The Happy Elf (8pm, CW) - An animated musical scored and narrated by Harry Connick Jr. tells the story of Eubie, a jubilant elf who makes it his Christmas Eve mission to save the children of the aptly named Bluesville from another disappointing, Santa-less holiday.

Christmas in Washington (8pm, TNT) - Conan O'Brien hosts the 31st annual holiday gala from the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., which was recorded on December 9. Performers include Scotty McCreery (in a suit!), Diana Ross, Demi Lovato, Megan Hilty, Chris Mann and Psy. Attendees include the president and the first lady.

Michael Buble: Home for the Holidays (8pm, NBC) - This Christmas special debuted a week or so ago, but it's worth catching if you missed (and if you like Buble). Features Rod Stewart, Blake Shelton and Carly Rae Jepsen. "White House Christmas: First Families Remember" also repeats tonight right after Buble.

Back to the Beginning with Christiane Amanpour (9pm, ABC) - In the first of a two-part series, Christiane Amanpour explores Biblical stories and places in the Middle East to investigate the origins of many of the world's religions.

Fringe (9pm, Fox) - The team call on Nina Sharp to help devise a plan to defeat the Observers, but time is running out in their quest to save the world.

Durham folk rock band Delta Rae will perform on tonight's "Conan" show on TBS.

The six-person band includes three siblings -- Ian Hölljes, Eric Hölljes and Brittany Hölljes (Ian and Eric both graduated from Duke University).  Elizabeth Hopkins, Mike McKee and Grant Emerson make up the rest of the band.

Delta Rae performed "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" back in June, just after their album "Carry the Fire" was released.

The N&O music critic David Menconi has written about Delta Rae many times. You can read those stories here and here.

"Conan" airs at 11pm on TBS.

UPDATE: The Avett Brothers (extreme awesomeness from Concord) are on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" tonight. That airs at 12:37 a.m. on NBC. Watch it!!

Maggie Batson, a 9-year-old entrepreneur and philanthropist from Moore County, will be living out every kid's dream Thursday when she becomes a Nickelodeon star for a night.

Maggie, who sells necklaces she makes from recycled materials and donates profits to the Humane Society in Carthage, was recruited for Nickelodeon's revived 90's game show "Figure It Out" and flown to Los Angeles for taping in April.

On "Figure It Out," a panel of celebrities ask a kid a series of "yes" and "no" questions and try to figure out what the kid's special talent is. Maggie's mother Rachel said producers from the show contacted them and asked if Maggie would be interested in appearing. They did a phone interview and then had Maggie record an audition at home and send it in.

The Nickelodeon appearance isn't Maggie's first time on TV. She has made some local TV appearances and was profiled earlier this year on a PBS program about financial literacy called "Biz Kids."

But this gig was a little more Hollywood than she's accustomed to.

The "Fan Corrections" segment on Conan O'Brien's late night talk show is one of my favorite things Conan does ("Conan" airs Monday-Thursday at 10pm on TBS). The host challenges fans to find him committing an error on the show, and he takes the submissions and "proves" that he was right all along. (Here's a funny segment from 2011 where a North Carolina fan gets Conan on misspelling "Durham.")

Conan recently got caught mispronouncing "American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery's last name. Conan said "McCreedy."

He handled it in his usual hilarious way (with an assist from Scotty):

Glee (8pm, Fox) - As the holidays approach, New Directions get invited to to events scheduled for the same time.

The Biggest Loser (9pm, NBC) - The winner of the $250,000 prize is awarded in tonight's finale.

New Girl (9pm, Fox) - The roommates attend Schmidt's holiday office party, where Schmidt (Max Greenfield, right) plays Sexy Santa. (More Schmidt! More Schmidt! More Schmidt!)

Raising Hope (9:30pm, Fox) - How cool was last week's homage to Marwencol? This week, Jimmy imagines a life without Hope when he enters a strange, dreamlike world where he never met her mother, serial killer Lucy. Meanwhile, the Chances go to the movies and are surprised to see cinematic versions of themselves on the screen.

The Conan One Hour Earlier Best of Spectacular (10pm, TBS) - Memorable moments from Conan O'Brien's show "Conan," which usually airs at 11. (Get it?)

Unforgettable (10pm, CBS) - A renowned ghost hunter is killed and the investigation reveals that his death is linked to a chilling discovery he made while on a recent assignment.

This is so funny. A viewer calls out Conan O'Brien for misspelling "Durham" in a graphic on the 'Conan' show. Watch Conan's explanation (and also, I was thinking the same thing about why the guy -- DeaconGuy08 -- started taping in the bathroom).

Zach Galifianakis was on "Conan" last night and talked about what it was like growing up in a small North Carolina town with a dad who was very "kissy" and who liked to skip. Funny interview. The stuff about his dad comes nearer the end.

Check it out. Conan O'Brien is spoofing those bizarre Groupon ads that debuted during the Super Bowl (the ads have since been revised by Groupon). 

The Bearded One is back.

After an extraordinary amount of hype, Conan O'Brien returned to late last night, debuting his new 11 p.m. talk show on TBS.

No surprise here, but "Conan" is a lot like O'Brien's old shows ("Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien") -- and that's not a bad thing. I loved those old shows, and there's really no reason I can think of for him to drastically change a formula that his loyal Team Coco adores.

In his first episode (titled "Baa Baa Blackmail" -- each episode will be named), O'Brien made a lot of self-deprecating jokes about his infamous dismissal from NBC and about being on basic cable (also not a surprise). His sidekick Andy Richter was back, and really funny (on the couch where he belongs instead of behind a podium). The Basic Cable Band sounded good, and guests Seth Rogan, Lea Michelle, and Jack White -- all good. O'Brien even played a number with White, and you could tell he was having a blast.

In short, the first five minutes of "Conan" -- a short film recounting the upheaval at NBC and his path to TBS -- were funnier than five years of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

Watch that clip below.

How I Met Your Mother (8pm, CBS) - Ted meets Zoey's husband, the Captain (Kyle McLachlan), when the gang attends a fundraiser at the Natural History Museum.

Matt Lauer Reports (8pm, NBC) - Matt Lauer interviews former president George W. Bush, who talks about his new memoir, "Decision Points."

Hawaii Five-0 (10pm, CBS) - Danny's ex-partner in the Honolulu Police Department is murdered and his body is found in a barbecue pit during a luau. The investigation reveals the death may be connected to corrupt cops and a powerful cocaine cartel.

The Big C (10:30pm, Showtime) - Cathy's decision to embark on a nontraditional treatment for her cancer leads her and Dr. Todd to the unconventional Bee Man, played by Liam Neeson (right). Meanwhile, Adam gets relationship advice from Sean, and Paul's support of Cathy (Laura Linney) becomes a bit overbearing.

Conan (11pm, TBS) - It's finally here. Conan O'Brien's new late night talk show debuts with guests Seth Rogan and Lea Michele, and a performance by Jack White. Andy Richter is back as Conan's sidekick and Jimmy Vivino conducts the house band.