What to watch on Tuesday, December 16...
8pm, ABC
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Everyone’s favorite blockhead battles the forces of materialism, bickering, and tree-drooping ornaments in the beloved holiday special. Also included: a new series of animated vignettes based on Peanuts strips.
8pm, CBS
NCIS
In “House Rules,” a citywide internet blackout in the week before Christmas makes it difficult for decent and lazy people everywhere to buy their turtle doves and geese a-laying and other manner of holiday poultry. Solving the crisis will require the NCIS team to consult a trio of cyberterrorists they’ve put behind bars.
SEASON 2 FINALE, 8pm, Fox
MasterChef Junior
The two finalists will prepare a three-course menu in the last challenge, and the winning tyke will walk away with a $100,000 prize.
8pm, NBC
Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas
Jim Parsons, Ed Asner, Fred Armisen, Mark Hamill, Kate Micucci, and more lend their voices to this animated incarnation of Elf which blends elements of both the original film and the Broadway musical.
SEASON 7 FINALE, 9pm, NBC
The Voice
The most mellifluous melody-maker is crowned in the live finale. Will it be the one you sort of like, the one who does that weird thing with their arms, or the one your cousin just will not shut up about on Facebook?
9pm, Syfy
Ascension
While Aaron looks into an explosion on the ship, Capt. Denninger works to keep its cause under wraps. Elsewhere in “Night Two,” a leak to Councilman Rose has Viondra searching for a traitor, James Toback hopes to impress Nora, and strange things are afoot for Christa Valis.
9pm, CBS
NCIS: New Orleans
A retired SEAL who had tracked down fraudulent military personnel is murdered in “Stolen Valor,” and the team’s investigation takes a bizarre turn. Meanwhile, Brody is puzzled by Lasalle’s uncharacteristic aloofness toward Christmas.
10pm, CBS
Person of Interest
Hoping to draw out the Machine, Samaritan flexes its muscles and wipes out New York City’s crime for a day in “The Cold War.” And if that doesn’t work, next it’ll find adequate food and shelter for the city’s homeless! And then clean up all the litter and take care of that weird smell in the subway! Samaritan will stop at nothing to roust that do-gooding Machine and its little helpers! NOTHING!
10pm, Bravo
Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce
In “Rule 47: Always Take Advantage of ‘Me Time,’” Abby decides to use her first children-free night productively, by
10pm, TBS
Ground Floor
Brody begins his long trek back into Mansfield’s good graces in “Baked and Toasted,” but his hyperefficiency on the ground floor unsettles Harvard and Derrick. Meanwhile, Jenny realizes she and Lindsay went to high school together, but their memories of that time prove quite different.
10:30pm, USA
Benched
Nina’s latest client is one of Phil’s former defendants, leading them to bet on whether she’ll secure a better outcome than he ever could. Elsewhere in “Diamond Is a Girl’s Worst Friend,” Phil and Carlos decide to give an overly critical Micah a taste of her own medicine.
LATE-NITE:
– Dick Van Dyke, Jenny Slate, and Vance Joy on Conan, 11pm, TBS
– Paul McCartney on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, 11pm, Comedy Central
– Kendrick Lamar on The Colbert Report, 11:30pm, Comedy Central
– Christoph Waltz and Nicki Minaj on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, 11:35pm, NBC
– Anna Kendrick and Charli XCX on Late Show with David Letterman, 11:35pm, CBS
– Garth Brooks and Tracey Ullman on Jimmy Kimmel Live, 11:35pm, ABC
– James Corden, Vanessa Bayer, and Robert Earl on Late Night with Seth Meyers, 12:35am, NBC
– Larry King and Angela Kinsey on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, 12:37am, CBS
WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING TONIGHT?