There's no comedy series quite like Community, and as is often the case with such an uncompromised original, being this defiantly different comes with a price. And sadly, that price tends to be the sort of cellar-dwelling ratings that would get most shows canceled, if on any other network. Thankfully, NBC can ill afford these days to turn away any show that gets this kind of cult and media buzz, although everyone wishes it were doing better or were programmed in a time period (the old 30 Rock slot currently being wasted on Whitney, maybe?) that might increase its exposure.
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Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2011
10/9c ABC
Dick Clark reteams with Ryan Seacrest and Fergie to ring in the New Year with hot music acts, including Ke$ha, Taio Cruz, Willow Smith, Train, Jason Derulo, Drake, New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys. Clark and Seacrest are live in Times Square as always, and Jenny McCarthy joins them as a correspondent while Fergie hosts from L.A. The party continues after the prime-time special for two additional shows, one of which includes that famous ball dropping in New York City. — Jennifer Sankowski
Read on for previews of Live From Lincoln Center, Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On, New Year's Eve with Carson Daly, New Year's Eve Live, All American New Year, New Year's Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin and MTV's New Year's Bash 2011.
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Survivor: Nicaragua
8/7c CBS
Tonight's two-hour season finale promises lots of emotional fireworks as the five remaining castaways (Chase, Dan, Fabio, Holly, Sash) are cut down to the three players who will face the jury. But who will they be? Chase, Holly and Sash are in an alliance, which means Fabio needs to win the next two immunity challenges or he's jury bound. As for Dan, he needs to convince one or two of the alliance partners that they would be crazy not to take him to the finals because, frankly, no one is likely to vote for him since he coasted through the game and was never a threat to win anything. Following the season finale, the winner is revealed on the Survivor reunion special as the 20 castaways gather in Los Angeles to discuss the game. — Tim Holland
Read on for previews of Hunger at Home: The Food Crisis in America, Sunday Night Football, Leverage, Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III and BET 30: Moments and Movements.
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Hot in Cleveland
10/9c TV Land
With impressive ratings, a slew of notable guest stars and Hollywood's current octogenarian "it girl," Betty White, leading the way, this sitcom took TV land by storm, and earned a second-season renewal (of 20 episodes) barely halfway through its first. Speaking of storms, tonight's Season 1 finale cooks up a doozy as a tornado churns through Ohio, and Melanie, Joy and Victoria are thunderstruck when the only safe shelter they can find is Elka's secret room in the cellar.
Read on for previews of America's Got Talent, Ghost Hunters International, the Little League Softball World Series, Live from Lincoln Center, Surviving the Cut and She's Got the Look.
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The Middle
8:30/7:30c ABC
What the Hecks? It's like Mother's Day in reverse for Frankie when she spends the holiday doing even more than usual for Mike and the kids instead of the other way around. Then she escapes the Heck house for a few hours to take solace at her mom's place and dumps the same mess on her mother (Marsha Mason), expecting to be waited on hand and foot. Meanwhile, Sue feels guilty about stealing a motivational magnet from a store, even though the magnet itself is partly to blame.
Read on for previews of American Idol, America's Next Top Model, New Adventures of Old Christine, Criminal Minds, Top Chef Masters and Live from Lincoln Center.
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