climbing out to confront their past selves with some swole guns, a sassy bob, and one damn-that’s-a-good-cliffhanger line: “So, you guys want to get Rufus back or what?”