Your Complete Guide to ABC’s 2019 Holiday Programming
In November, ABC serves up a bounty of Thanksgiving-themed episodes and the classic animated special A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
In December, the network decks the halls with special Christmas and Hanukkah-themed episodes—the return of fan-favorite series The Great Christmas Light Fight and The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition, along with an all-new holiday movie, Same Time, Next Christmas, starring Lea Michele. Timeless cartoons and beloved holiday films will also return.
The fun continues after Christmas with New Year’s-themed programming ringing in 2020.
Here’s the upcoming schedule of holiday-themed programming:
“Kids Say the Darndest Things” (ABC/Eric McCandless)
Sunday, November 17
America’s Funniest Home Videos – It’s a Thanksgiving celebration on America’s Funniest Home Videos, including a woman who is grossed out by having to prepare a turkey for dinner and a little boy who is thankful for dinosaurs; plus, selfies gone wrong and people getting scared at 7/6c.
Kids Say the Darndest Things – “Turkey in Space” – In a special Thanksgiving-themed episode, Tiffany shares her favorite Turkey Day traditions and films an infomercial for Gobble Gobble Wrapping Paper with kids who frantically gift wrap everything from Thanksgiving leftovers to a live turkey. Later, Tiffany and an 8-year-old girl pitch movie ideas to her big shot Hollywood director friend Jack McBrayer at 8/7c.
Tuesday, November 19
The Conners – “Slappy Holidays” – Chaos ensues when Dan finally gets the entire family together for Thanksgiving dinner. Mixed feelings about the Lunch Box continue to build tension in the house, and Harris makes an unexpected move. Guest starring is Eliza Bennett as Odessa, airing at 8/7c.
Wednesday, November 20
The Goldbergs – “Angst-Giving”– Even though Beverly’s patience with Pop Pop is put to the test due to his endless Thanksgiving demands, she is able to put aside her own feelings to help heal the long-standing rift between Murray and Pop Pop. Meanwhile, Barry and Erica are ready to return home for the holiday, but Uncle Marvin accidentally drives them to Pittsburgh. Marvin attempts to make it right not knowing if they will make it to Jenkintown in time to celebrate the holiday. Judd Hirsch and Dan Fogler return to guest star as Pop Pop and Uncle Marvin, respectively, airing at 8/7c.
Schooled – “Friendsgiving” – CB celebrates Thanksgiving by having all of William Penn rally around him after a cooking incident at his house, while the alumni faculty football game brings out the competitive sides of Wilma and Coach Mellor, airing at 8:30/7:30c.
Modern Family – “The Last Thanksgiving” – Cameron and Mitchell’s friends mistakenly assume they have split up and have definitely chosen a side, and Haley attempts to cook Thanksgiving dinner as a thank you for Claire and Phil’s support with the twins. Meanwhile, Jay invites Phil and Dylan out to fly his model plane, and Phil thinks this is his chance to reclaim his dignity after their first outing 10 years ago went so wrong, airing at 9/8c.
Single Parents – “Every Thursday Should Be Like This” – When Will gets busy cooking Thanksgiving dinner at Douglas’ home, he asks Angie to hang out with Tracy Freeze (guest star Jama Williamson). Angie reluctantly does so, only to realize that Tracy is actually wonderful, except for a secret she’s keeping from Will. Meanwhile, Miggy shows up to Thanksgiving dinner with the kids’ teacher, Ms. Pronstroller (Sarah Yarkin), as his date, and he enlists Douglas’ assistance in helping them form an in-person connection, given all of their previous communication has been via texts, DMs and memes, airing at 9:30/8:30c.
Stumptown – “November Surprise” – Dex goes undercover after she is hired by a local politician to dig up dirt on his political opponent. Meanwhile, Grey and Liz’s romance continues, and Dex celebrates Friendsgiving with the group at 10/9c.
“The Goldbergs” (ABC/Richard Cartwright)
Wednesday, November 27
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving – In the 1973 special 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. Humiliated, it will take all of Marcie’s persuasive powers to salvage the holiday for Charlie Brown. 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. In This Is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers, the year is 1620. After 65 grueling, sea-tossed days, the Pilgrims are in view of America’s shores – and Charlie Brown and the Peanuts crew are with them as they experience firsthand the lifestyle of the early settlers and celebrate the first Thanksgiving, airing at 8/7c.
Thursday, November 28
The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration – This special kicks off the holiday season on ABC. Join celebrity hosts as they present the two-hour prime-time special on Thanksgiving night from Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California. This magical celebration will feature musical performances with some of today’s top artists among a flurry of Disney holiday entertainment. During the prime-time special, viewers will also be treated to several Disney Parks sneak peeks, including a behind-the-scenes look into future attractions coming to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California, airing at 8/7c.
