ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET
I’d be a Grinch if I didn’t point this out each year: the first showing of Chuck Jones’ 1966 animated treatment of the Dr. Seuss classic.
Fox, 9:00 p.m. ET
The main plot of tonight’s new episode involves Jess (Zooey Deschanel) and her concerns about getting old, but I’m more interested in the subplot with Schmidt, which continues his unusual semi-romantic relationship with his demanding boss, played by guest star Carla Gugino.
NBC, 10:00 p.m. ET
It’s been such a sad and emotional stretch for almost everyone on this show, with story lines dealing with cancer, suicide and the like, that it’s nice to report that tonight, after attending a funeral, Amber and Ryan (Mae Whitman and guest star Matt Lauria from Friday Night Lights) pull over to allow themselves a genuinely happy moment.
FX, 10:00 p.m. ET
This week’s episode is the penultimate show of the season, and has Jax (Charlie Hunnam) squaring of against not one formidable adversary, but two. One is Clay (Ron Perlman), who’s been in Jax’s sights for a while. The other is Pope (Harold Perrineau), the ruthless gangster whose latest actions have made Jax reconsider their uneasy truce.
TBS, 11:00 p.m. ET
Here’s a very rare, very, very welcome guest list: Tonight, Conan O’Brien welcomes one of the true comedy greats in TV, movie and Broadway history… and they’re all the same guy. Mel Brooks.