When life was logical, the Christmas season started on Thanksgiving morning. We watched the parade, then looked for movies and music.
Then the logic faded. Some networks talked Christmas in October.
Still, we’ll stick to the basics: TV’s Christmas season begins with Santa and friends rolling through New York on Thanksgiving morning. It ends with Mickey and friends rolling through Disney parks on Christmas morning … followed by a few final shows (including the Grinch) that night.
So here’s a roundup. There’s more if you have streaming channels, but this (subject to late changes) is what’s new on the networks and basic cable.
Big-scale events
The season starts with the 99th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, from 8:30 a.m. to noon Nov. 27 on NBC. After the National Dog Show, the parade repeats at 2 p.m.
And it ends (almost) with the 40th “Magical Christmas Parade” on ABC, with performances at the Disney parks. That’s 10 a.m. ET (9 a.m. CT) on Dec. 25, but will begin at 5 a.m. in the other time zones, to make room for the annual burst of five straight pro basketball games.
In between is the 10th “Holiday Spectacular,” also in Disney Parks. It’s 8-10 p.m. Dec. 1 on ABC, then 10:30 a.m. Dec. 3 on Freeform. Derek Hough hosts and performs; also performing are Nicole Scherzinger, Bebe Rexha, Aloe Blacc, Trisha Yearwood and more.
The cartoon gems
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” remains at the top, but is a bit harder to find. It streams on Apple.
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” sprawls across three channels. NBC has this half-hour at 8 p.m. Dec. 4 and Dec. 25. On TNT, it’s noon Dec. 20 (but 9 a.m. PT). On TBS, it’s 4 p.m. Dec. 13; 10 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. Dec. 14; 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. Dec. 21.
New cartoons
“A Paw Patrol Christmas,” 8-9 p.m. Nov. 28, CBS.
“Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol” debuts at 9 p.m. Nov. 30 on ABC, after reruns of the first two cartoons, focusing on the guys who prepare each of Santa’s stops. It’s also 2:40 p.m. Dec. 13 on Freeform.
More key cartoons
“The Year Without a Santa Claus,” 10:15 p.m. Nov. 27 and 1 p.m. Nov. 28, TBS.
“Frosty the Snowman,” 8:30 p.m. Dec. 4, NBC; repeating 8 p.m. Dec. 9. It’s also seven times on Freeform, starting with 8:35 p.m. Dec. 6 and 2:55 p.m. Dec. 7.
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” 8-9:15 p.m. Dec. 5, NBC; repeats 8 p.m. Dec. 11. It also follows “Frosty” on Freeform, including 9:10 p.m. Dec. 6 and 3:30 p.m. Dec. 7.
“Reindeer in Here,” 8-9 p.m. Dec. 6, CBS.
“Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” 1:50 p.m., Dec. 7, Freeform; also, five times, Dec. 18-25
New music specials
“CMA Christmas,” 9:01 p.m. Dec. 2, ABC. Lauren Daigle and Jordan Davis host. They’ll perform, along with Parker McCollum, Megan Moroney, Bebe Winans, Lady A, Little Big Town and more.
“Christmas in Rockefeller Center,” 8-10 p.m. Dec. 3, NBC. Reba McEntire hosts.
“Christmas in Nashville,” 10 p.m. Dec. 3, NBC.
“Christmas With the Tabernacle Choir,” 8-9:30 p.m. Dec. 15, PBS; also 8 p.m. Dec. 24. Broadway’s Ruthie Ann Miles is backed by almost 500 singers and instrumentalists; Dennis Haysbert does the readings.
(Note: BYUtv, via cable and internet, then runs this at 8 p.m. ET Dec. 18, 6:30 p.m. Dec, 21 and Dec. 24 and 10:30 a.m. Dec. 25. It reruns past ones with Broadway stars Lea Salonga (8 p.m. Dec. 4) and Michael Maliakel (8 p.m. Dec. 11), plus a rich assortment of other concerts.
“iHeart Radio Jingle Ball,” 8-10 p.m. Dec. 17, ABC.
New dance specials
“Dancing With the Holidays,” 8 p.m. Dec. 2, ABC. It’s from the “Dancing With the Stars” people.
“The Nutcracker,” 9-11 p.m. Dec. 16, PBS. It’s a lush, new production from the English National Ballet.
Classic movies
“The Wizard of Oz” (1939), 8 p.m. Nov. 27, TBS; then three times Nov. 28, 5:45 p.m. on TBS and 9:30 and 11:45 p.m. on TNT.
“Mary Poppins,” 8 p.m. Nov. 27, ABC.
“A Christmas Story” (1983): 10:30 a.m. Dec. 14, TBS; then on TNN at 4:45 p.m. Dec. 19; and 12:30 p.m. Dec. 20. Then, at 8 and 9 p.m. Dec. 24, each starts a 24-hour marathon.
“The Sound of Music,” 7 p.m. Dec. 21, ABC.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946), 8-11 p.m. Dec. 24, NBC.
Some fun returning movies
“Candy Cane Lane” (2023) is an Eddie Murphy movie, formerly streaming. It’s on TBS at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 27 and 7:30 and 10 p.m., Dec. 2; also, TBS at 8:30 p.m. Nov. 30, 8 and 11 p.m. Dec. 21, 10:15 p.m. Dec. 25.
“Elf” (2003) and “Christmas Vacation” (1989) run often on TBS and TNT. That includes 24-hour marathons of both — “Elf” starting at 9 p.m. Nov. 28 on TBS, “Christmas Vacation” (1989) starting at 8 p.m. on Nov. 29.
