Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Thursday, December 22. All times are Eastern.
Top picks
A Charlie Brown Christmas (ABC, 8 p.m.): It’s just three days until Christmas and two days until Christmas Eve. But don’t despair if you haven’t quite found yourself in the holiday spirit yet. A Charlie Brown Christmas is here to help! Charlie bemoans Christmas commercialism as he and his friends plan a holiday pageant. Then everyone learns a lesson about Christmas values and/or the importance of helping your friends battle seasonal affective disorder. For those who need a little extra incentive to tune into this 51-year-old special this year, ABC is also airing a new set of animated vignettes based on other Peanuts strips.
Terry Crews Saves Christmas (The CW, 8 p.m.): As Jo March once exclaimed, “Christmas won’t be Christmas without a week-long Terry Crews holiday special!” Thankfully The CW planned ahead this year. This five-part special follows Crews as he visits “hopeless holiday enthusiasts” and helps them throw snazzy holiday parties with the help of a team of experts. The whole thing is billed as a “crash-course in how to do Christmas right.” And while it’s not immediately clear why Crews’ brawny comedic presence was paired with this particular premise, we’re of the opinion that there’s no such thing as too much Terry Crews. So we’ll take what we can get.
Top Chef (Bravo, 10 p.m.): While most of The A.V. Club is on a holiday break this week, Randall Colburn is diligently sticking to the Top Chef beat. Tonight’s episode has a holiday twist: The chefs have to create dishes with “an odd mix of ingredients and tools found inside gift boxes.” Then they cook up an Italian-American seafood dinner using particularly undesirable fish species. Which lends the episode the delightful title, “The Feast Of Seven Trash Fishes.” Yum. Randall can’t wait to dig in!