Opinion: Streaming has killed the holiday episode

Christmas sit-com characters having a Thanksgiving dinner. Art by Addie Martin.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, holiday specials have replaced many supposed staples of Christmas iconography (what even is figgy pudding?) and cemented themselves as a part of seasonal festivities for millions of families. 

For decades, audiences have been able to enjoy watching their favorite characters, from “I Love Lucy’s” Lucy Ricardo, to “Parks and Rec’s” Leslie Knope, celebrate the holidays. Unfortunately for viewers, the switch from the broadcast model to streaming has changed the way television is produced and may have stifled the holiday episode. Forever.

The shift from cable television to streaming began in 2007, when Netflix switched from DVDs to an online platform, allowing viewers instant access to any movies and television on the site. Over time, the week-by-week model of episode releases was overtaken by the binge model. Now, the culture around TV shows is less, “Did you see what happened last week?” and more “Have you finished the season?” about four days after it is released.

Despite this shift toward binging shows, it’s clear viewers still crave the communal experience provided by the episodic release structure, as shown by the popularity and cultural prevalence of shows like “Euphoria,” “White Lotus,” and “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” Each of these shows, varied in quality and mired in controversy as they may be, experienced intense popularity while they were being released. 

These shows brought back the communal element of television consumption, but they’re all notable for their tonal whiplash of both the comedic and the dramatic, often coming across as comedic because of the intensity of their melodrama. They’re also notable for their season-long arcs, compared to the episodic story structure of sitcoms. This makes incorporating holidays into the plot less feasible, and releasing these episodes seasonally near impossible. It's harder to release a "Walter White carves the turkey" episode on Thanksgiving because lining it up with the plot is bound to cause problems. 

Despite the prevalence of the aforementioned shows, classic comedies, the once all-encompassing 20-minute sitcom, have been left behind. This isn’t to say sitcoms aren’t still big on streaming, but new sitcoms haven’t had their moment in the sun. While streaming remains the primary consumption format for sitcoms, it makes less sense to release episodes that are specific to particular times of years, and so, the holiday episode has lost its dominance in the American television canon. 

Consumers are now deprived of the joy of seeing their favorite characters in trashy Halloween costumes or ugly Christmas sweaters. There’s a staggering lack of Secret Santa shenanigans, Valentine’s Day hijinks and April Fool’s Day tomfoolery. Just think, if holiday episodes hadn’t been so culturally prominent, the public may have been deprived of Glee’s seminal Thanksgiving hit, the immaculate mashup “Let’s Have a Kiki / Turkey Lurkey Time.” 

Admittedly, many of these sitcoms are not representative of a wide array of experiences. They primarily center on Western culture and Christian holidays, which leaves many marginalized communities behind. However, in recent years, many mainstream sitcoms have adopted more diverse casts and more progressive ideology, rather than relying on humor that punches down. While this may be too idealistic, a remnant of Obama-era liberalism, it’s not unreasonable to believe that this shift could continue and potentially lead to holiday episodes focused on a variety of traditions. 

If sitcoms maintained their former dominance, an increase in diversity within holiday episodes may have been a possibility. Instead, the most beloved sitcoms of the 90s through late 2010s have retained their popularity, while sitcoms that are currently being produced fall flat. NBC’s recent releases, like “The Paper” and “St. Denis Medical,” have nowhere near the fanbases of their predecessors. Maybe they’re sleeper hits, but as of now, they appear irrelevant. What has filled this void? 

The answer is almost always the same: slop! Middlebrow media is dead and HBO and Netflix are dancing on its grave. Many comedic series, like HBO’s sardonic dramedies, are too intellectual or dry in their comedy to embrace the corniness of a holiday episode. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are movies that exist not to tell a story but to convey the vague idea of holiday joy. 

They’re plotless, festive fantasias of attractive people in red sweaters, mass produced on the Hallmark or Netflix lot. At this point, the commentary on these films are just as cliché as the plotlines themselves. It’s all big city girl, small town boy, every day for the rest of time. Or, for a new twist on a classic form, there’s the monarchy-obsessed Netflix cinematic universe, with oodles of princesses and too many Vanessa Hudgens.

There's nothing wrong with liking these movies. They’re the movie equivalent of crackling log YouTube videos; they add festive ambiance and holiday cheer. There’s a beauty, too, in the annual tradition of these movies, especially in the sequential films, as viewers gain familiarity with the characters and their world.

This familiarity is the specific joy of the holiday episode. The viewer gets to watch characters they know experience the trials and tribulations of the holidays, the same way everyone does. They get to watch the way the holidays pause many parts of everyday life but don't pause the challenges of familial relationships or the stress of communal get-togethers. 

Holiday episodes represent people’s hopes and fears; they’re not just a distraction from real life festivities. They’re a reflection of them. They provide a look into a world like ours, but one where the complications of everyday life and the joy of holiday festivities are always able to coexist. They’re a light in the dark, a bright spot in our often dismal cultural landscape. Turkey is already dry. The holiday media ecosystem doesn’t have to be. Get holly, get jolly! Bring back the holiday episode.