Guy Pearce and Tom Hardy Headline FX's Epic A Christmas Carol

When it comes to Christmas TV tropes, none is as enduring as A Christmas Carol. (Primetimer's own Jessica Liese recently wrote about her five favorites retellings, which include shows as varied as Family Ties and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.) Tonight brings a brand new and unnervingly dark take on the story, written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) and starring Guy Pearce and Tom Hardy. Also tonight: the next Democratic Presidential Debate, a new (and hopefully improved) Miss America competition, and more. Here's what's new and noteworthy on TV this Thursday:

SPECIAL PRESENTATION: FX presents A Christmas Carol as you've never seen it before, plumbing the dark depths of Guy Pearce's Ebenezer Scrooge as he is haunted by three spirits, including Andy Serkis' Ghost of Christmas Present. Watch the preview. The three-part miniseries airs in its entirely tonight, beginning at 7:30 PM ET on FX

SPECIAL PRESENTATION: After complete makeover last year in the wake of scandal that had enveloped its parent organization, The 2020 Miss America Competition returns to NBC tonight under new leadership, and from a new location: Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut. Access Hollywood's Kit Hoover and Mario Lopez host.  8:00 PM ET on NBC

LIVE EVENT: A pageant of an entirely different sort, the sixth Democratic Presidential Debate will take pace at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. 9:00 PM ET/ 6:00 PM PT on PBS and CNN

SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Taylor Swift, Jonas Brothers, Camila Cabello, Halsey and Lizzo are among the big names taking the stage at the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2019. The annual mega-concert was taped last Friday at New York's Madison Square Garden. 8:00pm on The CW. 

NEW EPISODES: It's spice and dessert night as The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition returns for Week 2. Back to back episodes begin at 9:00 PM ET on ABC

DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE: The documentary After the Raid explores the fallout following a massive immigration raid in a small American town. Streaming on Netflix

ALSO TONIGHT

• Project Runway tasks its designers with transforming a winter wonderland into a wearable wonder by channeling their own holiday memories. Also: a surprise visitor stops by. 9:30pm ET on Bravo
• Disney's Prep & Landing and Prep and Landing 2 have their annual holiday broadcasts beginning at 8:00 PM ET on ABC

Mike Attebery is Senior Editor at Primetimer and the author of seven mystery thrillers. Follow him on Twitter at @mikeattebery.