GIFT FIT FOR GIGGLES
CBC is offering a bonus holiday episode of Schitt’s Creek, among other things playing this week,
TUESDAY
Schitt’s Creek
Watch this if: You want to laugh and cry in the same half-hour. It’s a sign of the continuing popularity of this TV comedy that it’s airing a bonus holiday episode ahead of its return for Season 5 on Jan. 8. In “Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose,” the patriarch of the Rose family (Eugene Levy) decides to resurrect the clan’s annual party (which means we get a glimpse of swanky celebrations past, before the Roses traded their mansion for a motel). But his wife and kids (Catherine O’Hara, Daniel Levy and Annie Murphy) turn out to be grinches. No spoilers, but expect to end the episode with a lump in your throat. (CBC at 9 p.m.) —Debra Yeo
THURSDAY
Songbuster Watch this if: You’re tired of the Christmas classics. Christmas carols got you down? Can’t stand another viewing of Love, Actually or
White Christmas? Luckily, there’s a new holiday musical in town for one night only. The hit show Songbuster returns to Bad Dog Theatre for a special holiday version of a fully improvised musical, which will have its world premiere and never be seen again. Returning cast members from the festival runs that made it an audience favourite include Stephanie Malek, Tricia Black, Nug Nahrgang and Josh Murray. (Bad Dog Theatre, 875 Bloor St. W., 8 p.m.) —Carly Maga
FRIDAY
Mike on Much in Conversation With …
Watch this if: You like to watch as well as listen to interviews with famous people. In a homegrown example of a podcast transferring to TV, Crave has given buddies Mike Veerman, Max Kerman and Shane Cunningham a chance to test their combination of banter, interviews and cringe comedy on screen. The first episode features Veerman in conversation with Sting and Shaggy, and Veerman’s thoughtful questions elicit some entertaining moments. Other episodes include chats with Alessia Cara, Letterkenny’s Jared Keeso, new Doctor Who Jodie Whittaker, Noel Gallagher and more. (Crave at 12 a.m.) —DY
Bentway Skate Trail Opening Weekend
Watch this if: You can skate to infinity. Toronto’s new favourite figure-eight skate trail, located under the Gardiner Expressway, officially opened last year, drawing approximately 50,000 skaters. This week, its sophomore season opens, with free skate rentals from noon to 10 p.m. on Friday (after this, free rentals are only available on Thursday nights). The après-skate offerings include warming stations, fire pits, cuddly blankets, a food and beverage menu, and an extended run of the Bentway’s fall art exhibit If, But, What If? (The Bentway Skate Trail, 250 Fort York Blvd., noon, also Saturday and Sunday) —CY
Die Hard at Cinesphere
Watch this if: You love John McClane even more than you love Santa Claus. ’Tis most definitely the season for holi- day-themed screenings all over this tinsel-strewn city. While some festiveminded moviegoers may be satisfied with the more traditional likes of It’s a Wonderful Life (which plays at TIFF Bell Lightbox and the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema this weekend), others need their annual fix of the 1988 action blockbuster starring Bruce Willis as a New York cop determined to rescue his missus from gun-toting Eurotrash on Christmas Eve. You’ve got three chances to see it this weekend at Ontario Place’s iconic movie palace, which looks a little like Nakatomi Plaza if you squint hard enough. (Cinesphere at Ontario Place, 955 Lake Shore Blvd. W., 7:30 p.m., also Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m.) —Jason Anderson
Words and Song for Solstice Evening
Watch this if: You want poetry and music in a beautiful setting. Toronto poet laureate Anne Michaels and musician David Sereda join forces on the solstice to celebrate hope, which Michaels calls “a kind of defiance.” “This has been an exceptionally difficult year for our city, marked by violence, and we have all been shaken by the tragedies in North York and on the Danforth,” says Michaels. “This concert of words and song will defiantly mark the longest night of the year: a deepening not a darkening.” They’ll be joined by sax player Colleen Allen, cellist Keira McArthur, and singers Alana Bridgewater and Brenda MacCrimmon. (St. George the Martyr, Great Hall, 30 Stephanie St., 7:30 p.m.) —Deborah Dundas
Horn from the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story
Watch this if: You’re eager to hear something other than Christmas carols. A hugely influential figure in American blues and rock music, Paul Butterfield gets the deluxe treatment in the latest instalment of the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema’s This Film Should Be Played Loud program of vital music flicks. Director John Anderson presents Butterfield’s eventful and ultimately tragic arc from his days as a teenage harmonica prodigy on Chicago’s South Side, through his band’s momentous sets at Monterey Pop and Woodstock, to his death of a drug overdose in 1987. Elvin Bishop and Bonnie Raitt share their memories in interviews featured alongside smokin’ hot archival footage of Butterfield blowing hard on a little metal contraption. (Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, 506 Bloor St. W., 9:30 p.m.) —JA
SATURDAY
F--ked Up, Metz Watch this for: Anti-seasonal sounds that’ll loosen fillings quicker than the sweetest Christmas pudding. Tickets ought to come with a tinnitus warning for this one, so wear protection: in one corner, it’s F--ked Up, the arty sonic abusers closing in on two decades of pummeling audiences; in the other, Metz’s more straightforward but still abrasive noise made for a good mosh. This benefit show for the Toronto Overdose Prevention Society gets additional heft from the likes of Dilly Dally, Witch Prophet and Meg Remy (U.S. Girls) down for a DJ set. It all sounds like a great way to avoid excessive holiday cheer while nevertheless running the risk of a beer shower — for a good cause. (Opera House, 735 Queen St. E., doors 8 p.m.) —CY