All I Watch for Christmas

Last updated

All I Watch for Christmas and Christmas Maximus are two interrelated program blocks respectively carried on TBS and TNT, the two former flagship stations of the Turner Broadcasting System. [1] Both channels are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery as of 2024.

Contents

The blocks feature seasonal Christmas television specials and films in November and December, most of which are from the archives of Warner Bros. Discovery and which are concurrently licensed out to competing cable networks' blocks, such as AMC's Best Christmas Ever and Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas.

History

TBS and TNT had long carried Christmas specials, particularly with the purchase of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer library in 1986. In 1989, TNT became the exclusive broadcaster of the original animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! [2] It also built a tradition of airing the 1983 film A Christmas Story beginning in 1987, eventually expanding over time to become a full-day marathon by 1997. [3] [4] The Wizard of Oz , a holiday tradition on television since its 1950s golden age, moved to TBS in 1998. [5]

Other programs in the Warner Bros. library were licensed out to other channels. Through 2017, a package of films such as Elf , National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation , The Polar Express and the 1974–1987 library of cel-animated and stop-motion "Animagic" Christmas specials from Rankin/Bass Productions were licensed to what was then ABC Family for its 25 Days of Christmas, where the films were major ratings draws. In 2018, Warner Bros.' parent company entered into a licensing deal with AMC to move those programs to that network, and out of the 25 Days of Christmas. [6]

Over time, TBS and TNT began airing that library on its own channels in addition to continuing to make them available to AMC. [7] (A Christmas Story remained exclusive to TNT and TBS, while the Grinch animated special has been licensed out to NBC since 2015, with TBS and TNT also showing the special. [8] )

In 2021, TBS and TNT introduced the Winter Break branding as part of their holiday programming slate for that year. During this, TBS' Winter Break branding that year was hosted by Carla, an abominable "snowmonster" voiced by Amy Sedaris, and later, an group of greeting cards on top of an firehouse mantel on 2023, and continued after the rebranding of "All I Watch for Christmas".

The "Christmas Maximus" and "All I Watch for Christmas" block names were introduced in 2024. With the new brand, several of the films will also be featured in TNT's revival of Dinner and a Movie . [9]

Programming

As of 2024: [9]

Specials

Films

Films marked † are sublicensed to AMC. As of 2024:

Film franchises

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TNT (American TV network)</span> American pay television channel

TNT is an American basic cable television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery that launched on October 3, 1988. TNT's original purpose was to air classic films and television series to which Turner Broadcasting maintained spillover rights through its sister station TBS. Since June 2001, the network has shifted its focus to dramatic television series and feature films, along with some sporting events, as TBS shifted its focus to comedic programming.

Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner on August 2, 1986. Purchased by Time Warner Entertainment on October 10, 1996, as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing the TBS library for worldwide distribution. In recent years, this role has largely been limited to being the copyright holder, as it has become an in-name-only subsidiary of Warner Bros., which currently administers their library.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment</span> American production company

Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment was an American production company located in New York City. It was known for its seasonal television specials, usually done in stop motion animation. Rankin/Bass's stop-motion productions are recognizable by their visual style of doll-like characters with spheroid body parts and ubiquitous powdery snow using an animation technique called Animagic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AMC (TV channel)</span> American TV channel

AMC is an American basic cable television channel that first launched in 1984, and is the namesake flagship property of AMC Networks. Since 2002, the full name has been de-emphasized as a result of a major shift in its programming.

<i>A Christmas Story</i> 1983 film by Bob Clark

A Christmas Story is a 1983 Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark and based on the 1966 book In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd, with some elements from his 1971 book Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories and Other Disasters. It stars Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, and Peter Billingsley, and follows a young boy and his family's misadventures during Christmas time in the 1940s. It is the third installment in the Parker Family Saga.

