NBC takes page off British television with standalone holiday specials for ‘Young Rock’, ‘Kenan’ & ‘Mr. Mayors’ deadline

Amid declining linear ratings, vacation programming was one area where viewers continued to flock to ad-supported networks, generating a significant portion of those networks’ annual ad revenue. As a result, the vacation price has skyrocketed, stretching to a month or more on simple cable networks like Hallmark, Freeform, and Lifetime.

The broadcast networks have dipped their toes into the arena. NBC, which has probably the most enduring holiday staples with Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, National Dog Show, and Christmas at Rockefeller Center, introduced the live Christmas musical with the 2013 production of The Sound of Music. Now the network is adding a new element to its vacation schedule and looks very familiar to British television viewers.

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NBC announced today that it will be airing special holiday episodes of its returning comedies Kenan, Young Rock and Mr. Mayor over the upcoming Christmas season. Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be news – broadcast comedies traditionally make themed episodes around holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day when they fall into place. What’s unusual in this case is that NBC has no comedies scheduled this fall and all three renewed newbies will be returning for their second season in the midseason (January or later).

Your vacation specials will be standalone episodes not related to Season 1 or Season 2. This is a stunt that has been an integral part of British television for decades. The difference is that in the US, vacation programs run in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Meanwhile, Christmas specials, a mainstay of UK television, are mainly broadcast on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. In addition to the soaps, which are often the most watched shows of the year, shows like Doctor Who, Miranda, recently adapted as Call Me Kat for Fox, Downton Abbey, Call The Midwife and Mrs. Browns Boys have been on Christmas Day and in the surrounding holidays watched by tens of millions of people. For example, the 2019 Gavin & Stacey Christmas Special, co-designed by James Corden, was seen by over 18 million people.

NBC’s 2021 vacation schedule also includes the musical Annie Live! and two new animated specials, Trolls Holidays in Harmony and Jimmy Fallon’s Five More Sleeps’ Til Christmas.