CBS Holiday Lineup Includes Newly Colorized Lucy and Dick Van Dyke Episodes

CBS Holiday Specials

CBS will kick off its 2017 special holiday programming on November 23rd with the Thanksgiving Day Parade hosted by Entertainment Tonight‘s Kevin Frazier and correspondent Keltie Knight. The network’s holiday lineup also includes Bruno Mars’ first primetime television special and a special look back at The Carol Burnett Show with Carol Burnett, Vicki Lawrence, and Lyle Waggoner.

CBS’s holiday lineup includes a one-hour I Love Lucy Christmas Special made up of the colorized “Christmas Episode” and the newly colorized “The Fashion Show” episode. Two newly colorized episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show will air in The Dick Van Dyke Show – Now in Living Color! special airing Friday, December 22nd. The episodes were personally selected by the series’ creator, Carl Reiner, and represent the two episodes he believes are Mary Tyler Moore’s best.

CBS will also rebroadcast the holiday classics Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Frosty Returns, The Story of Santa Claus, and Robbie the Reindeer.


Thursday, Nov. 23:

THE THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE ON CBS (9:00 AM-12:00 PM, live ET/8:00-11:00 AM, live CT/7:00-10:00 AM, live MT/9:00 AM-12:00 PM, delayed PT)
A CBS Thanksgiving tradition in its 57th year, the special, to be anchored by ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT host Kevin Frazier and correspondent Keltie Knight, will feature portions of the 91st annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, live from New York City. Performers during the parade will include GRAMMY® Award nominated recording artist Kelsea Ballerini and the casts of the Broadway hit musicals “Come From Away” and “Waitress,” featuring GRAMMY® Award winner Jason Mraz. (New)

Friday, Nov. 24:

FROSTY THE SNOWMAN (8:00-8:30 PM, ET/PT)
Frosty, that “jolly, happy soul” whose old silk hat full of magic has turned him into a musical Christmas legend, once again demonstrates his unique showmanship. Narrated by Jimmy Durante, the special also includes the voices of Jackie Vernon (as Frosty) and Billy De Wolfe (as Professor Hinkle). (Rebroadcast)

FROSTY RETURNS (8:30-9:00 PM, ET/PT)
The magic still in his old silk hat, the holiday season’s perennially popular original dancing snowman continues his adventure and skates on the edge of danger. Jonathan Winters is the narrator with John Goodman as the voice of Frosty. (Rebroadcast)

GRAMMYS® GREATEST STORIES: A 60TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT)
In this special, CBS, The Recording Academy® and AEG Ehrlich Ventures celebrate epic moments from the past 59 years of GRAMMY® history. This first all-encompassing retrospective will feature rare archival footage, exclusive interviews and special appearances by multi-GRAMMY Award winners Christina Aguilera, Mary J. Blige, Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin, Dave Grohl, Elton John, Bruno Mars, Chris Martin, Paul McCartney, Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, U2 and Keith Urban, among others. The special will also take viewers behind the scenes of “Music’s Biggest Night®,” revealing secrets about the remarkable performances and unique “GRAMMY Moments” only seen on the GRAMMY Awards. (New)

Saturday, Nov. 25:

ROBBIE THE REINDEER: HOOVES OF FIRE (8:00-8:30 PM, ET/PT)
In this animated special, Robbie (voiced by Ben Stiller) must train to compete in the Reindeer Races to become a part of the sleigh team for Santa (voiced by Jim Belushi). (Rebroadcast)

ROBBIE THE REINDEER: LEGEND OF THE LOST TRIBE (8:30-9:00 PM, ET/PT)
In the second of the two specials, Robbie battles Blitzen (voiced by Hugh Grant) in an effort to stop his nemesis’s launch of a reindeer theme park. Britney Spears, James Woods, Leah Remini and Jerry Stiller are among the additional stars to lend their voices. (Rebroadcast)

THE STORY OF SANTA CLAUS (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT)
This animated musical holiday special revolves around a gentle toymaker (voiced by Ed Asner) whose only wish is to deliver a toy to every child on Christmas. The voices of Betty White and Tim Curry are also featured. (Rebroadcast)

Tuesday, Nov. 28:

RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT)
Narrated by Burl Ives, who is also heard as the voice of Sam the Snowman, this favorite is a music story based on the popular song of the same name by Johnny Marks. It recounts the tale of a shy reindeer whose Christmas spirit is dampened because his shiny nose has made him the laughing stock of all of Christmasville. (Rebroadcast)

THE VICTORIA’S SECRET FASHION SHOW (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT)
Filmed in Shanghai, China for the first time, the all-star line-up of Victoria’s Secret Angels will include returning favorites Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, Lily Aldridge, Elsa Hosk, Jasmine Tookes, Josephine Skriver, Lais Ribeiro, Martha Hunt, Romee Strijd, Sara Sampaio, Stella Maxwell and Taylor Hill, as well as new faces. Merging fashion, fantasy and entertainment, the lingerie runway show will include pink carpet interviews, model profiles, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the show, and musical performances that will be announced at a later date. (New)

Wednesday, Nov. 29:

BRUNO MARS: 24K MAGIC LIVE AT THE APOLLO (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT)
CBS and Atlantic Records have partnered with multiple GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter, producer, director, musician and two-time Super Bowl Halftime performer Bruno Mars to premiere his first primetime television special, which was taped at the legendary Apollo Theater in New York City. Mars kicks off the electrifying special in spectacular style with an epic performance atop the Apollo’s landmark marquee. Also, Mars and his band the Hooligans take to the streets, visiting, singing and entertaining locals in exciting, intimate, must-see moments. (New)

Sunday, Dec. 3:

THE CAROL BURNETT 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT)
CBS celebrates the 50th anniversary of Carol Burnett’s classic, award-winning comedy series “The Carol Burnett Show,” which premiered on Sept. 11, 1967. In this special, filmed on the show’s original soundstage (Stage 33 at CBS Television City in Los Angeles), Burnett reminisces about her favorite sketches, Q&As with the studio audience, guest stars, her memorable wardrobe and bloopers, as well as the tremendous effect the show continues to have on television today as a true pioneer of sketch comedy. The special will also feature original cast members Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner, costume designer Bob Mackie, as well as comedians, comic actors and friends, including Jim Carrey, Kristin Chenoweth, Stephen Colbert, Harry Connick Jr., Bill Hader, Jay Leno, Jane Lynch, Bernadette Peters, Maya Rudolph and Martin Short, who will join Burnett to discuss how the revolutionary series paved the way for them and impacted their careers. (New)

Friday, Dec. 22:

I LOVE LUCY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT)
Featuring two back-to-back episodes of the classic series, the colorized “Christmas Episode” (first presented in black and white on Christmas Eve, 1956) is paired with the newly colorized “The Fashion Show.” In this episode (first presented on Feb. 28, 1955), Lucy convinces Ricky to allow her to spend up to $100 on a dress at the fashionable Don Loper Salon in Beverly Hills. However, when an opportunity arises for Lucy to participate in a Loper fashion show featuring glamorous movie star wives, Lucy winds up spending five times that! Lucy hopes that if she gets a mild sunburn, Ricky will feel sorry for her and forgive her for spending so much, though, as always, she goes a bit too far! (New)

THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW – NOW IN LIVING COLOR! (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT)
The two newly colorized back-to-back episodes of this memorable series were selected by series creator Carl Reiner as two of Mary Tyler Moore’s best episodes. In “My Blonde-Haired Brunette” (first presented on Oct. 10, 1961 during the series’ first season), Laura dyes her hair blonde when she fears the romance between Rob and her is fading. In “October Eve” (initially presented on April 8, 1964 during Season Three), a painting of Laura returns to haunt her…despite having posed fully clothed, the artist (played by Carl Reiner) took the liberty of “undraping” her. (New)

Tuesday, Dec. 26:

THE 40TH ANNUAL KENNEDY CENTER HONORS (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT)
Actress, dancer and choreographer Carmen de Lavallade, singer-songwriter and actress Gloria Estefan, hip hop artist LL COOL J, television writer and producer Norman Lear and renowned musician and record producer Lionel Richie will receive honors. CBS has broadcast the special each year since its debut 40 years ago. The host will be announced at a later date. (New)