‘TIS THE SEASON FOR HOLIDAY PROGRAMMING ON ABC
Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Special Programming for
November and December on the ABC Television Network
ABC celebrates the joy of the holidays, including the world premiere of Pixar Animation Studios’, “Toy Story That Time Forgot,” the return of the competition series, “The Great Christmas Light Fight,” special musical performances on “CMA Country Christmas,” and classic, animated Christmas specials from Walt Disney Animation Studios, PEANUTS, DreamWorks Animation and Dr. Seuss, among others.
Editors please note: What follows is a chronological listing of programming highlights (all times Eastern); this is not a complete list of all holiday-themed programs airing during November and December. As airdates are subject to change, please monitor ABC’s daily press bundle.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26
“A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” - In the 1973 special, “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,” created by late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, Charlie Brown wants to do something special for the gang. However, the dinner he arranges is a disaster when the caterers, Snoopy and Woodstock, prepare toast and popcorn as the main dish. A special bonus cartoon from Charles M. Schulz, “This Is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers,” will air with the PEANUTS classic, in which history comes to animated screen life in a captivating and informative program about the Mayflower voyagers. The special will air with Spanish audio via SAP. (8:00-9:00p) (Rebroadcast. ABC OAD: 11/16/01)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28
“Disney Prep & Landing” – Walt Disney Animation Studios brings you a half-hour holiday special tale of an elite unit of Elves known as Prep & Landing. After working tirelessly on Prep & Landing for 227 years, an elf named Wayne is upset when he doesn’t receive an expected promotion to be the Director of Naughty List Intelligence. Instead, Magee, the North Pole Christmas Eve Command Center Coordinator (NPCECCC for short), partners Wayne with Lanny, an idealistic rookie who has an undying enthusiasm for Christmas. During their Christmas Eve mission, Wayne and Lanny encounter unexpected challenges that push them to their limits. Will the elves be able to guide Dasher, Dancer and the rest of the reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh through a raging snowstorm to ensure a Merry Christmas for all? (8:00-8:30 p.m., ET) (Rebroadcast- ABC OAD: 12/8/09)
“Prep & Landing 2: Naughty vs. Nice” – The yuletide adventures of Christmas elves Lanny and Wayne continue. With the Big 2-5 fast approaching, Wayne and Lanny must race to recover classified North Pole technology that has fallen into the hands of a computer-hacking Naughty Kid! Desperate to prevent Christmas from descending into chaos, Wayne seeks out the foremost Naughty Kid expert to aid in the mission, a bombastic member of the Coal Elf Brigade who also happens to be his estranged brother, Noel. (8:30-9:00 p.m., ET) (Rebroadcast- ABC OAD: 12/5/11)
MONDAY, DECEMBER 1
“CMA Country Christmas” -- Some of the biggest names in music will come together to celebrate the holidays on “CMA Country Christmas,” a two-hour special hosted for the fifth year by Jennifer Nettles. The special is a celebration of the season featuring some of the top stars in music performing holiday songs and getting into the Christmas spirit. Artists already announced include Dan + Shay, Brett Eldredge, Sara Evans, Lucy Hale, Hunter Hayes, Little Big Town, Idina Menzel, Jennifer Nettles, LeAnn Rimes, Michael W. Smith, and Carrie Underwood. “CMA Country Christmas” is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the Executive Producer, Paul Miller is the Director, and David Wild is the writer. The special will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound. (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET)
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2
“Toy Story That Time Forgot” – Pixar Animation Studios’ second new special for television, “Toy Story That Time Forgot,” a World Premiere Holiday Event, will feature your favorite characters from the “Toy Story” films. During a post-Christmas play date, the “Toy Story” gang find themselves in uncharted territory when the coolest set of action figures ever turn out to be dangerously delusional. It's all up to Trixie, the triceratops, if the gang hopes to return to Bonnie's room in this “Toy Story That Time Forgot.” The cast of “Toy Story That Time Forgot” includes Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz, Kristen Schaal as Trixie, Kevin McKidd (“Grey’s Anatomy”) as Reptillus Maximus, Wallace Shawn as Rex, Timothy Dalton as Mr. Pricklepants, Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head and Joan Cusack as Jessie. “Toy Story That Time Forgot” is produced by Galyn Susman and directed by Steve Purcell. (8:00-8:30 p.m., ET)
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” – Celebrate the joy of the holidays with the classic animated Christmas-themed PEANUTS special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” created by the late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz. In the digitally re-mastered 1965 special, Charlie Brown complains about the overwhelming materialism that he sees everywhere during the Christmas season. Lucy suggests that he become director of the school Christmas pageant and Charlie Brown accepts, but it proves to be a frustrating struggle. When an attempt to restore the proper spirit with a forlorn little fir Christmas tree fails, Charlie Brown needs Linus’ help to learn what the real meaning of Christmas is. (8:30-9:00 p.m., ET) (Rebroadcast- ABC OAD: 12/06/01)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3
