The 7 Best New Year’s TV Specials To Start 2025 Off Right
It’s almost hard to believe it’s that time of year again. The time when the trees go up, the presents get wrapped, and infectious holiday music plays on every radio station under the sun.
It’s also the time when people look ahead to the inevitable start of the new year, growing excited, anxious, and/or reflective about their individual progress over the past 12 months.
Like every major holiday on the calendar, New Year’s Day has plenty of memorable TV specials attached to it, each of which remain well worth watching as December begins to wind down. From classic sitcoms to hit animated series, here are seven New Year’s specials to bid adieu to 2024 and to say hello to 2025.
Ultimatum (The Office)
The Office more readily explored Christmas and Halloween in the course of its series’ run, but that doesn’t mean NBC’s beloved comedy series didn’t occasionally portray less popular holidays like New Year’s or Valentine’s Day. Case in point with “Ultimatum,” the first official Office episode of 2011. While the rest of Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch celebrates the upcoming new year, Michael navigates his increasingly intense feelings for a returning Holly Flax. Though it’s certainly humorous seeing Michael dump a scalding cup of hot coffee on a Woody doll in a jealous rage, the big reason to watch this later Office special is its emphasis on New Year’s resolutions. From Creed’s botched attempts at a cartwheel to Michael forcefeeding Kevin vegetables, everything about this Office holiday episode is worthy of yuletide celebration.
That ‘70s Finale (That ‘70s Show)
As a series focused on the latter 1970s, it seemed only fitting for That ‘70s Show to end on the final day of the decade. As they approach the end of 1979, the teenage gang of Point Place look ahead to their adulthood, reflecting on their transformation from unruly, rock and roll-loving teens to (relatively) mature and stable grown-ups. With Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace returning one last to the series, “That ‘70s Finale” marked a return to form for the show, redeeming That ‘70s Show’s middling final season with a heartrending conclusion.
Space Pilot 3000 (Futurama)
Interestingly, while That ‘70s Show ended with a New Year’s episode, Futurama wisely chose to begin with one. Taking place at the end of the millennium before jumping ahead to the year 3000, “Space Pilot 3000” set the standard formula for Matt Groening’s fan-favorite sci-fi animated series, introducing so many elements that came to be closely associated with the series in future seasons. The fact that it’s set on New Year’s Eve is, of course, just icing on the cake.
New Year’s Eve (Modern Family)
What else could you possibly ask for out of a New Year’s Eve celebration than nudist hot springs, babysitting misadventures, and late-night poker games with Billy Dee Williams? With “New Year’s Eve,” all of these harebrained escapades and more are on full display through Modern Family’s characteristically unique style. Merging its branching storylines into one satisfying New Year’s-themed cocktail, “New Year’s Eve” perfectly melds comedy and relatable drama in a way far too few series can.
The One with All the Resolutions (Friends)
New Year’s resolutions are never easy to accomplish, requiring a great deal of sacrifice, discipline, and personal strength in order to see them through to completion. With “The One with All the Resolutions,” Friends’ showrunners display the predictably humorous struggle that comes with tackling New Year’s resolutions, whether it’s something as simple as learning to play guitar or piloting a commercial aircraft. Of course, the standout moment in the episode has to involve Ross wearing leather pants on an awkward first date. (Sure, we get he wanted to try something new every day, but why oh why did he settle on leather pants as his first choice?)
The Limo (How I Met Your Mother)
If you’ve ever gone bar-hopping in New York City on New Year’s Eve, you’re probably aware of just how chaotic the streets can be as everyone prepares to rein in the holiday. Hilariously playing off this idea, “The Limo” finds How I Met Your Mother’s main cast party-hopping their way across the Big Apple in illustrious fashion. Searching for the perfect party to start the new year with, “The Limo” shows that – so long as you have friends and loved ones by your side – you’ll always be able to enjoy the holiday season, even if that means celebrating New Year’s in the midst of heavy New York traffic.
A War for All Seasons (M*A*S*H)
Famously, M*A*S*H went on eight years longer than the actual Korean War wound up lasting. While some elements of the later seasons failed to match the show’s first few installments, an episode like “A War for All Seasons” made it all worthwhile, illustrating the profound warmth that came with M*A*S*H’s underlying episodes. Like all the best M*A*S*H episodes, “A War for All Seasons” truly shows the severe homesickness and tedious boredom that characterizes military life abroad, with one more New Year’s celebration on the front the same as one more year away from home.
