A ‘Chicago Med’ Departure, Series and Season Finales (‘Stargirl,’ ‘Amazing Race,’ ‘Reginald,’), Jane Curtin on ‘Conners’

In what’s turning out to be a big week for fond farewells—Trevor Noah steps away from The Daily Show Thursday, the same night Kelli Giddish departs Law & Order: SVU —Brian Tee ends his eight-season run as Navy vet Dr. Ethan Choi, one of Med’s original crew. The good news: He’s going out on a high, trading wedding vows with nurse April Sexton (former cast member Yaya DaCosta), but not before a few hiccups, including her dad’s chest pains. (It’s never easy being father of the bride.)

Another casualty of the network’s slow and steady transition away from the DC Universe: the series finale, after only three seasons, for Courtney (Brec Bassinger) and her buds in the Justice Society of America. In the final chapter, they’re in “the fight of their lives against their biggest threat yet.” I’m betting they’ll win this round.

The field has narrowed to the last three teams, who in the season finale travel 3,000 miles to get back on American terra firma—specifically, Music City aka Nashville. The final challenges include delivering guitars and playing a giant floor piano (having seen Big might be an advantage). The winning team takes home the $1 million prize and priceless memories.

The vampire comedy ends its first season with Reginald (Jacob Batalon) facing his long-awaited, and dreaded, Assessment. Can he survive it, and how? Expect some surprises. Reginald probably wouldn’t mind a Season 2 renewal, come to think of it.

TV comedy mainstay Jane Curtin (Saturday Night Live, Kate & Allie, 3rd Rock from the Sun) guests as Doris, mom to Louise (Katey Sagal) and Neville (Nat Faxon) and thus the mother-in-law to both Dan (John Goodman) and Jackie (Laurie Metcalf). What will she make of this raucous family as the holidays approach?

The Yule Log:

• In an irreverent twist on the holiday-movie formula, VH1’s comedic All I Didn’t Want for Christmas (8/7c) stars Empire’s Gabourey Sidibe as Emily, who learns it’s not the best idea to write a rage-filled letter to Santa when under the influence. When her boozy wishes start coming true, will Emily finally get a grip on the true meaning of Christmas?

Other holiday highlights:

• The Masked Singer (8/7c, Fox): Fan favorites from the past season gather for a Christmas sing-a-long. Bring your own costume.
• Greatest Holiday Commercials Countdown 2022 (9/8c, The CW): Featuring TV ads from the U.S. and abroad, many of the latter never before shown to an American audience, the countdown of the Top 12 celebrates the very best, one for each of the 12 days of Christmas.
• A Christmas Open House (10/9c, HGTV): As streamed earlier on discovery+, this holiday movie features Home Town couple Ben and Erin Napier as local artists who help Atlanta property stager Melissa (Katie Stevens) work with her high-school crush, real-estate agent David (Victor Rasuk), to prepare and sell her mom’s home before the holidays.
• The Santa Clauses (streaming on Disney+): In the fifth chapter of the Santa Claus brand extension, Scott (Tim Allen) learns how he became Santa during a trip to the Yule-verse, while things go from bad to worse back at the North Pole.

Inside Wednesday TV:

• Abbott Elementary (9/8c, ABC): ’Twas the last day of school before winter break, and Janine (Quinta Brunson) heads with a friend to a hookah lounge, where she unexpectedly encounters some colleagues. Probably not Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) and Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter), who’ve gathered for their traditional holiday dinner when Jacob (Chris Perfett) crashes the party.
• Shaq (9/8c, HBO): The third chapter of the biographical docuseries covers Shaquille O’Neal and the Lakers’ dominance during the years of the “three-peat” in 2002-02. But all good things must come to an end.
• Big Sky: Deadly Trails (10/9c, ABC): In an eventful midseason finale, Cassie (Kylie Bunbury) gets to the truth about the intrigues surrounding Sunny Day Excursions and ends up in danger when Sunny (Reba McEntire) makes an alliance to protect her family.
• Too Hot to Handle (streaming on Netflix): The fourth season opens with five episodes (five more follow next Wednesday), introducing 10 new hot bodies who’ve come to the Caribbean thinking they’re participating in a typical hook-up dating show, learning to their dismay that the only way to win is to abstain.