Sunday, December 1
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, airing at at 8/7c.
Monday, December 2
The Great Christmas Light Fight – Season Premiere – ‘Tis the season for ABC’s immensely popular decorating competition series, The Great Christmas Light Fight, which continues to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with celebrity judges—lifestyle expert Carter Oosterhouse and famed interior designer Taniya Nayak. Season seven of the holiday hit will once again showcase the most extravagant and utterly spectacular Christmas displays America has to offer! In each one-hour episode, four families with dazzling household displays will compete to win $50,000 and the coveted Light Fight trophy, premiering at 8/7c.
“The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition,” (ABC/Mark Bourdillion)
Tuesday, December 3
CMA Country Christmas – Trisha Yearwood will host and perform on the 10th annual CMA Country Christmas. The two-hour music celebration features a night filled with Christmas classics and festive one-of-a-kind collaborations by Yearwood, Kristin Chenoweth, for KING & COUNTRY, Chris Janson, Tori Kelly, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Runaway June, CeCe Winans, Brett Young and Chris Young, airing at 9/8c.
Thursday, December 5
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 remastered 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. In addition, another PEANUTS special based on the works of Charles Schulz, Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tales, will also air with the Emmy®-winning classic, airing at 8/7c.
Same Time, Next Christmas – In this original holiday film, Olivia Anderson (played by Lea Michele) is a successful young woman who met her childhood sweetheart during her family’s annual Christmas visit to Hawaii. After being separated by distance and years, the two reunite at the same Hawaiian resort years later, and the old chemistry between them flares up anew—but circumstances conspire to keep them apart. The movie stars Lea Michele as Olivia Anderson, Charles Michael Davis as Jeff Williams, Bryan Greenberg as Gregg Harris, George Newbern as Woody Anderson, Nia Vardalos as Faye Anderson, Phil Morris as Alec Williams and Dannah Lockett as Madelyn Williams, airing at 9/8c.
Tuesday, December 10
The Conners – “Smoking Penguins and Santa on Santa action” – Dan is disappointed when everyone but Becky forgets about his birthday. Meanwhile, Darlene is faced with another issue, and Dan excludes Jackie from the family Christmas Santa photo for mistreating Louise. Guest starring is Katey Sagal as Louise, Jay R. Ferguson as Ben and James Pickens Jr. as Chuck, airing at 8/7c.
Bless This Mess – “Goose Glazing Time” – Mike and Rio are thrilled about having their first Christmas alone together as a married couple, but a wrench is thrown into their romanticized holiday plans as they are interrupted by crisis after crisis. Meanwhile, Kay invites Beau home for Christmas so that they can give Jacob a proper holiday Airing at 8:30/7:30c.
Mixed-ish – “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” – Alicia and Paul strive to maintain their winter solstice traditions from the commune, but their parents want to have a more traditional Christmas with the kids. Meanwhile, Alicia’s dad, Lynwood (guest star Richard Lawson), competes with Harrison to be the kids’ favorite grandad, airing at 9/8c.
Black-ish – “Father Christmas” – Pops doesn’t do Christmas, so when he shows up to the house full of holiday cheer with Lynette (Loretta Devine), Dre is thrown off. Pops wants to make up for lost time and go all out this Christmas. The whole family gets into the holiday spirit until someone from Lynette’s past shows up. Anthony Anderson directed the episode, airing at 9:30/8:30c.
“The Conners” (ABC/Eric McCandless)
Wednesday, December 11
The Goldbergs – “It’s a Wonderful Life” – Hoping to outdo the Kremp family, Beverly decides the Goldbergs must do an even better family holiday card, but Geoff is surprised he is not invited to be in the photo. Meanwhile, a pranking war with Barry and JTP quickly spirals out of control, airing at 8/7c.
Modern Family – “The Last Christmas” – Cameron is hoping to keep everyone happy for their annual Christmas dinner, but Mitchell is suspicious he is hiding an ulterior motive. Meanwhile, Claire tries to dodge Jay’s job offer to work at his dog bed company and Luke has to deal with the consequences of kissing Manny’s ex-girlfriend, Sherri, airing at 9/8c.
Single Parents – “Good Holidays to You” – When Graham writes a letter to Santa asking for either a white Christmas or to meet his father, Angie goes on a mission to find snow in Southern California with the help of Will and Sophie. Meanwhile, after Rory, Emma and Amy find out that Poppy and Douglas are romantically involved, the kids use this knowledge to their advantage to guilt their parents into buying them more Christmas presents, airing at 9:30/8:30c.
