Annie Live! is one in a long list of excellent holiday offerings tonight
Including Santa Inc, Single All The Way, and Baking It. Plus: Star Trek: Discovery and Kenny G
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Thursday, December 2. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Annie Live! (NBC, 8 p.m.) Celina Smith is the next Quvenzhané Wallis/Shirley Temple/Alicia Morton in NBC’s latest live musical event, which also stars Taraji P. Henson, Harry Connick Jr., Tituss Burgess, Megan Hilty, and Nicole Scherzinger, providing the Hidden Figures-Hope Floats-Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt-Smash-Pussycat Dolls crossover we never knew we needed. Caroline Siede will recap.
Regular coverage
Star Trek: Discovery (Paramount+, 3:01 a.m.)
Season’s Streamings
Santa Inc (HBO Max, 3:01 a.m., full season): This is for the former kids who thought they hallucinated that stop-motion Christmas movie about a crying witch and leprechauns: a stop motion Christmas movie for adults! (Alternatively, if you liked that one episode of Community, this is also for you.) This eight-episode comedy series stars Sarah Silverman as Candy Smalls, the highest ranking elf in the North Pole. When the successor to Santa Claus (Seth Rogen) decides to go with Amazon on Christmas Eve, Candy tries to become the first woman Santa Claus in the history of Christmas. This storyline feels familiar… but hopefully it’ll be executed with more sourness than sweetness. After all, can’t make mulled wine or gingerbread cookies without some spice! The movie also stars Joel Kim Booster, Leslie Grossman, Maria Bamford, and Nicholas Braun.
Single All The Way (Netflix, 3:01 a.m.): Michael Urie! Kathy Najimy! Jennifer Coolidge! A gay Christmas romcom that will easily knock out Happiest Season for top gay Christmas romcom. (The top straight Christmas romcom is Love Actually, one of the straightest movies on record.) At one point Michael Urie’s character says, “If we ever went there and it didn’t work out, it would destroy me”!!!!!!! So this movie will destroy YOU and whatever fancy Christmas sweater you’ll be wearing when you watch it!
Baking It (Peacock+, 3:01 a.m.): NBC’s Making It but with a raunchy, holiday-themed twist. Hosted by Connie the Hormone Monstress Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg, Baking It comes from the same team behind Making It (Amy Poehler and her beloved manager Dave Becky) and will feature amateur contestants in teams of two (which will consist of siblings, friends, spouses, and other combinations). The judges will be four grandmothers, obviously the most reliable baking experts available. All six episodes stream today.
Wild cards
Music Box Documentary: Listening to Kenny G (HBO, 8 p.m.): Love him or hate him, you probably already know who he is. But Penny Lane’s documentary was critically acclaimed at TIFF in September, and is said to be funny, insightful, and painstakingly researched. Starring the smooth jazz saxophonist himself.