Plus a new Mike Flanagan movie and a new Ryan Murphy series help kickoff 2018.
This week’s television bids 2017 goodbye on a high note with not one but two Netflix stand-up specials by an acclaimed comedian and welcomes 2018 with the mid-season return of a beloved NBC comedy, a new season of a ’90s paranormal classic, a long-awaited Mike Flanagan film, and new shows about first responders, flight crews, and food production.
To help you keep track of the most important programs over the next seven days, here’s our guide to everything worth watching, whether it’s on broadcast, cable, or streaming for December 31st –January 6th (all times Eastern):
Dave Chappelle: Equanimity & The Bird Revelation (Netflix, Sunday)
Dave Chappelle has had a very good year. Aside from winning an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor for hosting Saturday Night Live’s 2016 election episode, by the time the clock strikes midnight this Sunday, the comedian will have closed 2017 with four Netflix specials under his belt — two of which debut that same night on the streaming platform. Equanimity marks Chappelle’s return to the Warner Theater, while The Bird Revelation was shot at The Comedy Store last November. We can’t think of many things better for wrapping up the year than a double feature of Dave Chappelle’s smooth humor.
LA to Vegas (FOX, Tuesday 9pm)
The void left by one workplace sitcom (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) is filled by another. From Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Superstore writer/producer Lon Zimmet and producers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay lands this single-camera comedy that follows the crew and eccentric passengers of the Jackpot Airlines weekend round-trip flights from the City of Angels to the City of Sin, as the unlikely group of dreamers and miscreants form an unconventional but supportive family. Dylan McDermott stars alongside Ed Weeks, Kim Matula, Olivia Macklin, and Peter Stormare, and Modern Family’s Steve Levitan directs the pilot.
The X-Files (FOX, Wednesday 9pm)
The truth is still out there. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have yet another season of The X-Files revival. Fortunately, Season 11 will be longer than its predecessor, with a total of 10 episodes that pick up after the last season’s finale massive cliffhanger and will follow up on Mulder and Scully’s search for their son William and their race against time to stop a man’s threat against all of humanity. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson again reprise their iconic roles, and Annabeth Gish, Robbie Amell, Lauren Ambrose, Karin Konoval, Barbara Hershey, and Haley Joel Osment will join them in their paranormal quest. Our bodies are ready (to be abducted).
9-1-1 (FOX, Wednesday 9pm)
Have you ever wondered about the lives of first responders? Ryan Murphy certainly has, because his latest series is not an anthology or anything related to horror, but a procedural drama that follows police officers, paramedics, dispatchers, and firefighters — played by Angela Bassett, Peter Krause, Connie Britton, Aisha Hinds, and Rockmond Dunbar — in their day to day in Los Angeles. Feud’s Tim Minear runs the show, while Murphy’s long-time collaborator (from Glee and American Horror Story days) Bradley Buecker directs the pilot.
The Good Place (NBC, Thursday 8:30pm)
The Good Place is making a habit out of leaving its audience at the edge of a massive cliffhanger in its season (or mid-season) finales. The last time we saw the mischievous gang, Eleanor (Kristen Bell) made a major revelation to Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Tahani’s (Jameela Jamil) and Jason’s (Manny Jacinto) wedding was abruptly interrupted, and Michael (Ted Danson) received an unexpected visit that will determine everyone’s faith. The show finally returns from football season exile to deal with that sudden twist, while the gang tries to solve a riddle. If you’re not already on board the Good Place hype train, you’re missing out. Any show that makes our Best TV Performances, Best TV Scenes, and Best Shows of 2017 lists is guaranteed to be forking amazing.
Rotten (Netflix, Friday)
True crime has become one of Netflix’s original programming trademarks — so much that they’ve already parodied themselves — and now the streaming services applies the true crime treatment to food. Delivered to you by the team behind Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown and The Mind of a Chef, arrives Rotten, a six-part documentary series that delves into the food supply chain to expose unsavory truths about the industry. The show tackles a scope of fraud and corruption behind the production of honey, peanuts, garlic, chicken, dairy milk, and cod fisheries. If you loved both Cooked and Icarus, Rotten is right up your alley.
Before I Wake (Netflix, Friday)
After spending nearly two years in release limbo, Mike Flanagan’s Before I Wake finally debuts on Netflix. The movie follows a couple (played by Thomas Jane and Kate Bosworth) who, still mourning the death of their own son, decide to take in 8-year-old Cody (Jacob Tremblay). Soon they discover that while the boy sleeps his dreams materialize in real life. But so do his nightmares. A horror movie starring the boy from Wonder and Room and helmed by the man who delivered one of the best Stephen King adaptations of the year definitely holds promise.
SUNDAY
Dave Chappelle: Equanimity (Netflix) – standup comedy special
Dave Chappelle: The Bird Revelation (Netflix) – standup comedy special
Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2018 (ABC, 8pm) – live event
SMILF S1E8 “Mark’s Lunch & Two Cups of Coffee” (Showtime, 10pm) – season finale
MONDAY
Glacé S1 (Netflix) – foreign series premiere
Lovesick S3 (Netflix) – season premiere
Lucifer S3E11 “City of Angels” (FOX, 8pm)
The Gifted S1E11 “3 X 1” (FOX, 9pm)
TUESDAY
Marvel’s Runaways S1E9 “Doomsday” (Hulu)
Ellen’s Game of Games (NBC, 8pm) – game show premiere
Lethal Weapon S2E11 “Funny Money” (FOX, 8pm)
NCIS S15E11 “High Tide” (CBS, 8pm)
Kevin (Probably) Saves the World S1E10 “The Ugly Sleep” (ABC, 10pm)
LA to Vegas S1E1 (Fox, 9pm) – series premiere
WEDNESDAY
grown-ish S1E1 “Late Registration” (Freeform, 8pm) – series premiere
The Blacklist S5E9 “Ruin” (NBC, 8pm)
The Librarians S4E7 “And the Disenchanted Forest” (TNT, 8pm)
The X-Files S11E1 “My Struggle III” (Fox, 8pm) – season premiere
Speechless S2E11 “N-e-New Y-Year’s E-Eve” (ABC, 8:30pm)
9-1-1 S1E1 (Fox, 9pm) – series premiere
Modern Family S9E11 “He Said, She Shed” (ABC, 9pm)
Law & Order: SVU S19E9 “Gone Baby Gone” (NBC, 9pm)
Criminal Minds S13E10 “Submerged” (CBS, 10pm)
THURSDAY
Superstore S3E11 “Lost and Found” (NBC, 8pm)
The Good Place S2E9 “Leap to Faith” (NBC, 8:30pm)
Will & Grace S9E8 “Friends and Lover” (NBC, 9pm)
Project Runway All-Stars S6E1 (Lifetime, 9pm) – season premiere
Van Helsing S2E13 Black Days” (Syfy, 9pm)
Great News S2E10 “Catfight” (NBC, 9:30pm)
Ghost Wars S1E13 “… My Soul to Keep” (Syfy, 10pm)
S.W.A.T S1E9 “Blindspots” (CBS, 10pm)
FRIDAY
Before I Wake (Netflix) – movie premiere
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee S10 (Netflix) – season premiere
Rotten S1 (Netflix) – documentary miniseries premiere
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend S3E8 “Nathaniel Needs My Help!” (The CW, 8pm)
Falling Water S2E1 (USA, 10pm) – season premiere
Superstition S1E10 “Green-on-Blue” (Syfy, 10pm)
SATURDAY
Everything, Everything (HBO, 7:00pm) – cable premiere
