‘Simpsons’ Christmas Story, Profiling Aaron Rodgers, Holiday Music on PBS, No Holiday for ‘FBI’

The Simpsons

TV’s longest-running animated hit has been associated with Christmas from its beginning — when on December 17, 1989, the first full-length episode (after previously appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show) offered the holiday fable, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.” After 36 seasons and nearly 780 episodes, the satirical staple comes full circle on its anniversary date with a double-length episode, “C’mon All Ye Faithful,” in which a dour Springfield, choking on “the chunky inhale of tire fire and donut oil,” gets an injection of Christmas spirit courtesy of British illusionist and mentalist Derren Brown (as himself). His experiment involves hypnotizing a suggestible Homer, who begins to believe he’s Santa Claus, with the fallout sending neighbor Ned Flanders into a crisis of faith. Christmas miracles abound, not the least of which is this series’ staying power.

Aaron Rodgers: Enigma

“I’m trying to beat back Father Time and the expectations,” says famed quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a three-part docuseries profile of one of the NFL’s more polarizing figures. Enigma explores the spiritual journey of a celebrated public figure whose embrace of conspiracy theories made him a lightning rod for controversy. The series also chronicles his comeback after suffering what might have been a career-ending injury when he tore his Achilles in his first game after leaving the Green Bay Packers, his home for 18 seasons, to join the underdog New York Jets.

Christmas With the Tabernacle Choir

The world-famous Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square are joined by Downton Abbey’s Lesley Nicol (Mrs. Patmore) and former Broadway Aladdin star Michael Maliakel for a sweeping concert of music and storytelling. Nicol narrates a story about Les Misérables author Victor Hugo’s dedication toward caring for the poor children of his community, while Maliakel performs with the choir and orchestra, along with the Bells at Temple Square and the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble, for a musical program including “God Helps the Outcasts” (from the Hunchback of Notre Dame musical) and such standards as “Joy to the World” and “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” Followed by Too Hot to Handel: Gospel Messiah (9:30/8:30c), featuring a reimagined interpretation of Handel’s classic with gospel, jazz and R&B touches, with conductor Marin Alsop and colleagues Bob Christianson and Gary Anderson presenting the work at London’s majestic Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Symphony Chorus and the London Adventist Chorale.

FBI

While many series deck the halls with holiday trappings this time of year, Dick Wolf’s FBI trilogy carries on with serious business in their fall finales. On the mothership, OA (Zeeko Zaki) turns to his army buddy Clay (Guy Lockard) to learn whether the death of three customs officers was an inside job. On FBI: International (9/8c), things get personal for new team leader Wes (Jesse Lee Soffer) after the fatal beating in a Budapest prison of a star witness in the case against the man who killed his former partner. Then on FBI: Most Wanted (10/9c), the Fugitive Task Force butts heads with the local law while pursuing a serial killer in Virginia.

St. Denis Medical

Seasoned character actor David Paymer — you’ll recognize him when you see him — steals the freshman medical comedy’s first (and hopefully not last) Christmas episode as a patient who initially charms supervising nurse Alex (Allison Tolman) and everyone else at the hospital, until he shows his true colors. Elsewhere, a man in a Santa suit comes to the ER in an embarrassingly desperate situation, and status-seeking hospital director Joyce (Wendi McLendon-Covey) needs tech-savvy nurse Serena (Kahyun Kim) to keep her from embarrassing everyone with her retro ideas on how to boost the social-media profile of St. Denis.

INSIDE TUESDAY TV:

• LEGO Masters: Celebrity Holiday Bricktacular (8/7c, Fox): Celebrity guests Sophia Bush, Holly Robinson Peete, Eric McCormack, and Lil Rel Howery return for the finale of a two-night special, working with fan-favorite LEGO builders on challenges that include creating holiday characters that ride a LEGO snowboard.
• Night Court (8:30/7:30c, NBC): A murder-mystery performer creates so much chaos in the courtroom that it could kill Judge Abby’s (Melissa Rauch) holiday plans.
• Ronny Chieng: Love to Hate It (streaming on Netflix): The Daily Show comedian (and costar of Hulu’s acclaimed Interior Chinatown) performs his third Netflix stand-up comedy special during a sold-out five-night run at Honolulu’s Hawai’i Theatre.
• Sister Boniface Mysteries Christmas Special (streaming on BritBox): The crime-solving nun (Lorna Watson) gets busy when the local Great Slaughter Amateur Dramatics Society’s holiday pantomime of Cinderella is disrupted by multiple murderers.