Look at this naive dope, one year ago today:
“But this pause in our lives has also given me occasion to genuinely reflect on how lucky I am, and how blessed my family is. It’s so hard to be away from everyone, to not be able to celebrate, especially after such a long, shit year. It’s hard. I’m sad. The next month especially is going to be scary and dark and painful for so many of us. But I’m trying to view this moment, this Christmas Eve in particular, as the solstice, the moment when the light begins its return, and the darkness slowly recedes. The early church leaders chose December 25 to be Christ’s birthday for this very reason, to symbolize the birth of the Son/sun, the moment in the year when we can hope again. And so I look forward to just how much better it will be next year after the vaccines have been distributed and the spread of this virus is crushed and we can all be together again.
“And this is my Christmas Eve wish for you: please, stay safe, stay healthy, and take care of each other so that we can all celebrate Christmas together again next year. It may be dark now, but the light is coming.”
Welp.
I hope your holidays are looking a little more normal this year, and that you’re able to be with the people you couldn’t be with last year. But here at Foolish headquarters, we’re having another bummer of a Christmas thanks to this virus. We had to once again cancel our annual Christmas Eve dinner; a family member who lives in another town had to cancel her plans at the last minute after being exposed to the Omicron variant; and we won’t be able to see half of my family to protect an immunosuppressed loved one. Quite frankly, it sucks.
Last winter I bought a T-shirt from the “My Favorite Murder” ladies that reads: “This is Terrible. Keep Going.” And believe it or not, I actually thought about retiring the shirt in June — after all, things were looking better! Things were no longer terrible! But then thanks to the Delta variant, that optimism did not last long, and the shirt stayed firmly in the rotation.
The thing is, this IS terrible. But all we can do is keep going. Maybe 2022 will be a little brighter … or maybe it will be a whole lot more of … this. In any event, all we can do is continue to follow the science, do our very best to protect each other, and forge ahead through the darkness. And one day, I promise, it will be less terrible. God, at least I hope so.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, my fellow Watchers. Keep going.
WATCH THIS
FRIDAY
Don’t Look Up: Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jennifer Lawrence star in this doomsday comedy. Premiere. Netflix
A Christmas Story: YOU’LL SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT. 7 p.m., TBS
Christmas Eve Mass: Watch midnight mass from the comfort of your couch. 11:30 p.m., NBC
SATURDAY
Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade: Genuine question: do families watch this on Christmas morning? Aren’t they busy opening presents and/or playing with new presents? 9 a.m., ABC
Letterkenny: Nothing says “Christmas” like a bunch of creatively cursing Canadians. Season premiere. Hulu
Downton Abbey: The movie version of the beloved drama series. 6 p.m., PBS
The Wizard of Oz: Release the flying monkeys! 7 p.m., TBS
SUNDAY
Insecure: Will Issa pull it together? Series finale. 9 p.m., HBO
Curb Your Enthusiasm: Oh, lord, Larry is dragging the Mormons into it. Season finale. 9:40 p.m., HBO
Insecure: The End: This documentary explores the making of Insecure, and the cultural impact the series had. Premiere. HBO Max
| FRI. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | Olaf’s Frozen Adventure | Shrek the Halls | Disney Prep & Landing | Disney Prep & Landing 2: Naughty vs. Nice | Shark Tank |
| CBS | A Holly Dolly Christmas | Kenny Rogers: All In For The Gambler | Blue Bloods (repeat) |
| CW | Christmas Around The World | Local |
| FOX | Friday Night Smackdown | Local |
| NBC | It’s a Wonderful Life |
—
| SAT. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 | 11:00 | 11:30 |
| ABC | NBA Basketball (live) |
News/Local |
| CBS | NCIS: Los Angeles (repeat) |
48 Hours | 48 Hours | News/Local |
| FOX | FOX PBC Fight Night (live) |
News/Local |
| NBC | How the Grinch Stole Christmas | How the Grinch Stole Christmas | News/ Local |
Saturday Night Live (repeat) |
—
| SUN. | 6:00 | 6:30 | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | America’s Funniest Home Videos (repeat) |
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (repeat) |
Supermarket Sweep (repeat) |
The Rookie (repeat) |
| CBS | 60 Minutes | The Equalizer (repeat) |
The Equalizer (repeat) |
The Equalizer (repeat) |
| The CW | Local | Legends of the Hidden Temple (repeat) |
Penn & Teller: Fool Us (repeat) |
Local |
| FOX | The Simp-sons (repeat) |
Bob’s Burgers (repeat) |
The Simp-sons (repeat) |
The Great North (repeat) |
Bob’s Burgers (repeat) |
Family Guy (repeat) |
Local/News |
| NBC | Sunday Night Football (repeat) |