Everything on Apple TV+ for Christmas

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited December 2021
New specials, returning shows, and festive favorites from Charlie Brown and Mariah Carey -- it's Christmas on Apple TV+.


"'Twas the Fight Before Christmas"


Such is the way of streaming television that Christmas starts early in December and extends into the new year -- or it does when some Apple TV+ title are getting theatrical releases over the holidays.

And it may only be two years since Apple TV+ even began, but already there are certain staples we can look forward to. Apple is spending big to create a name for itself over the holidays -- and, it hopes, then all-year-round.

To promote its holiday season shows, Apple has released a new trailer that also covers many existing series that have already premiered, and will each be returning in 2022.






So Apple hopes that the holidays will be your chance to catch up on "Foundation," "The Morning Show," "See," and of course "Ted Lasso," here's what is new for Christmas 2021.

Shows building up to Christmas

Depending on your age and nostalgia factor, the highlight of this part of the year could well be "A Charlie Brown Christmas." That streams from December 19.

But you may change your mind over which is the highlight of 2021, as this year there is a brand-new addition to the famous "Peanuts" specials. "Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne," is streaming from December 10.

For more adult audiences, at least in theory, there is "'Twas the Fight Before Christmas." It's a documentary recounting how one man's obsession with Christmas splits a community. It premiered on November 26.

That's still running and this is the world we live in now, when shows no longer air on a specific night, not even New Year's Specials -- or Christmas Day ones. Consequently, Apple's big bet for a Christmas Day and the entire holiday season is the return of Mariah Carey.

Get ready for the ultimate Christmas celebration with @MariahCarey!

On December 3, Mariah's Christmas: The Magic Continues comes home to Apple TV+ https://t.co/EaQ9oS10Ji #TheMagicContinues #MariahSZN pic.twitter.com/fs90sNnHoj

-- Apple TV (@AppleTV)


Her 2020 special, which reportedly cost over $4 million, will be repeated over the season. But there's also a new show, a sequel, called "Mariah's Christmas: The Magic Continues," which has already begun streaming.

Then from December 17 it's time for "Swan Song," a futuristic "genre-bending drama" set in the near future.

That's the future, and for a present-day take on the past instead, tune in to "Dickinson." It's a superb, vibrant, modern tale of 1800s poet Emily Dickinson and while it's been running since 2019, this Christmas is special.

For it's on Christmas Eve that the very last episode of the series will start premiering.

Apple TV+ never stops

There is one more show that debuts over Christmas, but it isn't on Apple TV+ right away. Even though the streamer has bought "The Tragedy of Macbeth," it can't stream it until January 14.

You can go see this take on Shakespeare's classic in theaters on Christmas Day.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,564member
    Most programs that I watch in the Apple TV+ app have black bars at the top and bottom of the screen when I view them in full screen mode. Is there some reason Apple's software can't accommodate that situation by placing the captions in the black area instead of over the image area?
    libertyforalllkrupp
  • Reply 2 of 7
    Thanks for paying some tribute to Christmas and Thanksgiving!

    Nowadays anything resembling American or Christian history is subject to ‘reevaluation’ and cancelling, and Christmas especially seems like it’s on thin ice. Christmas has been a joy for generations no matter the religion of the person celebrating, except until do-gooders decided other religious groups needed to be offended by it even though the vast majority weren’t. It’s a happy time. Not for everyone of course, but nothing is or will be for everyone. But for most people, a holiday the entire country can come together and enjoy.

    The Charlie Brown specials are terrific!
    lkrupp
  • Reply 3 of 7
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,273member
    Most programs that I watch in the Apple TV+ app have black bars at the top and bottom of the screen when I view them in full screen mode. Is there some reason Apple's software can't accommodate that situation by placing the captions in the black area instead of over the image area?
    The reason you are seeing black bars is because either you don’t have a modern TV which is in 16:9 ratio, or you have you ratio set incorrectly on your TV. For all practical purposes, there’s no such thing as “full screen” anymore unless you are watching something more than 30 years old that’s not a movie. Adjust your TV to the 16:9 ratio, or give up that tube TV.

    As for your suggestion of putting the subtitles in the “black bars,” those black bars don’t exist as part of the picture — you see them because there is no picture area there for what you’re watching. I hope that helps.
    lkrupp
  • Reply 4 of 7
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,273member
    georgie01 said:

    Nowadays anything resembling American or Christian history is subject to ‘reevaluation’ and cancelling,
    Time to play “spot the Fake Propaganda viewer,” I see … another hallowed holiday tradition for the poor persecuted helpless wye pipple minority …
    neoncatDAalseth
  • Reply 5 of 7
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,783member
    The one thing I would like to see is The Tragedy of MacBeth. It looks like it could be a very interesting production. If it doesn't appear in any of my local theatres, which it's looking like it won't be, I might have to subscribe for a month to see it. 


  • Reply 6 of 7
    georgie01 said:
    Thanks for paying some tribute to Christmas and Thanksgiving!

    Nowadays anything resembling American or Christian history is subject to ‘reevaluation’ and cancelling, and Christmas especially seems like it’s on thin ice. Christmas has been a joy for generations no matter the religion of the person celebrating, except until do-gooders decided other religious groups needed to be offended by it even though the vast majority weren’t. It’s a happy time. Not for everyone of course, but nothing is or will be for everyone. But for most people, a holiday the entire country can come together and enjoy.

    The Charlie Brown specials are terrific!
    Nonsense. The War on Christmas™ is pure manufactured BS. Any language shift towards “Happy Holidays” is an attempt at inclusiveness towards those other religions, not a rebuke of Christmas. Nobody is “offended”.
  • Reply 7 of 7
    chasm said:
    Most programs that I watch in the Apple TV+ app have black bars at the top and bottom of the screen when I view them in full screen mode. Is there some reason Apple's software can't accommodate that situation by placing the captions in the black area instead of over the image area?
    The reason you are seeing black bars is because either you don’t have a modern TV which is in 16:9 ratio, or you have you ratio set incorrectly on your TV. For all practical purposes, there’s no such thing as “full screen” anymore unless you are watching something more than 30 years old that’s not a movie. Adjust your TV to the 16:9 ratio, or give up that tube TV.

    As for your suggestion of putting the subtitles in the “black bars,” those black bars don’t exist as part of the picture — you see them because there is no picture area there for what you’re watching. I hope that helps.
    Just a cursory glance at IMDB says you’re wrong. While there is some 16:9 content for sure, the bulk of ATV+ content I just looked up is 2:1, 2.1:1, 2:35, or wider. Most theatrical releases are nowhere close to 16:9 and will result in letterboxing on “modern TV’s” (what decade is this again?).

    The reason you don’t typically see captioned in the outside the letterbox area is simply the lack of space. But it is software controlled, captions can be customized in many cases (can be on the Apple TV hardware settings for example but not the iPad and Mac apps) and there’s no technical reason you can’t have subtitles outside of the picture area other than the particular software supporting that or not. In this case I think Apple correctly determines the most accessible setting for most content and most people. Glancing away from the image to read dialogue is far more distracting than text overlaying the image IMHO.

    However, they specifically mentioned the “app” in full screen mode, so they’re probably talking about viewing content on a Mac, In which case the screen could be 16:9 (iMac), 16:10 (MacBook), or a random external monitor aspect ratio. Either way, Apple only offers the caption controls it offers, which is nil on the iPad/Mac app which I assume is Catalyst ie the same on both platforms.
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