Four brand-new holiday specials are now available to stream for your enjoyment.
“Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special”
Can you even call it December if you haven’t heard Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” on the radio at least once? Just as the song celebrates it’s 26th anniversary, its Billboard top-ranking female recording artist of all-time warms up to release another Christmas special, which premiered on Apple TV+ on December 4.
The special includes plenty of merry music, dancing and surprise celebrity guests, blended with fun and festive animation to tell a heartwarming, timeless Christmas story. Apple TV+ will feature this holiday musical event, directed by live-television master Hamish Hamilton (“The 86th Annual Academy Awards”) and the Oscar-nominated Roman Coppola (Moonrise Kingdom, 2012), so that you can take in all the glitz and glamor of the Queen of Christmas alongside the Yuletide classic A Charlie Brown Christmas, to which the streamer purchased the exclusive rights earlier this year.
“The Holiday Movies That Made Us”
The team behind the “Movies That Made Us” docuseries is gifting us this festive edition of the show, which became available to stream December 1 on Netflix.
Go behind-the-scenes of the modern Christmas classic Elf (2003) starring Will Ferrell, as the special interviews the cast and crew of the film and each person shares their experience working on a film that managed to convey so much heart, humor and genuine, feel-good holiday cheer. Tim Burton’s unforgettable stop-motion animated feature film, The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), will also be covered in the new series, but if you’re one of the people who are hung up on whether Jack and Sally’s story is a Christmas tale or a Halloween romp, you can be glad that the original series has already covered Die Hard (1988). Another beloved Christmas classic, Home Alone (1990), can be seen in Episode 2 of “The Movies That Made Us,” which is available to watch on Netflix now if you’re ready to get a head start on the Christmas spirit.
“The Big Show Show Christmas Special”
Despite already being canceled by Netflix after just one season, legendary WWE Superstar Big Show’s sitcom, aptly and simply titled, “The Big Show Show,” concluded with a special Christmas episode on Wednesday, Dec. 9.
While preparing for a neighborhood Christmas competition, Big Show gets injured, leaving his (television) wife Cassy (Allison Munn, “Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn”) to step into his very big shoes in order to take home a win for the family. Meanwhile, the couple’s three daughters, JJ (Juliet Donenfeld, “Better Call Saul”), Mandy (Lily Brooks O’Briant, “The Tick”) and Lola (Reylynn Caster, “American Housewife”), get sent on a Christmas-themed scavenger hunt where the presents aren’t the best gift they get out of the adventure.
“High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special”
Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s will all be celebrated in a new, 45-minute special of this kid’s musical series. The entire cast comes together to share their own favorite holiday memories, their most cherished—and most embarrassing—gifts ever given or received, and perform a slew of songs that will be sure to get the whole family in the spirit of the season — no matter the holiday you are celebrating as the year comes to an end. Olivia Rodrigo (“Bizaardvark”), Joshua Bassett (“Stuck in the Middle”), Dara Renee (“Black-ish”), Larry Saperstein (“The First Wives Club”) and the rest of the gang appear when the special arrived on Disney+ on Saturday, Dec. 12, and don’t forget to bring along some ideas for your New Year’s resolutions.