“Nashville” -- “Two Sides to Every Story” -- Rayna continues to pull out all stops in self-promotion, this time by agreeing to do a televised Christmas special from her home for charity, with Luke and the children. But when she invites Deacon to join in, things get awkward fast. Her magazine cover story has reverberations for her personal life. Meantime, it’s Nashville’s Winterfest and Zoey, Gunnar and Avery have an opportunity to perform. With Scarlett’s coaching, Terry (Mykelti Williamson) sings for the crowd and blows them away, but cannot handle the limelight. Will and Layla go to Winterfest and each find solace, but separately. (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET)
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5
“The Chew” – “The Chew” is your home for the holidays in December and has everything viewers need to celebrate in style, starting with “The Chew's Fourth Annual Ugly Sweater Party,” on DECEMBER 5. DECEMBER 8-12 features the weeklong series “Very Merry Mantle” with style expert Clinton Kelly sharing easy and inexpensive decorating ideas for the home this holiday season. MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, showcases viewer cookie recipes from around the country in the annual cookie swap. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, is a celebration of Hanukkah with a twist on the classic potato latke with co-hosts demonstrating how to make an at-home latke bar featuring various flavors of the holiday staple. On DECEMBER 18, it’s the biggest holiday show of the season with “The Chew’s Christmas Spectacular,” featuring a special visit from the world famous Radio City Rockettes. Throughout the month of December, “The Chew” will bring viewers delicious appetizers with its “Appy Holidays” series and also welcomes guest appearances from “The Barefoot Contessa”
Ina Garten (12/1), Anthony Bordain and Nigella Lawson of ABC's “The Taste” (12/2), Pat Monahan of “Train” (12/15) and Lesley Nicol of PBS’ “Downton Abbey”(12/16).
MONDAY, DECEMBER 8
“The Great Christmas Light Fight” – SEASON PREMIERE -- It’s the most wonderful time of the year when ABC’s hit decorating competition series -- produced by FremantleMedia North America -- returns for a second season! Each of the six one hour episodes features 4 families from across America who work harder than Santa’s elves in order to out-deck the halls of their competition and possibly win the ultimate Christmas Gift--$50,000! The total prizing for the series is $300,000. Michael Moloney & Sabrina Soto (both from “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”) return as judges for the series. (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) and (9:00- 10:00 p.m., ET)
“Castle” – “Bad Santa” – When an ER physician is gunned down in the street, Castle and Beckett soon discover that the victim was a mob doctor to a Mafia family run by an old friend of Castle's. Also, against this backdrop of Christmas, Esposito and Lanie reach a defining moment in their relationship. (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET).
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9
“Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” – In the perennial favorite created in 1970 by Rankin-Bass Productions (“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman,”), Fred Astaire narrates this timeless tale of Kris Kringle (Mickey Rooney), a young boy with an immense desire to do good things for others. The vocal cast features Mickey Rooney as Kris Kringle, Keenan Wynn as Winter, Paul Frees as Burgermeister Meisterburger, Grimsby, the soldiers and the townsmen, Joan Gardner as Tanta Kringle, Robie Lester as Jessica and Andrea Sacino, Dina Lynn, Gary White and Greg Thomas as the children. (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) (Rebroadcast- ABC OAD: 12/02/05)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10
“The Middle” – “The Christmas Wall” -- Frankie has had enough of schlepping out the Christmas decorations and trying to make the perfect holiday for her family -- who she feels doesn’t appreciate all that she does for them -- and decides to kick back on the couch and have a minimalist Christmas this year. Meanwhile, due to Sue’s allergy to real Christmas trees, Mike attempts to purchase an artificial one and ends up not getting what he paid for. Axl puts Boss Co. back into business for the holidays as Tree Wise Men but gets into such a heated argument with Sean over a misfit toy that the two can’t seem to work together, and Brick becomes fascinated by a Christmas letter the family has received and attempts to write one on his own outlining the past year of the Hecks. (8:00-8:30 p.m., ET)
“black-ish” – “Black Santa/White Christmas” – Dre campaigns to be the new Santa at the annual office Christmas party, but when that honor goes to Angelica, the lovely head of HR (guest star Ana Ortiz, “Devious Maids,” “Ugly Betty”) he goes to great lengths to unseat her, because he’s convinced Stevens & Lido needs a black Santa. Meanwhile, Bow is tired of competing with Ruby over who cooks the big Christmas Eve dinner. (9:31-10:00 p.m., ET)
