Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas Schedule for 2019; Showtime to Debut New Comedy On-Demand Before Premiere

Monday, November 04, 2019

Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas Schedule for 2019; Showtime to Debut New Comedy On-Demand Before Premiere

Coming off the incredibly strong performance of its "31 Nights of Halloween" programming, Freeform kicks the holidays into high gear with the announcement of the beloved "25 Days of Christmas" lineup beginning on Dec. 1. As the go-to network for holiday-themed original content and beloved classics, this year's festive lineup includes the premieres of Freeform original feature Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas, with The Bold Type star Aisha Dee and The Guest Book's Kimiko Glenn, airing Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 9:00 p.m. EST/PST. Good Trouble will air a two-hour holiday episode on Monday, Dec. 16, at 9:00 p.m. EST/PST, with the full cast of The Fosters guest starring. Additionally, the network will debut the timeless Christmas classics of Rankin-Bass with Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on Friday, Dec. 6, at 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. EST/PST, respectively. Adding some friendly competition to your Christmas cheer, back-to-back installments of Freeform original holiday series Wrap Battle will air on Mondays at 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. EST/PST, with the finale airing Monday, Dec. 9. Freeform also released its first-ever "25 Days of Christmas" jingle, featuring Freeform Santa and Good Trouble star Emma Hunton.

Among the other notable movies/specials airing: The Santa Clause trilogy, The Simpsons, all five Home Alone films, Holiday in Handcuffs, Snowglobe, and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. View the full 25 Days of Christmas lineup.

Back to Life - Daisy Haggard

Showtime will release all six episodes of the new series Back to Life to its subscribers at midnight on Sunday, November 10 prior to its on-air debut that night at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The episodes will be available for on-demand streaming or download on the Showtime and Showtime Anytime(R) apps, as well as for viewing via Showtime On Demand. Back to Life will debut on air with back to back episodes and continue with two new episodes every Sunday at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

From Fleabag producers Harry and Jack Williams, Back to Life is created and written by Daisy Haggard and Laura Solon, with Haggard starring. Haggard plays Miri Matteson, who after 18 years behind bars, returns home and stumbles back into adult life in the coastal town she once knew, while the mystery of her past looms large. Miri's first few weeks out of prison see her trying (and frequently failing) to lead a normal life in her picturesque but claustrophobic seaside hometown. Miri attempts to rekindle old relationships, make new ones, look for work and readjust to life outside, while desperately waiting for the world to forget about what happened that fateful night. Guiding Miri as she tries to adapt are a cast of offbeat and intriguing characters with secrets of their own, including her sexually frustrated mother, Caroline (Geraldine James), her obsessive environmentalist father, Oscar (Richard Durden), and her parole officer with no filter, Janice (Jo Martin). We'll also meet first love Dom (Jamie Michie), ex-best friend Mandy (Christine Bottomley), next-door neighbor Billy (Adeel Akhtar) and fish and chips shop owner and new boss Nathan (Liam Williams).

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Friday, July 3

The Dick Van Dyke Show - Now in Living Color! - (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
CBS will honor the memory of legendary actor, producer, director, writer, comedian and Emmy Award winner Carl Reiner with THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW – NOW IN LIVING COLOR! A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO CARL REINER, featuring two colorized back-to-back classic episodes of the beloved 1960s series, Friday, July 3 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. As series creator and co-star, Carl Reiner personally supervised the original colorization of the episodes.

The special features “Coast to Coast Big Mouth,” which ranked #8 on TV Guide’s list of the “100 Greatest TV Episodes of All-Time,” and “October Eve,” which Mr. Reiner considered to be one of the series’ funniest episodes. Both were written by Bill Persky and Sam Denoff.

In “Coast to Coast Big Mouth,” Laura Petrie blurts out a top secret on a national television quiz show, revealing that comedian Alan Brady wears a toupee. The episode, which was the show’s fifth and final season premiere, was originally broadcast on Sept. 15, 1965. “Coast to Coast Big Mouth” won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 1966.

In “October Eve,” a painting of Laura returns to haunt her when, despite her having posed fully clothed, the artist (played by Carl Reiner) takes the liberty of “undraping” her. The episode was first presented on April 8, 1964, during season three.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 29)

Friday, July 3

Kevin Hart (The Big House/Undeclared) - Watch Kevin on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12:35am on ABC.
Tina Fey (30 Rock) - Tina appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Laura Dern (Enlightened) - Laura is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Mark Duplass (Togetherness/The Mindy Project/The League) - Mark appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly/Samantha Who?) - Melissa guest hosts a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Brett Gelman (Camping/Fleabag/Love/Married/Go On) - Brett appears on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Tika Sumpter (mixed-ish/The Game) - Tika talks about the season finale of mixed-ish and her latest project helping new moms on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Peter Gallagher (Grace and Frankie/The Secret Lives of Men) - Peter talks about Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and Grace and Frankie on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.