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On TV Wednesday, Dec. 4

 
Published Dec. 3, 2013

On TV tonight

Christmas in Rockefeller Center, 8 p.m., NBC We know what the Peacock will be wishing ends up under the tree: A few successful TV series to help them out of the ratings cellar.

SERIES PREMIERE State of Play, 9 p.m., HBO A discussion of why some parents obsess over their children's sports performance. It probably has nothing at all to do with seeking surrogate glory to compensate for years of frustration and disappointment at the realities of adult life.

Saturday Night Live, 9 p.m., NBC The Thanksgiving special was one day before the holiday last week, but this Christmas show is scheduled waaaay in advance. That way they can put off finding some replacement shows for just one more week.

SERIES PREMIERE Mob City, 9 p.m., TNT A crime drama about the LAPD battling organized crime in the 1940s, with Ed Burns as Bugsy Siegel and Jeremy Luke as Mickey Cohen. And hey, look: Jon Bernthal is here, too. It's good to see zombie Shane from The Walking Dead is still shambling around somewhere.

SERIES PREMIERE Killer Contact, 10 p.m., SyFy The network doesn't have enough ghost shows, so this one is about paranormal investigators trying to solve cases about long-dead killers. Jack the Ripper we can understand, but they'll have to provide some background about Mayan king Lord Smoking Shell.

SERIES PREMIERE Kirstie, 10 p.m., TV Land Kirstie Alley stars as a Broadway star reunited with the son she put up for adoption years ago. Rhea Perlman is her assistant, but the real news is that we're going to find out if the world is ready to like Michael Richards again.

— Joshua Gillin jgillin@tampabay.com