Celebrity TV specials to make your 2023 Christmas season bright

If you’re old enough to remember clips of Andy Williams singing “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” or Johnny Mathis lending his sterling vibrato to a “Winter Wonderland,” you know that celebrity TV specials are a cherished part of the whole holiday season. The tradition continues to this day, only now it’s Barry Manilow, Mariah Carey and Kelly Clarkson doing the crooning instead of Bing Crosby and David Bowie duetting on “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy.” Here are eight programs guaranteed to make the season brighter.

'Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas' (now streaming on AppleTV+)

Before she became famous as formidable soccer team owner Rebecca Welton on “Ted Lasso,” Hannah Waddingham was a star of musicals on London’s West End and Broadway. Now she is back to her singing roots in this special taped live at the London Coliseum.  The Emmy winner will be joined by guests Leslie Odom Jr., Luke Evans and (fingers crossed) some of her cohorts from “Ted Lasso.” For a sample of her vocal gifts, check out the viral video of Waddingham singing “Shallow” with Mr. Lasso himself, Jason Sudeikis, at a recent benefit concert. Believe, indeed!

'Christmas in Rockefeller Center' (8 p.m. Nov. 29, NBC and Peacock simulcast)

There are three Christmas reveals in the pantheon of pop culture: 1) the Charlie Brown tree’s transformation with “a little love" in "A Charlie Brown Christmas," 2) the plugging-in of the Griswold family’s outdoor lights in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." and 3) this live celebration of the tree lighting at New York City’s Rockefeller Center. This year’s edition is hosted by Kelly Clarkson and features a cornucopia of A-listers from Cher and Keke Palmer to Chloe Bailey and Seth MacFarlane to the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. "Today" co-anchors Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker, and Craig Melvin also will drop by. If there is a more ginormous tree lighting than the Big Apple's, well, we would tune in to that, too.

'Christmas at Graceland' (10 p.m. Nov. 29, NBC)

The live music special is the first of its kind to be televised from Elvis Presley’s famous home in Memphis. The performer list is fit for a rock ’n’ roll king: Alanis Morissette, John Legend, Kacey Musgraves, Post Malone, Lana Del Rey, Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson and the War and Treaty are all slated to appear. Also on hand will be actress Riley Keough (Amazon Prime Video’s “Daisy Jones and the Six”), the granddaughter of Elvis who is an executive producer of the special. Fun fact: Presley’s 1968 comeback special originally was supposed to be a traditional Christmas special, but instead became a rebellious, rockin’ reminder (by ‘60s prime-time standards) of what made him an idol in the first place.

'Selena + Chef: Home for the Holidays' (premieres 8 p.m. Nov. 30, Food Network)

When she’s not sorting out clues with Steve Martin and Martin Short on “Only Murders in the Building,” Selena Gomez is exploring the culinary arts on her Max series “Selena + Chef.” For this four-part holiday spin-off on the Food Network (which also will be available on Max), Gomez will hang out with four superstar chefs: “Top Chef” finalist Eric Adjepong, Food Network hostess with the mostess Alex Guarnaschelli, Michael Symon of Detroit’s dear, departed Roast restaurant and Mexican cuisine visionary Claudette Zepeda, who’ll whip up memorable dishes to share with family and friends. How about “Only Deliciousness in the Kitchen” as an alternate title?

'Barry Manilow’s A Very Barry Christmas' ( 10 p.m. Dec. 11, NBC)

At 80, Barry Manilow must be getting anti-aging tips from Santa. The singer of swoony ballads and up-tempo pop classics remains as timeless as ever and has a new holiday special to prove it. Filmed in Las Vegas with a 24-piece band, the hour will focus on Manilow performing signature hits like “Mandy” and “Copacabana” and Christmas must-hears like “Feliz Navidad” and “Jingle Bells." That's music to the ears of Manilow's fans, who've helped him sell more than 85 million albums throughout his career. The show will be available to stream the next day on Peacock, and the next, and the next ... we admit it, we're Fanilows.

'Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas' (9 p.m. Dec. 21, NBC)

OK, technically this is a network TV movie about the making of a network TV special. Yes, it debuted in 2022 and is being re-aired this year. And indeed, Parton meets the Three Wise Men and travels through time to learn about the meaning of Christmas. But this is Dolly Parton, people! She can do whatever she wants, including disguising this musical celebration set in Dollywood as a two-hour fictional journey. With guests like Jimmy Fallon, Willie Nelson, Jimmie Allen, Zach Williams, Billy Ray Cyrus and her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus, no further proof is needed that Parton is a national treasure.

'Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to All!' (9 p.m. Dec. 25, CBS)

First, Mariah Carey kicked off the Christmas season on Nov. 1 by being defrosted from a block of ice. This week, Mattel’s new holiday Mariah Carey-inspired Barbie debuted and immediately sold out. Soon (as in Dec. 1), the diva of December will bring her holiday tour to Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena. For those planning to stay indoors with hot cocoa and fuzzy sweaters until the holidays are over, CBS is bringing back Carey’s 2022 concert special on Christmas night. What better way for exhausted families to unwind than with the woman who gave the world “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” The song is now ensconced in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry as a significant work, an appropriate honor for the Queen of Christmas.

'Christmas at Pee-wee’s Playhouse' (available on AppleTV+)

Because this has been the year that our inner child grieved the loss of Paul Reubens, how better to honor his memory than by watching Pee-wee Herman’s 1988 Christmas special? A perfect mix of sweetness and subversive comedy, the guest list included – no joke! – Oprah Winfrey, Cher, Joan Rivers, Little Richard, Grace Jones, K.D. Lang, Magic Johnson, Dinah Shore, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Charo, Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. Not even Studio 54 in its heyday contained that much 1980s greatness. Bonus environmental lesson: As an early example of reduce, reuse, recycle, Pee-wee uses the multitude of fruitcakes he receives as gifts to build a new wing on the playhouse.

Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: TV holiday specials feature Mariah Carey, Pee-wee Herman, Dolly Parton