Every season, sitcoms face the extraordinary challenge of crafting a joyful and touching, yet joke-stuffed holiday special. And with the holidays fast approaching, we humbly present some of our favorite specials of the last 15 years — all guaranteed to fill you with holiday cheer!
The episodes listed below (in no particular order) are like snowflakes, each unique in its own way for expanding the genre, unwrapping surprising storylines or taking something old and turning it into something new. So, pile on the blankets, make yourself cozy and bask in the glow of some essential holiday viewing.
Bob's Burgers, "The Plight Before Christmas" (Season 13, Episode 10)
Bob's Burgers deftly wraps all the nerves, anxieties and chaos of holiday school performances and ties it up with a neat, tear-inducing bow by scoring Louise's uncharacteristically heartfelt poetry reading with Gene's xylophone solo, composed by none other than Philip Glass.
30 Rock, "Christmas Special" (Season 3, Episode 6)
This hysterical exploration of holiday-inspired shame follows Liz Lemon's (Tina Fey) misguided attempts to assuage her white guilt via a Secret Santa program and Jack Donaghy's (Alec Baldwin) harebrained plot to avoid his guilt-tripping mother by producing a last-minute holiday special "that makes It's a Wonderful Life look like Pulp Fiction."
Schitt's Creek, "Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose" (Season 4, Episode 13)
Eugene Levy delivers a dazzling performance as Johnny Rose, who urges his disinterested family to celebrate Christmas despite their meager circumstances. Intercut with flashbacks of their lavish, but hollow, holiday soirée of Christmas past, this episode is a testament to just how far the Roses have come.
The Bear, "Fishes" (Season 2, Episode 6)
In this standout season two episode of the FX show — arguably the tensest 66 minutes of television in recent memory — Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) becomes a side-character to the wild antics of his dysfunctional (and cameo-studded) family. Throughout one very chaotic night, they struggle to survive a holiday dinner whose first course is a white-knuckling negotiation over a fork.
Abbott Elementary, "Holiday Hookah" (Season 2, Episode 10)
This episode is chock full of holiday goodies: Jacob (Chris Perfetti) the woke Grinch discovering the meaning of not ruining Christmas for everyone, Janine (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams) sharing a romantically charged moment in the snow and the surprising reveal of Ava's boyfriend.
Fresh Off the Boat, "The Real Santa" (Season 2, Episode 10)
What happens when Santa doesn't reflect your family values? According to Jessica Wang (Constance Wu), you reinvent him as the ideal role model for your kids. Enter Lao Ban Santa, a successful Chinese scientist who gifts toys to children as part of his charity work.
The Goldbergs, "A Christmas Story" (Season 3, Episode 10)
Inspired by Goldbergs' creator Adam F. Goldberg's own childhood, in which his mother was always trying to figure out how to make Hanukkah burn more brightly for the kids, Beverly Goldberg (Wendi Sheldon-Covery) invents "Super Hanukkah," a knockoff of Christmas complete with a Hanukkah bush.
Superstore, "Christmas Eve" (Season 3, Episode 10)
This episode sparkles when Amy (America Ferrera), Dina (Lauren Ash) and Cheyenne (Nichole Sakura) get a little too merry off some spiked hot cocoa and confront Amy's ex at his new girlfriend's house. But what really makes it shine are the interstitials of a Salvation Army reindeer galivanting around the store.
New Girl, "The 23rd" (Season 1, Episode 9)
New Girl's ode to friendship in its holiday special hits like a warm cup of cocoa for the soul. When Jess's (Zoey DeChanel) Christmas goes from merry to melancholy after a breakup, her friends revive her holiday spirit with their aggressive demands for everyone on Candy Cane Lane to turn on their lights.
Everybody Hates Chris, "Everybody Hates Kwanzaa" (Season 3, Episode 10)
Julius (Terry Crews) convinces his family to celebrate Kwanzaa instead of Christmas to save money. When the family catches on to Dad's scheme, they abandon their new principle-rich tradition to re-embrace their materialistic roots. Refreshingly, this family has no shame celebrating what Christmas is all about: the presents.