<i>Rudolphs Shiny New Year</i> American-Japanese 1976 animated TV special

Rudolph's Shiny New Year is a 1976 Christmas and New Year's stop motion animated television special and a standalone sequel to the 1964 special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The special premiered on ABC on December 10, 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grinch</span> Fictional character created by Dr. Seuss

The Grinch is a character created by children's author and cartoonist Dr. Seuss. He is best known as the main character of the 1957 children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! He has been portrayed and voiced by many actors, including Boris Karloff, Hans Conried, Bob Holt, Walter Matthau, Anthony Asbury, Jim Carrey, Rik Mayall, Benedict Cumberbatch, Matthew Morrison, David Howard Thornton, and James Austin Johnson.

<i>The Year Without a Santa Claus</i> 1974 stop-motion television special

The Year Without a Santa Claus is a 1974 stop motion animated Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The story is based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book of the same name. It is narrated by Shirley Booth and starring the voices of Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn and George S. Irving. It was originally broadcast on December 10, 1974, on ABC.

<i>How the Grinch Stole Christmas</i> (2000 film) 2000 Christmas film by Ron Howard

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a 2000 American Christmas fantasy comedy film directed by Ron Howard, who also produced with Brian Grazer, from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. Based on Dr. Seuss's 1957 children's book of the same name, this marked the first Dr. Seuss book to be adapted into a full-length feature film and one of only two live-action adaptations, the other being The Cat in the Hat (2003). It is the second adaptation of the book, following the 1966 animated TV special.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MGM Animation/Visual Arts</span>

MGM Animation/Visual Arts was an American animation studio established in 1962 by animation director/producer Chuck Jones, producer Les Goldman and executive Walter Bien as Sib Tower 12 Productions. Its productions include the last series of Tom and Jerry theatrical shorts, the TV specials Horton Hears a Who! and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and the feature film The Phantom Tollbooth, all released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>Halloween Is Grinch Night</i> 1977 American TV series or program

Halloween Is Grinch Night is a 1977 children's animated Halloween television special and is a prequel to the 1966 television special How the Grinch Stole Christmas! It premiered on ABC on October 28, 1977. The original voice actor for The Grinch, Boris Karloff, by then deceased, was replaced by Hans Conried, though Thurl Ravenscroft, who sang on the original special, again provided singing vocals. The songs and score were written by Sesame Street composer Joe Raposo.

<i>How the Grinch Stole Christmas!</i> (TV special) 1966 American animated television special based on the book by Dr. Seuss

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a 1966 American animated television special, directed and co-produced by Chuck Jones. Based on the 1957 children's book of the same name by Dr. Seuss, the special features the voice of Boris Karloff as the Grinch. It tells the story of the Grinch, who tries to ruin Christmas for the townsfolk of Whoville below his mountain hideaway.

<i>The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat</i> 1982 American animated musical television special

The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat is a 1982 American Emmy Award-winning animated musical television special and crossover starring The Cat in the Hat and The Grinch. Completed in 1981, it premiered on May 20, 1982, on ABC and would be DePatie and Freleng's final Dr. Seuss special and the only Dr. Seuss cartoon by Marvel Productions. The songs were written by Sesame Street composer Joe Raposo.

<i>The Wizard of Oz</i> on television Broadcasts of the film

The Wizard of Oz, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), was first released in theatres on August 15, 1939. The film was then re-released nationwide in 1949, and once more in 1955. The Wizard of Oz was broadcast on television for the first time on Saturday, November 3, 1956. The film was shown as the last installment of the CBS anthology series Ford Star Jubilee. Since that telecast, The Wizard of Oz has been shown by CBS, NBC, The WB, and several of Ted Turner's national cable channels. The film has never been licensed to any local affiliate broadcast TV station. From 1959 to 1991, the showing of The Wizard of Oz was an annual tradition on American commercial network television. During these years, the film was always shown as a television special.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">25 Days of Christmas</span> An annual seasonal television event by Freeform

Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas is an American annual seasonal event of Christmas programming broadcast during the month of December by the U.S. cable network Freeform. The event was first held in 1996, and has been an annual fixture of the channel through its various incarnations, including The Family Channel, Fox Family, ABC Family, and Freeform. The brand covers airings of classic holiday specials as well as new Christmas-themed television movies each year; generally few of the network's original series air during the time period, outside of Christmas-themed episodes. In 2006, the lineup has also included airings of general, family films that Freeform holds rights to, which included the Harry Potter films until January 2017, and other Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures films. In 2007, the block was extended to November with a Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas block. 25 Days of Christmas programming often attracts major surges in viewership for Freeform, with higher-profile film airings often attracting 3–4 million viewers or more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whoville</span> Fictional town created by Dr. Seuss

Whoville, sometimes written as Who-ville, is a fictional town created by author Theodor Seuss Geisel, under the name Dr. Seuss. Whoville appeared in the 1954 book Horton Hears a Who! and the 1957 book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! with significant differences between the two renditions. Its denizens go by the collective name Whos, as in a plural form of the pronoun who.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartoon Network</span> American cable television channel

Cartoon Network is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is the flagship property of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also oversees Boomerang, Cartoonito, Discovery Family, Adult Swim, and Toonami. The channel is headquartered at 1050 Techwood Drive NW in Atlanta, Georgia.

<i>The Grinch</i> (film) 2018 animated film by Scott Mosier and Yarrow Cheney

The Grinch, also known as Dr. Seuss' The Grinch, is a 2018 American animated Christmas comedy film produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination, and distributed by Universal. The third screen adaptation of Dr. Seuss' 1957 book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, following the 1966 television special and the 2000 live-action feature-length film, it is Illumination's second Dr. Seuss film adaptation, after The Lorax in 2012. The plot follows the Grinch and his pet dog Max who plan to stop Whoville's Christmas celebration by stealing all the town's decorations and gifts.

<i>Trolls Holiday</i> Television special

Trolls Holiday is an American animated musical Christmas special that premiered on NBC on November 24, 2017. Based on the film Trolls, the half-hour Christmas special was directed by Joel Crawford and produced by DreamWorks Animation. The main cast all reprised their roles as their respective characters, most notably Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, and Zooey Deschanel as Poppy, Branch, and Bridget, respectively. Another special with the same theme, but with another plot, Trolls: Holiday in Harmony, aired on November 26, 2021, on NBC.

Best Christmas Ever is a seasonal program block on AMC, an American cable and satellite network. The block, launched in 2018, airs Christmas-themed television specials and feature films from late November until the day after Christmas.

References

  1. ↑ Inman, Jessica (November 1, 2024). "Christmas programming officially begins Saturday at TBS, TNT". United Press International . Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  2. ↑ Hughes, Mike (December 9, 1989). "Turner turns Grinch; show only on TNT". Battle Creek Enquirer . p. 11. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Orlando Sentinel Television Listings – Researched from original microfilm at The Orlando Public Library on November 17, 2007". Orlando Sentinel. 1987–2001.
  4. ↑ Cooper, Matt (December 22, 2017). "TV This Week, Dec. 24-30: A Christmas Story marathon and more". Los Angeles Times– via latimes.com.
  5. ↑ Kissell, Rick (1998-04-06). "'Wizard' travels to TBS" . Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  6. ↑ Adalian, Josef. "AMC Nabs Christmas Classics As the War for Holiday TV Audiences Heats Up". Vulture. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  7. ↑ Jacobs, Meredith (2023-10-26). "TBS & TNT Holiday Schedule 2023: 'A Christmas Story,' 'Elf,' 'Friends' Episodes & More". TV Insider. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  8. ↑ "'How The Grinch Stole Christmas' Animated Special Moves To NBC – TCA". Deadline Hollywood . August 13, 2015. Archived from the original on August 14, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  9. 1 2 "TBS "All I Watch for Christmas" and TNT "Christmas Maximus" Kick Off Holiday Programming on Saturday, November 2". Pressroom. 2024-11-01. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.