A Very Murray Christmas: Paul Shaffer, George Clooney, Bill Murray, Miley Cyrus
Once upon a time, on Christmas Eve, your entire family would gather around the television to watch Andy Williams sing “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” with a chorus of carol singers. Maybe Snoopy was more your style, so you spent the holiday with the Peanuts. Or perhaps Rankin/Bass’ The Year Without a Santa Claus was your household favorite. But when was the last time you can remember watching a new holiday program.
They sure don’t make ‘em like they used to. Gone are the classic Christmas specials of yesteryear. Popular in the 60s, 70s, and 80s were celebrity variety shows filled with Christmas carols, themed skits, and various talent acts. Multitalented stars like Judy Garland, the Osmonds, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, and Julie Andrews hosted the shows that marked this important time of the year. But this holiday season we are finally being promised A Very Murray Christmas.
Actor and former SNL alum Bill Murray will be hosting his own star-studded Christmas special on Netflix. Written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Sophia Coppola, it’s set to be released on December 4th. In the synopsis released by Netflix, it states that, “A Very Murray Christmas opens with Murray preparing to host a live, international holiday broadcast. After a blizzard shuts down the production, he makes the best of the situation by singing and celebrating with friends, hotel employees and anyone else who drops by.”
Murray, who is already a holiday staple of sorts with his 1988 film Scrooged, has a similar charm to Dean Martin with his charismatic wit and laid-back sense of humor. Sure to be a mix of new and old, Murray is shown crooning “Jingle Bells” while accompanied by former Late Night star Paul Shaffer and belting a “Sleigh Ride” with modern pop star Miley Cyrus. Also making appearances are George Clooney, Amy Poehler, Michael Cera, Jason Schwartzman, and Maya Rudolph.