December will probably forever be the month for Christmas movies, TV specials and marathons, but this year networks are taking on the holiday season with new programming in droves.

Cable channels are planning debuts for the month, broadcast nets have new shows as well as previews for January premieres, and streaming platforms are launching new seasons in anticipation of the holiday binge.

And instead of battling the holiday movies and specials, programmers are premiering new shows this season as well.

NBC has two previews in store for December, with new comedies Superstore and Eva Longoria’s Telenovela. Superstore previews Nov. 30 with Telenovela to follow on Dec. 7, hoping to get viewers excited about their official midseason premieres come January. The time slot also takes advantage of its viewership bump from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and National Dog Show as well as The Voice finale.

The December premiere also comes at a perfect time, after several broadcast shows have aired their midseason finales but well before those shows return come January or February. That empty space on the DVR is prime for a new series or two.

A&E Network will debut Unforgettable, the drama it grabbed from CBS. Bravo will begin airing the latest season of its competition show Top Chef on Dec. 2, its first December premiere in five years. Bravo’s scripted series Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce returns for season two on Dec. 1. Syfy, which has a successful history of premiering original series in December, will air both Childhood’s End and The Expanse on Dec. 14.

Networks also have plenty more specials coming this time of year, however. Fox recently announced its Empire-themed special Terrence and Taraji’s White Hot Holidays, hosted by Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson coming Dec. 9. CBS has its Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show as usual, along with Sinatra 100: An All-Star Grammy Concert on Dec. 6.

And the streamers are in play this month as well. Amazon premieres season two of Transparent on Dec. 11. Netflix has its holiday special A Very Murray Christmas on Dec. 4, with Bill Burr’s animated comedy F is for Family coming to the service on Dec. 18.

Read more at Variety.

Brief Take: Networks and streamers alike are trying their best to make sure that TV fans have as much as possible to binge on during the holiday season, but with so many options out there this December, how will viewers choose?

[Image courtesy of Bravo]

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