Watch it

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (8 p.m., ABC). The best Christmas special out there. Period.

“Gossip Girl” (9 p.m., The CW). It’s a very special Thanksgiving episode. A week late. Things get awkward for Serena when Lily invites Trip and his wife to the family dinner. Seriously, why would she do that? And why would they accept, when they could go to the family compound in Connecticut? This show is maddening sometimes. The episode’s titled “Treasure of the Serena Madre,” but if that sounds too lame for you, there’s always the original John Huston classic “Treasure of the Sierra Madre” on Turner Classic Movies at 6:45 p.m.

“Hoarders” (10 p.m. A&E). The second season of this bizarre, cringe-inducing and utterly fascinating reality series begins. Tonight, a son who was removed from his mother’s care years before because of her out-of-control hoarding comes back and tries to get her help.

“The Daily Show” (11 p.m., Comedy Central). An interview with Mahair Bahari, an Iranian-Canadian journalist who was arrested and imprisoned in Iran after speaking to “The Daily Show” during their May visit to Tehran.

Record it

“Wright Out of Bounds” (8 p.m., Travel Channel). Host Ian Wright takes another adventure to a country not high on most people’s vacation radar: Venezuela.

“Intervention” (9 p.m., A&E). A new season kicks off. Tonight: Painkillers!

“Pawn Shop” (10 p.m., History Channel). The second-season premiere. I didn’t even know there was a first season. Looks kinda like “Antiques Roadshow,” only with meth-heads.

Skip it

“Shrek the Halls” (8:30 p.m., ABC). Compare this to the Grinch, and you’ll see why there’s just no comparison.

“Chef Academy” (11 p.m., Bravo). One chef gets the boot for being disruptive. Meanwhile the chefs try to replicate a perfect dish of risotto, which, based on “Top Chef” dealings with risotto, seems doomed to disaster for most of them. It’s a stupid and kinda pointless show, but I’ll probably still watch it and hate myself later.