10 holiday episodes to raise your spirits
Christmas stories from beloved series can be as festive as a movie or special
For many, December is usually the busiest time of year, a month of parties and family gatherings. This year, of course, not so much. Don’t be ( too) sad, though — think of it as an excuse to indulge in some oldfashioned, smallscreen cheer.
Holiday episodes of your favorite drama or comedy are practically a genre in their own right. Some are so good, they’ve become classics as beloved as any movie or oneoff special.
We only had room to list 10, but you could easily fill the 12 Days of Christmas watching your favorite characters celebrate in all of their funny, heartbreaking and weird ways. Put on your comfiest jammies, pour a cup of ( spiked) cocoa and settle in for a long winter’s night of streaming.
“The Office”: “Christmas Party”:
Has workfromhome life left you longing for awkward office party antics? There are some who insist season three’s “A Benihana Christmas” episode is better, but season two’s “Christmas Party” marks when the classic sitcom finally hit its comedic stride. Yankee Swap! Corporate booze! Unrequited crushes! Perfection in a teapot.
⏩ Watch it: Available to stream on Netflix.
“MASH”: “Death Takes a Holiday”: The 4077th unit plans a holiday party for orphans during a ceasefire — but it’s not all joy. When a severely wounded soldier is brought into the medical tent and B. J. Hunnicutt ( Mike Farrell) learns the man has a wife and children back home, he struggles with the thought of letting him die on Christmas Day.
⏩ Watch it: Available to stream on Hulu. If your misery needs company
“Married … With Children”: “It’s a Bundyful Life”: If holiday episodes are their own TV genre, then holiday episodes that riff on the 1946 classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” comprise the ultimate subgenre. While there are countless from which to choose (“Mork & Mindy,” “Friends,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” to name a very few), why not skip the saccharine in favor of profane belly laughs? In this twopart episode, Al Bundy ( Ed O’Neill) ruins the holiday, prompting his family to abandon him for a Denny’s. Home alone, Al nearly dies trying to put up the Christmas lights, which in turn prompts a visit from his guardian angel. No, it’s not the sweet Clarence you remember, but rather comedian Sam Kinison.
⏩ Watch it: Available to stream on Hulu.
“The O. C.”: “The Best Chrismukkah Ever”: Resident rich kid Seth Cohen ( Adam Brody) introduces bad boy Ryan Atwood ( Ben McKenzie) to Chrismukkah, “the greatest superholiday known to mankind.” Menorah or candy cane? “In this house you don’t have to choose,” Seth says.
⏩ Watch it: Available to stream on Amazon Prime.
“Gilmore Girls”: “Forgiveness
and Stuff”: Stars Hollow stages its annual Christmas program and Lorelei ( Lauren Gilmore) is upset after her family disinvites her from their annual holiday soiree. Hurt turns to fear, however, when her father, Richard Gilmore ( Edward Herrmann), is rushed to the hospital after collapsing at the party.
⏩ Watch it: Available to stream on Netflix.
“Everybody Hates Chris”: “Everybody Hates Kwanzaa”: In true dad fashion, Julius ( Terry Crews) wants his family to celebrate Kwanzaa instead of Christmas — not for cultural reasons, but because it’s cheaper. Meanwhile, Chris ( Tyler James Williams) learns a lesson about charity when he helps his friend, Kill Moves ( Jeris Poindexter), reunite with his estranged mother ( Phylicia Rashad) for a class assignment. As with the rest of this series, loosely based on cocreator and narrator Chris Rock’s upbringing, this holiday entry is bitingly astute.
⏩ Watch it: Available to stream on Hulu.
“Seinfeld”: “The Strike”: This episode introduced “Festivus,” Frank Costanza’s ( Jerry Stiller) annual dissent against the commercialization of Christmas. One of the holiday’s enduring elements is its Airing of Grievances, the Dec. 23 observance during which we get to tell the people in our lives all the ways they’ve disappointed us. A Festivus for the rest of us, indeed.
⏩ Watch it: Available to stream on Hulu.
“Glee”: “A Very Glee Christmas”: In this holiday installment, Brittany ( Heather Morris) asks Santa Claus to help her boyfriend, Artie ( Kevin McHale), walk again. If that, along with the scene of Blaine ( Darren Criss) and Kurt ( Chris Colfer) duetting on “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” doesn’t warm your grinchy heart, nothing ever will. ⏩ Watch it: Available to stream on Netflix.
“Downton Abbey”: “Christmas at Downton Abbey”: With all the fancy accoutrements that a fading British aristocracy can muster, “Downton Abbey” makes for lush escapist viewing. This episode delivers an uppercrust bang with a blackmail scheme, the uncovering of an affair and, at long last, Cousin Matthew’s ( Dan Stevens) marriage proposal to Lady Mary ( Michelle Dockery).
⏩ Watch it: Available to stream on Amazon Prime.
“The Brady Bunch”: “The Voice of Christmas”:
Carol Brady ( Florence Henderson) comes down with laryngitis, which means she may not be able to sing in the annual Christmas service. While Cindy ( Susan Olsen) asks Santa
for a miracle, the older kids want to postpone the holiday, and Alice ( Ann B. Davis) tries to teach them the true meaning of the season.
⏩ Watch it: Available to stream on Amazon Prime.