More Stranger Things for Christmas, NBA All Day, Football on Netflix, Call the Midwife Special

The final showdown with the monstrous Vecna is getting closer, but fans will have to wait for the very last chapter on New Year’s Eve to see how this epic horror show wraps things up. A Christmas treat of three more episodes of the fifth and final season takes the heroes of Hawkins, Indiana, into new dimensions of intrigue and danger as they battle the forces of the Upside Down — although as Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) says in his latest epiphany, “This whole time, everything we have ever assumed about the Upside Down has been dead wrong.” Whatever that means. And while we’re rooting for all of the good guys to survive, let’s give three cheers for Nell Fisher as resilient little Holly Wheeler, trapped in Vecna World but never giving up.

You could gaze at the gridiron in an NFL double-header, starting with the Dallas Cowboys vs. the Washington Commanders from Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, followed at 4:30 pm/ET by a game pitting the Detroit Lions against the Minnesota Vikings. The festivities begin with Kelly Clarkson kicking off the Show Open with a rendition of her seasonal hit “Underneath the Tree.” Snoop Dogg headlines the second game’s halftime show with “Snoop’s Holiday Halftime Party,” featuring the singing voices of KPop Demon Hunters (Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami), country star Lainey Wilson, and a few surprises.

The annual holiday episode of the long-running period drama steps outside of its comfort zone when Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) leads senior members of the convent to Hong Kong, where they assist mothers and orphans whose residence has been destroyed. Back at Nonnatus House in London’s snowy East End, the midwives busy themselves providing aid to two expectant mothers living in a camp, all before dressing up as angels for the Christmas parade.

“Kids are the greatest drunk people ever,” quips rock & roll frontman Chris Ballew, who reinvented himself as children’s music performer Caspar Babypants. An upbeat installment of the music documentary anthology explores the world of “toddler pop,” with insights from children’s entertainers, including Anthony Field of The Wiggles, Laurie Berkner, Jonathan “Johnny Only” Wright, and R&B star Divinity Roxx, who says this music touches “that little person inside of you who still believes in a little bit of magic, and we all need it.” Amen.

Dunk the Halls (12 pm/ET, ABC and ESPN): The basketball court becomes a Magic Kingdom in the first of a five-game marathon of NBA hoops action. For the second year, ESPN and parent company Disney team up for an alternative animated “Dunk the Halls” presentation (available on ESPN2, Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney XD and the ESPN app) where favorite Disney characters including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale — and for the first time, Stitch — cavort on the sidelines in a virtual recreation of Walt Disney World’s Main Street, U.S.A., as NBA Clutch Player of the Year Jalen Brunson and his 2025 NBA Cup Champion New York Knicks take on Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Those who prefer their basketball shows straight-up can stay on ABC and ESPN, where the Knicks-Cavaliers game is followed by four more matches: the San Antonio Spurs vs. defending NBA Champion Oklahoma City Thunder (2:30 pm/ET), Cooper Flagg vs. Stephen Curry when the Dallas Mavericks take on the Golden State Warriors (5 pm/ET), the Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers (8 pm/ET) and the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. the Denver Nuggets (10:30 pm/ET).

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• How the Grinch Stole Christmas (8/7c, NBC): The animated Dr. Seuss classic from 1966 is followed by the 2000 film version (8:30/7:30c) starring Jim Carrey as the green grouch.
• The Graham Norton Show (11/10c, BBC America): Guests on a holiday edition of the cheeky British talk show include Anaconda‘s Jack Black and Paul Rudd, and from the more Oscar-worthy Hamnet, Jessie Buckley.
• A Soulful Christmas (streaming on BET+): One last Christmas movie (for now) offers a tuneful tale of the offspring of two feuding musical legends who make beautiful harmonies together when asked to remake their parents’ hit holiday song.
• The Best You Can (streaming on Netflix): Real-life couple Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon star in a comedy-drama as Cynthia, a urologist who embarks on an unlikely friendship — and then some — with Stan, a down-on-his-luck security guard. Judd Hirsch co-stars as Cynthia’s ailing husband, who’s showing increasing signs of dementia.
• Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale (streaming on AMC+): The second season of the supernatural drama jumps ahead a year after the witch hunt, with Sarah (Elaine Cassidy) returning to the English village of Sanctuary only to have a magical murder draw her into more mystery.
• Streaming finales include the AMC+ thriller The Assassin starring Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore, the animated Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake on HBO Max, and the second half of the quirky Gilded Age mystery-comedy The Artist on The Network, with Mandy Patinkin and Janet McTeer leading an eclectic cast.