We have talked here about fake weeks before, but as we close in on the final weeks of the year, this is about as fake as they come. Many of us are killing time until — or totally slammed in the lead-up to — flights, family, (fights), and festivities. And yet, the world is still going, and TV is still humming. Not only are there still plenty of shows still going (Skeleton Crew, The Agency, and Creature Commandos, to name a few), there are new drops as well.
Predictably, this time of year brings about a lot of premieres and finales in equal succession. We’ll be bidding adieu to some real titans: the ambitious if ineffective vampires of What We Do in the Shadows, the twisty fantasy of The Dragon Prince, and the goobers running the Cerritos in Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Here’s all the best TV premieres and finales this week.
The Dragon Prince season 7
Genre: Animated fantasy
Release date: Dec. 19
Showrunners/creators: Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond
Cast: Jack DeSena, Paula Burrows, Sasha Rojen, and more
The Dragon Prince is returning for a seventh and final season, and it brings with it the return of Aaravos, the Fallen Star — who, unfortunately for those who oppose him, is on a quest for vengeance. With Aaravos and Claudia hoping to destroy the cosmic order, it’s up to our heroes to save the world (and, maybe, sacrifice something they love to do it).
Genre: Alternate MCUniverses
Release date: Dec. 22, with one episode; new episodes drop every day
Showrunner/creator: Matthew Chauncey
Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Hayley Atwell, Anthony Mackie, and more
What if Storm got to wield Mjolnir? What if the Winter Soldier teamed up with the Red Guardian? What if Sam Wilson led an Avengers team made up of other MCU heroes, like Monica Rambeau and Moon Knight?
That’s right, it’s another season of What If…?, Marvel’s show exploring the hypothetical alternate universes of the MCU. With the first episode premiering on Dec. 22, we get a new episode every day for nine days.
What We Do in the Shadows series finale
Genre: Vampire mockumentary
Release date: Dec. 16 on FX; next day on Hulu
Showrunner/creator: Paul Simms/Jemaine Clement
Cast: Kayvan Novak, Natasia Demetriou, Harvey Guillén, and more
Your favorite Long Island vampires are hanging it up — or, at least, their mockumentary crews are. What will become of our beloved kooky vampires? With any luck, further eternal life and endless hijinks. Here’s hoping Jackie Daytona makes it out of here too.
Dune: Prophecy season 1 finale
Photo: Attila Szvacsek/HBO
Genre: High sci-fi
Release date: Dec. 22 at 9 p.m. EST
Showrunner/creator: Alison Schapker
Cast: Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Travis Fimmel, and more
The Sisterhood has certainly taken some licks this season. But leave it to Valya (Emily Watson) to find some way forward — at least, should the titular prophecy come to pass. Then again, what is truth and what is prophecy is the name of the game in Dune: Prophecy; exactly what’s going to happen in the season 1 finale remains to be seen.
Genre: Reality show
Release date: Dec. 19, with two episodes
Showrunner/creator: Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson
Like any other reality show, Beast Games presents a bunch of people competing for a helluva prize pot — in this case, $5 million — via a series of competitions. Unlike other reality shows, this one comes from MrBeast, the YouTuber, and features 1,000 contestants. To those familiar with MrBeast’s channel, the hijinks here won’t be all that new. But now that they’re on TV, there’s certainly the chance for them to be… bigger, maybe even riskier.
Secret Level season 1 finale
Image: Prime Video
Genre: Video game anthology
Release date: Dec. 17
Showrunner/creator: Tim Miller
The episodic video game anthology is wrapping up its first season already, with Secret Level’s second batch of (seven) episodes dropping on Dec. 17. Tune in for glimpses of all-new video game worlds, all contained within their own poetic short film.
New shows on Paramount Plus
Genre: Goofy animated Star Trek
Release date: Dec. 19
Showrunner/creator: Mike McMahan
Cast: Jack Quaid, Tawny Newsome, Eugene Cordero, and more
The long mission is coming to a close. What started as a scrappy animated Star Trek satire (of sorts) became many people’s favorite nu Trek of the bunch. Five seasons later, it will be fondly missed, even with many other voyages into the final frontier.