For Christmas, American broadcasters give viewers reruns and sports. But the Brits continue to make very special episodes for holiday premieres.
The two-hour “‘Call the Midwife’ Holiday Special” (PBS, 8 p.m., check local listings) has a story about an influenza epidemic and an escaped prisoner during the fun fair and carol concert in Christmas, circa 1969.
The “‘Beyond Paradise’ Christmas Special 2024” (BritBox, streaming) has Humphrey and the team tackling a series of cases around the annual Christingle.
But you want sports? We got ‘em.
Netflix tries a big experiment with live NFL games, a pair of them: Kansas City at Pittsburgh (Netflix, 1 p.m.) and Baltimore at Houston (Netflix, 4:30 p.m.).
A full NBA schedule today has San Antonio at Knicks (ABC, ESPN, noon), Minnesota at Dallas (ABC, ESPN, 2:30 p.m.), Philadelphia at Boston (ABC, ESPN, 5 p.m.), Lakers at Golden State (ABC, ESPN, 8 p.m.) and Denver at Phoenix (ABC, ESPN, 10:30 p.m.).
College football bowl games today have Pittsburgh vs. Toledo (ESPN, 2 p.m.) in the GameAbove Sports Bowl in Detroit; Rutgers vs. Kansas State (ESPN, 5:30 p.m.) in the Rate Bowl in Phoenix; and Arkansas vs. Bowling Green (ESPN, 9 p.m.) in the 68 Ventures Bowl in Mobile.
Men’s college basketball has Loyola Chicago vs. Murray State (ESPNU, 1:30 p.m.), Charleston vs. Charlotte (ESPNU, 4 p.m.), Oakland vs. Hawai’i (ESPN2, 6:30 p.m.) and Oregon State vs. Nebraska (ESPN2, 9 p.m.).
Odd that there’s just one new Christmas film premiering on Christmas Day, after weeks of multiple flicks debuting every day. But here it is “Blended Christmas” (BET+, streaming) about a bride canciling her holiday honeymoon to take care of her husband’s ex-wife and kids, with the help of an angel.
A new made-for-TV thriller “Nightmare in the Desert” (Lifetime, 8 p.m.) is about someone tracking a woman and her boyfriend through the desert to prevent a proposal.
Maybe you just want to watch a fire. “The Original Yule Log” (antennaTV, 5 a.m.), adapted from the annual WPIX electronic hearth, crackles all day, accompanied by holiday tunes.
The original 1966 “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” (NBC, 8 p.m.) will tell the story more charmingly and certainly more succinctly than the 2000 live action “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (NBC, 8:30 p.m.) with Jim Carrey in the green suit.
The sci-fi movie “Borderlands” (Starz, 9 p.m.), based on a popular video game, makes its premium cable debut. Cate Blanchett, Gina Gershon, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Hart star.
The Christmas marathon on Turner Classic Movies concludes after its six day run with “Star in the Night” (6 a.m.), “Never Say Goodbye” (6:30 a.m.), “All Mine to Give” (8:30 a.m.), “The Great Rupert” (10:15 a.m.), “Little Women” (noon), “In the Good Old Summertime” (2:15 p.m.), “Holiday Affair” (4:15 p.m.), “The Man Who Came to Dinner” (6 p.m.), “Defending Your Life” (8 p.m.), “Topper” (10 p.m.), “Cabin in the Sky” (midnight), “Blithe Spirit” (2 a.m.), and “Our Town” (4 a.m.).
Daytime Talk
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos: The Sharpe Family Singers. Drew Barrymore: Lea Thompson, Marcus Samuelson, Lamorne Morris, Amelia Dimoldenberg (rerun). Jennifer Hudson: John Legend, Muni Long (rerun). Tamron Hall: Deon Cole, Aminah Imani (rerun).
Late Talk
All reruns: Stephen Colbert: Nicole Kidman, Bill Skarsgård, Evie McGee Colbert. Jimmy Fallon: Martin Short, Chloe Fineman. Seth Meyers: The Meyers Family. Taylor Tomlinson: Mark Duplass, Kate Micucci, Pete Holmes.