Tune In Tonight: ‘Dynasty’ Christmas extols virtues of ‘Pirducken’

“Duck Dynasty” (9 p.m., A&E) celebrates the season with “I’m Dreaming of a Redneck Christmas.” For the uninitiated, this popular cable series follows the antics of the Robertson family. Their patented duck call has made them quite wealthy, but that doesn’t stop many family members from behaving like backwoods stereotypes. In many ways, it’s a reality variation of a sitcom. Imagine if the Clampetts on “The Beverly Hillbillies” got rich and never left Bug Tussle.

Viewers seem to love this stuff. From rustic exterminators to swamp dwellers and “Moonshiners” (7-10 p.m., Discovery), these shows attract audiences that often top the cable ratings charts. According to A&E, more than 4.9 million viewers watched “Duck Dynasty” last week. “American Horror Story,” the second-most popular cable series last Wednesday, had a total audience of half that number.

Among the highlights of “I’m Dreaming of a Redneck Christmas” is the preparation of something called “pirducken,” which is a pig stuffed with a turkey that’s been stuffed with a duck that has a chicken stuffed inside of it. Christmas lights and decorations also take on an excessive flair.

• An evil Santa invades the asylum while Sister Jude takes on the devil on “American Horror Story: Asylum” (9 p.m., FX). To say that this series, already deliriously lurid in its first season, has gone off the rails is an understatement.

While Jessica Lange has outdone herself this season in a performance sure to attract attention and awards, “Horror” has descended to almost predictable shock value, ladling out one gruesome scene after another.


Tonight’s other highlights:

• The finalists compete on “The X-Factor” (7 p.m., Fox).

• Arrow joins forces with the Huntress on “Arrow” (7 p.m., CW).

• A murder suspect is linked to an earlier case on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (8 p.m., NBC).

• Conflicting schedules necessitate an early Christmas celebration on “Modern Family” (8 p.m., ABC).

• A train wreck leaves a young victim on “Chicago Fire” (9 p.m., NBC).

• Juliette seeks family in an unexpected place on “Nashville” (9 p.m., ABC).

• Hector’s lifestyle and associates land him in jail on “The Hour” (8 p.m., BBC America).