“Polar Express” is on TBS at 11:18 p.m. Nov. 27 and 2:03 p.m. Nov. 28.
“The Santa Clause,” 9 p.m. Dec. 7, ABC. Also, it runs nine times on Freeform, usually with its two sequels. That starts at 11:35 a.m. Dec. 1.
“Home Alone” is 8 p.m. Dec. 24 on ABC. Also, it runs 15 times on Freeform, often with its first sequel. That starts at 6 p.m., Dec. 1; on Dec. 10, there’s an all-day marathon.
“Frozen” and its sequel, 6 and 8:25 p.m. Dec. 11, Freeform; then 10 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. Dec. 23, with “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” at 2:30 p.m.
“Toy Story” and its three sequels, 3:15, 5:15, 7:20 and 9:40 p.m. Dec. 13, Freeform.
Seasonal series
“The Great Christmas Lights Fight” is 9-11 p.m. Dec. 4, 11 and 18 on ABC. Each hour has four home mega-displays, with a judge (Carter Oosterhouse or Taniya Nayak) picking a winner.
Hallmark had experimented with Christmas series on its Hallmark+ streaming channel, but is now moving them to the main channel and adding more. On Mondays, it has “Finding Mr. Christmas” (with the winner starring in one of the movies) at 8 p.m. and “Baked With Love: Holiday” at 9. Also, “Twelve Dates to Christmas” is 8 p.m. on three Fridays, starting Dec. 5.
The serious side
“The Chosen,” BYUtv. That’s 8 p.m. ET Nov. 30, 9 p.m. Dec. 7, 8 p.m. Dec. 14 and the two-part season-finale, 8 and 9 p.m. Dec, 21 and again on Dec. 24. Reruns are at 9 p.m. Dec. 3, 10 and 17.
Kevin Costner narrates the movie “The First Christmas,” 8-10 p.m. Dec. 9, ABC.
Christmas Eve Mass from the Vatican, 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Dec. 24, NBC.
New movies
Each of these networks is also stuffed with Christmas-movie reruns. We’ll summarize the new films that arrive on Thanksgiving and beyond.
LIFETIME has 12 new films, including ones at 8 p.m. every Friday and Saturday, starting Nov. 29. There are extra ones at 10 p.m. Dec. 5, 6, 12 and 13 … and Lifetime Movie Network has a film at 8 p.m. Dec. 4, asking the ominous question, “Do You Fear What I Fear?” Highlights include:
- A double-feature on Nov. 29, with Black actresses who are longtime stars. It’s Brandy Norwood and Debbi Morgan in “Christmas Everyday” at 8 p.m. and Vivica A. Fox and Jackee Harry in “The Christmas Campaign” at 10.
- A cowboy double-feature on Dec. 13. The 8 p.m. film, “Thank God: Christmas at Keller Ranch,” is produced by country star Kane Brown and his wife Katelyn; it stars Arielle Kebbel and Tyler Hilton.
- And for the first time in Hollywood history: a film called “A Pickleball Christmas.” James Lafferty (“One Tree Hill”) plays a tennis star who enters a pickleball tournament, hoping to save his parents’ club.
HALLMARK has 14 more new films, half of them packed into the first weekend. There’s one at 8 p.m. Nov. 27, then double-features at 6 and 8 p.m. Nov. 28, 29 and 30. Others are 8 and 10 p.m. Dec. 6, then at 8 p.m. Dec. 7, 13, 14, 20 and 21. Highlights include:
- “A Grand Ole Opry Christmas,” 8 p.m., Nov. 29. Gentry and her friend Mac are transported back 30 years, to when her late father was a star. There’s music, plus cameos from Opry people old and new, including Bill Anderson, Brad Paisley, Mickey Guyton, Pam Tillis and T. Graham Brown.
- “She’s Making a List,” 8 p.m. Dec. 6. Lacey Chabert has a tough assignment from Santa — deciding about kids who fall midway between the naughty and nice lists.
- And our new favorite title: “Oy to the World” is 8 p.m. Dec. 14. When a synagogue’s water pipe breaks, a nearby church offers to share its building. That gets complicated because Hanukkah falls on Christmas Eve (something that happens sometimes, most recently in 2014). Two youth choir directors (Brooke D’Orsay and Jake Epstein) try to merge.
GREAT AMERICAN FAMILY is led by former Hallmark people (and stocked with Hallmark stars). It has eight new movies, some coming off GAF’s streaming channel). They’re at 8 p.m. ET Nov. 28 and 30), then 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays for three weeks. Highlights include:
- One film starring Mario Lopez (“The Christmas Spark,” Nov. 28) and another produced by him (tentatively called “Chasing Christmas,” Dec. 21). Lopez isn’t in the latter, but his son Dominic is.
- Danica McKellar in “Have We Met This Christmas?” The film (Dec. 13) finds her recovering from amnesia in a mountain inn, while trying to help.
UPtv has several films that are new – or were new earlier this month. They’re 8 and 10 p.m. ET Nov. 29, 3 and 7 p.m. Dec. 7 and 7 p.m. Dec. 14. Highlights include:
- “A Royal Christma Hope.” It’s at 8 p.m. Nov. 29, then starts a marathon of royal-holiday movies, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 21.
- “A Christmas Murder Mystery.” Yes, a body is found in a mansion on Christmas Day. This is at 7 p.m. Dec. 7, surrounded by other mysteries at 5, 9 and 11. It’s also at 8 p.m. Dec. 13, 11 p.m. Dec. 14 and 7 p.m. Dec. 25.