The 30 Best Christmas Episodes on TV

When the weather outside is frightful, watching TV is so delightful!

Short on time with the holidays just around the corner? Or maybe you need a breather from your umpteenth viewing of A Christmas Story (1983) and Elf (2003)? Whatever the reason, the small screen serves up some major festive cheer in bite-sized doses, packing in more comfort and joy per minute. In celebration of this holiday season, we’ve gathered a sleigh-full of the best Christmas episodes — from the holly jolly on Friends to the downright heartbreaking on Lost.

Check out our yuletide picks ahead!

1. 30 Rock, “Christmas Special” (season 3, episode 6)

Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin on ’30 Rock’.
Kent Eanes/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images

What better subject for a Christmas TV show than the making of a Christmas TV show? And what better way to spend Christmas than with family? And what better family than Jack’s (Alec Baldwin) mom (Elaine Stritch)?! —Mary Sollosi

Where to watch 30 Rock: Hulu

3. The Bear, “Fishes” (season 2, episode 6)

Jeremy Allen White, Abby Elliot, and Jon Bernthal on ‘The Bear’.

Chuck Hodes/FX

At a Berzatto Christmas, the only things getting unwrapped are layers of family trauma. Set five years before the show’s main timeline, this yuletide episode of The Bear — featuring guest appearances from Jamie Lee Curtis, Sarah Paulson, John Mulaney, Bob Odenkirk, and Gillian Jacobs — finds Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) attending a family dinner based on the Feast of the Seven Fishes, where forks are thrown and a car comes crashing in the living room. —J.M.

Where to watch The Bear: Hulu

4. Black-ish, “Black Santa/White Christmas” (season 1, episode 10)

(From left to right) Anthony Anderson, Marsai Martin, Miles Brown, Yara Shahidi, and Marcus Scribner on ‘Black-ish’.
Adam Rose/ABC/Getty Images

Black-ish took on the “Black people can’t be racist” argument in its first season’s Christmas episode, in which Dre (Anthony Anderson) insists that his office Christmas party needs a Black Santa (specifically him). —M.S.

Where to watch Black-ish: Hulu

5. Black Mirror, “White Christmas” (2014)

Rafe Spall and Janet Montgomery in the ‘Black Mirror’ special ‘White Christmas’.
Hal Shinnie/Netflix

Black Mirror does Christmas! And it’s exactly what that sounds like! —M.S.

Where to watch Black Mirror: Netflix

10. Doctor Who, “A Christmas Carol” (2010)

Michael Gambon, Matt Smith, and Laurence Belcher in the ‘Doctor Who’ special ‘A Christmas Carol’.
BBC

The classic novella has gotten plenty of small-screen adaptations, but none more singular than Doctor Who’s version — which was somehow very clearly Dickensian but also distinctly, unquestionably, entirely Doctor Who. —M.S.

Where to watch Doctor Who: Max

12. Friends, “The One With the Holiday Armadillo” (season 7, episode 10)

Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, and David Schwimmer on ‘Friends’.
NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images

Friends celebrated more than just Thanksgiving! If you can make it through the Hanukkah lesson from the Holiday Armadillo (a.k.a. David Schwimmer’s Ross) all the way to the arrival of Superman (Matt LeBlanc’s Joey) without once dissolving into a pile of Christmas giggles, you’re stronger than we are. —M.S.

Where to watch Friends: Max

13. Ghosts, “Christmas Spirit” (season 2, episodes 9 and 10)

(From left to right) Utkarsh Ambudkar, Rose McIver, Rebecca Wisocky, Richie Moriarty, Danielle Pinnock, Devan Chandler Long, Sheila Carrasco, and Roman Zaragoza on ‘Ghosts’.

Bertrand Calmeau/CBS

No one loves holiday rom-coms more than Sam (Rose McIver), who’s dead-set on playing Cupid for her sister-in-law (Punam Patel) and her plus-one (Andrew Leeds) at Woodstone Manor. But Thorfinn (Devan Chandler Long) — a resident ghost full of venom toward Christmas — possesses Sam to spoil her Hallmark-type optimism.

Also, this two-parter gifts us plenty of other Christmas miracles, such as Isaac’s (Brandon Scott Jones) and Nigel’s (John Hartman) first kiss. —J.M.

Where to watch Ghosts: Paramount+

16. Hacks, “The Deborah Vance Christmas Spectacular” (season 3, episode 7)

(From left to right) Mark Indelicato, Rose Abdoo, Jean Smart, Lauren Weedman (top), and Jane Adams on ‘Hacks’.

John Johnson/Max
Credit: ew.com