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12
“Last Man Standing “ – “Wedding Planning” -- When Mike offers the cash-strapped Kristin and Ryan a very generous Christmas present to put toward their wedding, the couple must decide if they will accept his gift as well as the conditions that goes along with it. (8:00-8:31p.m., ET)
“Cristela” – “It’s Not About the Tamales” -- It's Christmas time and Cristela is looking forward to the tradition of making tamales with her mom and sister, while the men pretend to do housework. Among those men this year is Cristela's brother Eddie, returning from a job out of state. But when Josh mistakes a joke for an earnest invitation, he ends up crashing the family tamale party. Meanwhile, Trent and Maddie get some much needed father-daughter time at home, where they bond over their shared inability to prepare even the most basic of Christmas feasts. (8:31-9:00 p.m., ET)
MONDAY, DECEMBER 15
“The Great Christmas Light Fight” – It’s the most wonderful time of the year when ABC’s hit decorating competition series -- produced by FremantleMedia North America -- returns for a second season! Each of the six one hour episodes features 4 families from across America who work harder than Santa’s elves in order to out-deck the halls of their competition and possibly win the ultimate Christmas Gift--$50,000! The total prizing for the series is $300,000. Michael Moloney & Sabrina Soto (both from “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”) return as judges for the series. (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) and (9:00- 10:00 p.m., ET)
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” – Celebrate the joy of the holidays with the classic animated Christmas-themed PEANUTS special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” created by the late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz. The hour will also include a series of Christmas-themed animated stories entitled “Charlie Brown Christmas Tales,” based on Schulz’s work, in which each of the beloved PEANUTS characters – Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy and Sally – star in his or her own charming animated vignette. (8:00- 9:00 p.m., ET) (Rebroadcast. ABC OAD 12/6/01)
“America’s Funniest Home Videos Christmas Spectacular” -- This holiday season, “America’s Funniest Home Videos” celebrates from the Disneyland® Resort in California, with host Tom Bergeron highlighting the best classic Christmas videos in “AFHV” history, along with all-new clips. The exciting episode includes: videos featuring the hazards of decorating, as lights, mantels, trees and people all go down; videos of kids reacting to lousy gifts, or causing mayhem during recitals, or the hilarious things they say while sitting on Santa’s lap; and videos of cats and dogs getting in on the Christmas mischief as they investigate gifts and decorations, on “America’s Funniest Home Videos Christmas Spectacular. Tom Bergeron is the host. (Rebroadcast date?) (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20
“I Want A Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown!” – “I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown!” centers on ReRun, the lovable but ever-skeptical younger brother of Linus and Lucy. It’s Christmas vacation and, as usual, ReRun’s big sister is stressing him out, so he decides to turn to his best friend, Snoopy, for amusement and holiday cheer. However, his faithful but unpredictable beagle companion has plans of his own, giving ReRun reason to ask Snoopy to invite his canine brother, Spike, for a visit. The cast of “I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown!” includes Jimmy Bennett as ReRun, Adam Taylor Gordon as Charlie Brown, Ashley Rose Orr as Lucy Van Pelt, Corey Padnos as Linus Van Pelt, Hannah Leigh Dworkin as Sally, Nick Price as Schroeder, Jake Miner as Pig Pen/Franklin, Kaitlyn Maggio as the little girl and Bill Melendez as Snoopy. (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) (Rebroadcast- ABC OAD: 12/09/03)
“CMA Country Christmas” – (Repeat) See Dec. 1. (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET)
MONDAY, DECEMBER 22
“The Great Christmas Light Fight” – SEASON FINALE – It’s the most wonderful time of the year when ABC’s hit decorating competition series -- produced by FremantleMedia North America -- returns for a second season! Each of the six one hour episodes features 4 families from across America who work harder than Santa’s elves in order to out-deck the halls of their competition and possibly win the ultimate Christmas Gift--$50,000! The total prizing for the series is $300,000. Michael Moloney & Sabrina Soto (both from “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”) return as judges for the series. (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) and (9:00- 10:00 p.m., ET)
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23