Thursday, December 12
Olaf’s Frozen Adventure – Olaf (voice of Josh Gad) teams up with Sven on a merry mission. It’s the first holiday season since the gates reopened and Anna (voice of Kristen Bell) and Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel) host a celebration for all of Arendelle. When the townspeople unexpectedly leave early to enjoy their individual holiday customs, the sisters realize they have no family traditions of their own. So, Olaf sets out to comb the kingdom to bring home the best traditions, and save Anna and Elsa’s “first Christmas in forever.” Olaf’s Frozen Adventure features the original cast of Arendelle characters, including Olaf, voiced by Josh Gad; Anna, voiced by Kristen Bell; Elsa, voiced by Idina Menzel; and Kristoff, voiced by Jonathan Groff, airing at 8/7c.
Toy Story That Time Forgot – Pixar Animation Studios’ special for television features your favorite characters from the Toy Story films. During a post-Christmas play date, the Toy Story gang finds 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. The cast includes Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz, Kristen Schaal as Trixie, Kevin McKidd as Reptillus Maximus, Wallace Shawn as Rex, Timothy Dalton as Mr. Pricklepants, Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head and Joan Cusack as Jessie, airing at 8:30/7:30c.
The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition – Season Premiere “Cake and Bread Week” – On your marks, get set, bake! The most festive and friendliest competition on television returns with hosts Emma Bunton (Spice Girls) and Anthony “Spice” Adams, and judges Paul Hollywood and three-time James Beard Award-winning pastry chef Sherry Yard. The heat is on when 10 bakers enter the tent in the two-hour season five premiere. This holiday edition features bakers from across the country battling through 24 total challenges with six challenges throughout each two-hour themed episode, all in the hopes of being crowned “America’s Best Amateur Baker,” airing at 9/8c.
“Same Time, Next Christmas” (ABC/Mario Perez)
Friday, December 13
American Housewife – “The Bromance Before Christmas” – Katie looks forward to sharing her favorite childhood Christmas tradition with Taylor, but a surprise visit from her mom, Kathryn (Wendie Malick), threatens her holiday cheer. Meanwhile, Greg is blindsided by Katie’s good intentions; and to make matters worse, Oliver and Anna-Kat break a family heirloom, airing at 8/7c.
Fresh Off the Boat –” Jessica Town” – Jessica is thriving in the merriment of Christmas, the time of year she takes full control of the household and everything is perfect until Louis does the unthinkable—tries to help, turning her Christmas dream into a holiday nightmare. Meanwhile, Eddie, Emery and Evan find themselves on the naughty list for breaking an expensive gift, which might just require the assistance of elves, or Grandma Huang, to fix, airing at 8:30/7:30c.
Sunday, December 15
The Sound of Music – ABC will air this Rodgers & Hammerstein cinematic treasure, celebrating the Oscar®-winning classic with popular favorites “Edelweiss,” ”My Favorite Things,” “Climb Every Mountain,” “Do-Re-Mi,” “Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” “The Lonely Goatherd” and “The Sound of Music,” airing at 7/6c.
Tuesday, December 17
Shrek the Halls – DreamWorks Animation’s half-hour of entertainment stars America’s favorite ogre and his friends, features 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, airing at 9:30/8:30c.
Thursday, December 19
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? The special airs at 8:30/7:30c.
Disney 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, airing at 8:30/7:30c.
Country superstar Trisha Yearwood will host the 10th annual “CMA Country Christmas”
Sunday, December 22
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown! – This special 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, airing at 7/6c.
Kids Say the Darndest Things – On a special holiday episode, Tiffany chats with the kids about their favorite holiday traditions. Later, Tiffany plays Santa’s helper to find out who is on the “Nice List,” and celebrates an 8-year-old magician who proves that big tricks can come in small packages, airing at 8/7c.
The Year: 2019 – ABC News, airing at 9/8c.
Wednesday, December 25
Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade – This special continues Disney’s annual Christmas morning celebration tradition. Join celebrity hosts for the two-hour Christmas day special as they follow the famous Christmas Day Parade down Main Street U.S.A., featuring performances by some of today’s top artists across Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California. Also during the Christmas Day Parade, viewers will be treated to several Disney Parks sneak peeks, including a behind-the-scenes look into future attractions coming to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California. The 2-hour special airs at 10/9c on Christmas morning.
Thursday, December 26
Happy New Year, Charlie Brown – The Peanuts gang will ring in the new year with this animated special created by late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz. 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. Then 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, The two specials air starting at 8/7c.
Monday, December 31
Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2020 – This annual event kicks off at 8/7c.
