As Hollywood’s dedication to holiday episodes falters, the Brits are producing more Christmas specials than ever
In many cases, the emergence and domination of streaming has caused holiday episodes to be a thing of the past in Hollywood.
Gone are the 22-episode seasons that would cycle through all the major holidays. The days that certain celebratory episodes would air just a day or two before Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Valentine’s Day are over. Now, if you do get a Christmas-themed episode, there’s a chance you’ll be watching it in July instead, forced on you by Netflix’s decision to drop a new 8-episode season in one go, out of nowhere. Checking out TV guides is a thing of the past—what’s the point when you can watch your latest obsession whenever, wherever? Why would you want to watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Halloween heists in February when you’re on your sixth episode of the day? There’s simply not enough time to squeeze in some holiday fun anymore.
There is an alternative, however.
If, like us, you’re lamenting the loss of holiday-themed episodes—Christmas ones, specifically—and you’re sick of watching Hallmark-esque holiday rom-coms, why not feast your eyes on everything the Brits have to offer? While the U.S. is producing fewer Christmas-themed TV romps, the British are more obsessed with them than ever.
I don’t know if 2024 is literally the year with the most TV Christmas specials in the U.K., but I do know there are a lot of them across a wide variety of genres. This might surprise you, especially since the Brits were known for producing six-episode seasons long before Netflix stopped shipping DVDs, but the reason for that is simple: BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and any other U.K. broadcasters you might be familiar with don’t feel the need to attach these specials to a new release or an ongoing season. Sometimes they do, of course, but mostly, they can just exist in their own vacuum, created for the sole purpose of spreading some holiday cheer. Many of these specials are simply a chance to spend an afternoon or evening with your favorite characters, watching them in a new and unexpected environment.
Of course, I’m not saying that none of these Christmas specials, especially the drama and comedy-related ones, don’t somehow influence their upcoming seasons—the 2024 Death in Paradise Christmas Special, for instance, is finally introducing audiences to the show’s latest Detective Inspector, and I’m very excited to meet him—but for the most part, you’ll be able to infer what happened when the season premiere finally rolls around a few weeks or even months later if you forgot to watch during the holiday hustle.
Some of the U.K.’s biggest series are broadcasting Christmas specials this year. I’ve already mentioned Death in Paradise, but its sister show, Beyond Paradise, will have one as well. Gavin & Stacey’s long-awaited reunion and finale has specifically been produced for the holiday season. Familiar, heart-warming favorites like Call the Midwife, All Creatures Great & Small, Sister Boniface Mysteries (last year’s was a personal favorite of mine), Madame Blanc Mysteries, The Chelsea Detective, Casualty, EastEnders, Outnumbered, and more, are all joining in on the Christmas fun. There’s also a frankly overwhelming number of reality TV Christmas specials coming up, including fan-favorite shows like Taskmaster, Antiques Roadshow, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, The Chase, Would I Lie To You?, The Great British Bake Off, and plenty of others.
There’s also the big one: the Doctor Who 2024 Christmas Special, “Joy to the World,” starring Ncuti Gatwa and Nicola Coughlan.
So what does this abundance of riches tell us about the difference between American TV and British TV? For one, and perhaps most importantly, I think it means that, though streaming is also decidedly a Thing™ here in the U.K., it hasn’t influenced the overall TV landscape as much as it has in the States. BBC and ITV, undeniably our biggest broadcasters, do rely on their streaming services—BBC iPlayer and ITVX, respectively—but nearly all their shows, no matter how big or small, will also be (simultaneously) broadcast weekly on their main channels.
Streaming services’ preference for shorter TV seasons hasn’t affected how the British public consumes content because they’ve been used to that for literal decades (Tahani Al-Jamil has an excellent joke about that in The Good Place). British TV is wholly its own thing, and the Christmas specials are generally anticipated for weeks in advance. They’re festive, wholesome fun, but not in the same repetitive, utterly predictable way that Hallmark Christmas movies are. The story always matches the show’s original tone, no matter the genre. Vera’s 2023 Christmas special was a great example. It’s a shame we’re not getting another one this year.
All I can say is, if you want to revel in the Christmas spirit without watching your favorite classic sitcom’s Christmas episodes for the 20th time, British TV may be just the alternative you’re looking for. Most of these Christmas specials will be available on BritBox shortly after they’ve aired in the U.K.!
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