The upcoming Timeless two-hour finale movie finally has a premiere date, as NBC announced a late December bow for its plucky time travelers in their last adventure together. The Peacock network’s little time-travel show that could has a small but vocal fan base, so vocal in fact they once played a significant role in helping the series survive its own cancellation. Though fans were eager to show up on social media to decry the cancellation, they weren’t quite as eager to tune in on a weekly basis (ratings still matter, folks), putting the resurrected series in danger once again.

But, as a show that’s admirable for, if nothing else, a refusal to go quietly into the night, Timeless didn’t take its second cancellation sitting down, either. The result of such obstinance — while not a third season that not enough people would tune in for — turned into a two-hour finale movie. That movie will aim to wrap up the massive cliffhanger that season 2 ended on, killing off Malcolm Barrett’s Rufus and introducing new, more rugged versions of Lucy (Abigail Spencer) and Wyatt (Matt Lanter) from the future, who were bound and determined to somehow bring the departed Rufus back. 

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In an announcement from NBC, the Timeless two-hour (or two-part, as the network is calling it) series finale will air on Thursday, December 20, starting at 8pm ET. That will get the finale in just before 2018 is up, but it will also give the series ender its best chance at drawing a strong audience. Even during the era of Peak TV, it seems the end of the year and holiday season is still something of a dead zone as far as new content is concerned (especially on the broadcast networks), making this a welcome event for fans and maybe even non-fans alike. 

The series has a significant task ahead of it, in terms of wrapping up the Rufus storyline, the appearance of future Lucy and Wyatt, and the threat of the time-traveling group known as Rittenhouse, but it seems like two-hours will likely be enough time to satisfy all those threads. Though it had a serialized plot structure, Timeless was, in its heart, a sci-fi procedural, putting its characters in a new era, with notable historical figures each week. Chances are, the writers will have to narrow down their historical era and figure wish list significantly. Finding out who they choose to include will be half the fun in watching the movie. 

For the most part, it seems fans are taking the second (and final) cancellation of Timeless a little better than the first. The promise of a finale movie certainly helps things, so it will be interesting to see how many fans tune in to say goodbye. 

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The Timeless finale movie premieres Thursday, December 20 @8pm on NBC.