For those TV fans who want some new Christmas content, Happy’s Place, Elsbeth and Family Guy are just some of the shows delivering gifts this year.
Happy’s Place, which airs on NBC, made their Christmas episode extra special by having it also serve as a reunion for stars Reba McEntire, Melissa Peterman and their Reba costar Steve Howey. The holiday special introduces Howey as a friend of Gabby’s (Peterman) named Danny who she is trying to trick into having a company party at Happy’s.
The plan is to set the story up for Danny to return in the future. “One of the arcs for [Melissa’s] character Gabby is that she thinks she wants to have a baby,” series creator Kevin Abbott told TV Line in October about how Danny will turn out to be a “potential sperm donor” so Howey “can come back” in the future.
Happy’s Place reunited McEntire and Peterman (and now Howey) more than 17 years after Reba ended its run on The WB.
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“It’s a lot of fun. We absolutely want to bring some of the old cast members on — and in very different roles than what they played on Reba,” Abbott, who was an executive producer on Reba when it aired on The WB between 2001 and 2007, added. “Steve’s our first one up, and we’re trying to figure out how to bring JoAnna [Garcia Swisher] in. We only want to have the old cast in if we can really utilize them in a fun, impactful way.”
Meanwhile over on CBS, Elsbeth has the titular character solving a Yuletide murder case after a freak accident. Elsbeth also gets a holiday surprise from Wagner (Wendell Pierce) and Kaya (Carra Patterson) to wrap up the Christmas-inspired episode.
Keep scrolling for every new Christmas-themed episode on TV this year:
‘True Detective’ (FX)
The anthology series set the fourth episode of its fourth season up to take place on Christmas Eve. While in Alaska, detectives Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) investigate the disappearance of eight men who operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station and vanish without a trace.
‘Elsbeth’ (CBS)
During the second season of the police procedural, celebrity Christmas curators DeeDee (Vanessa Bayer) and Dirk Dashers find their festive plans derailed when he dies in a freak accident. Elsbeth subsequently begins to suspect Dirk’s wife of the murder after becoming suspicious of foul play.
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‘Hacks’ (Max)
The hit comedy titled their special “The Deborah Vance Christmas Spectacular” as Deborah (Jean Smart) braced for Kathy´s (J. Smith-Cameron) attendance at her Christmas party during season 3.
‘Happy’s Place’ (NBC)
After facing a serious threat to their health insurance, Gabby tries to fix the problem by having her friend Danny hosting his company party at Happy’s. The twist? Gabby told Danny her name was Bobbie (McEntire) so everyone at the tavern takes the opportunity to change up their names, which leads to plenty of misunderstandings and funny moments.
‘Ted’ (Peacock)
The first season started off strong with a holiday episode where Matty (Scott Grimes) makes an unorthodox Christmas wish, which upends the the Bennett family dynamic while John (Max Burkholder) and Ted (voice of Seth MacFarlane) take a trip to church.
Family Guy (Fox)
According to the synopsis, Family Guy‘s newest Christmas episode is centered around Peter (voice of MacFarlane) trying to recover Lois’ (voice of Alex Borstein) Christmas brooch after giving it away in a White Elephant exchange. Meanwhile, Stewie’s (voice of MacFarlane) attitude changes after he learns he’s on Santa’s naughty list.
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‘Frasier’ (Paramount+)
The Frasier revival ended its second season with an emotional episode where Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and his friends help Alan reconnect with his estranged daughter and meet his new grandchild. The episode also had Grammer pulling double duty as a cast member and director.
‘Lopez vs Lopez’ (NBC)
Season 3 follows Mayan (Mayan Lopez) trying to track down the perfect Christmas gift for Chance (Brice Gonzalez) while George (George Lopez) has to settle a feud with Santa from his childhood. Quinten (Matt Shively), meanwhile, tries to shake Rosie (Selenis Leyva) out of some holiday blues.
‘Son of a Critch’ (The CW)
Mark (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) discovers that Santa visited his house early and left a brand-new gaming system hidden in the house. He starts playing with his gift but tries to keep it a secret ahead of the big holiday.