“Shrek the Halls” – DreamWorks Animation’s “Shrek the Halls,” a half-hour of entertainment starring America’s favorite ogre and his friends and featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas. Just when Shrek thought he could finally sit back, relax and enjoy his happily ever after with his new family, the most joyous of all holidays arrives. It’s Christmas Eve and everyone is filled with holiday cheer -- except for Shrek. He isn’t exactly the picture of yuletide joy, but for the sake of Fiona and the kids, he tries to get into the spirit of things as only an ogre can. Unfortunately, everyone seems to have their own ideas about what Christmas is all about, so when Donkey, Puss In Boots, Gingerbread Man and the whole gang try to join in on the fun, Shrek’s plans for a cozy family celebration end up spiraling into one truly unforgettable Christmas. (8:00-8:30 p.m., ET) (Rebroadcast-ABC OAD: 11/28/07)
“Toy Story That Time Forgot” – (Repeat) See Dec. 2. (8:30-9:00 p.m., ET)
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25
“Disney Parks Frozen Christmas Celebration” -- Music, magic and merriment come together when Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida present the 31st annual Christmas Day parade and TV special. The star-studded sounds of the season include some of today’s top musical talents lending their voices to celebrate the holidays. And, from fairy tales to classic Christmas carols, Disney friends and holiday characters spread joy and good tidings through Disneyland Park in California and the Magic Kingdom Park in Florida. This year promises some extra Frozen fun with fanciful floats and colorful cavalcades as Santa Claus himself along with his reindeer, wend their holly jolly way down Main Street, USA. (10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., ET; check local listings)
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas Special” – Based on the classic children’s book by the legendary Dr. Seuss, this special takes viewers inside a snowflake to Whoville, the magical land of the Whos. But high above this holiday-loving town resides the Grinch, a hateful creature with a heart three sizes too small, who despises Christmas and plots to steal it from the Whos.
(8:00- 8:30 p.m., ET)
“Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” – Based on the classic children’s book by the legendary Dr. Seuss, the live action “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” takes viewers inside a snowflake to Whoville, the magical land of the Whos. But high above this holiday-loving town resides the Grinch (Jim Carrey), a nasty creature with a heart three sizes too small, who hates Christmas and plots to steal it from the Whos. Will a greedy Mayor Augustus Maywho (Jeffrey Tambor) or the seductive Martha May Whovier (Christine Baranski) foil his plans? Or will it be the loving little Cindy Lous Who (Taylor Momsen) who will teach him the true meaning of Christmas? (8:30-11:00 p.m., ET) (Rebroadcast- ABC OAD: 12/12/06)
MONDAY, DECEMBER 29
“Happy New Year, Charlie Brown” -- The ABC Television Network and the PEANUTS gang will ring in the new year with the animated PEANUTS special, “Happy New Year, Charlie Brown,” created by late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, along with “She’s a Good Skate, Charlie Brown.” In “Happy New Year, Charlie Brown,” the PEANUTS gang is ringing in 1986 and Marcie and Peppermint Patty are throwing a big New Year’s Eve bash. Charlie Brown plans to celebrate the holiday by curling up with a big book that weighs nearly as much as he does, Tolstoy’s War and Peace. The book’s weight doesn’t stop him from lugging it to Lucy’s pre-party dance class, where he cuts a mean rug with a rollicking Patty. With just 1131 pages to go, Charlie Brown takes another break, this time for the party, and summons the courage to invite his true love, the little red-haired girl. She doesn’t respond, but hapless Chuck shows up anyway – with Tolstoy in tow. Then, he settles down with the book – on a porch swing in a snowstorm, and in so doing, misses the evening’s big surprise. In “She’s a Good Skate, Charlie Brown,” disaster strikes as Peppermint Patty heads to her first major ice-skating competition with coach Snoopy and faithful companion Marcie by her side. As always, the unassuming Woodstock flies in to save the day. (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) (Rebroadcast- ABC OAD: 12/30/08)
“Rudolph’s Shiny New Year” – It’s Rudolph to the rescue when Happy, the Baby New Year, goes missing, in “Rudolph’s Shiny New Year,” the classic Rankin/Bass stop-motion animated holiday special. Red Skelton narrates and voices Father Time, while Frank Gorshin and Morey Amsterdam also provide voices for characters. Father Time (voiced by narrator Red Skelton) asks the most famous reindeer of all, Rudolph, to find the next Baby New Year before midnight on New Year’s Eve.(9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) (Rebroadcast- ABC OAD: 12/26/06)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31
“Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2015” -- Before the ball drops on New Year’s Eve, global music sensation Taylor Swift will culminate another record-breaking year with a performance of her hit songs for over 1 million fans in Times Square live on ABC's telecast. Swift will join a stellar line-up of the year’s top music artists in celebrating the New Year during the biggest live music celebration in show history with over 38 performances and 5½ hours of music. The bi-coastal celebration will include hours of special performances and reports on New Year’s celebrations from around the globe, and Ryan Seacrest will lead the traditional countdown to midnight from Times Square in New York City as he has for the last 9 years. (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET)
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