Tinsel Traditions: An Exclusive Interview with Christmas TV and Film Historian Joanna Wilson
A chat with the expert on holiday pop culture!
Pop culture is a lot of fun–and at Christmas, this is especially true. Historically, we have turned to pop culture to help us celebrate, whether it’s your family’s annual watch party of a nostalgic favorite, a ritual marathon viewing of a classic, devoted dedication to TV romantic holiday movies, and more. And in the era of streaming and YouTube, it’s easier to find holiday episodes of TV shows of the past, TV Christmas movies that have been forgotten, and new content that releases every year just in time for the season. Holiday content across mediums is often escapist, combining fantasy with feel-good storytelling to appeal to the festive nature of the season. But that doesn’t mean it cannot be studied. For a moment, zoom out and consider the impact of Christmas entertainment on the broader spectrum of culture, the vast variety that lies within the genre, and why it persists year after year.
Cultural criticism usually comes for the standalone movies, TV, and books we consume all months of the year. But historian and pop culture enthusiast Joanna Wilson carved out her own niche: Christmas! Drawing upon her academic background in film history and philosophy to create insightful commentary on pop culture of all kinds, she is the expert on Christmas entertainment. Wilson is the author of the encyclopedia Tis the Season TV (2nd edition coming in 2026), The Christmas TV Companion (2009), and Triple Dog Dare (2017). She currently lives in Akron, Ohio where she watches a lot of TV with no apologies, and just a few regrets. We can honestly relate!
We were lucky enough to chat with Joanna Wilson about pop culture and Christmas entertainment. Enjoy our exclusive interview below–and make sure to follow Joanna on Instagram at tistheseasontv!
Remarkist Editors: People have referred to you as the Christmas TV expert, how did that come about?
Joanna Wilson: I’m a TV and film historian, specializing in Christmas entertainment. I wrote the book Tis the Season TV: the Encyclopedia of Christmas Episodes, Specials and Movies that came out in 2010. The expanded and updated 2nd edition is due to come out at the end of next year. With college degrees in both Film Studies and Philosophy, it’s second nature for me to analyze, evaluate, and discuss film, television, and popular culture.
RE: How did you come to specialize in Christmas on TV and film?
JW: I taught college philosophy courses for several years and knew I wanted to get into writing about popular culture. I knew the world didn’t need one more Scorsese scholar or another Hitchcock historian, so I kept myself open for an opportunity. I’ve always been a pop culture junkie, and I may have spent hours and hours in front of the television but I’ve always been a reader. My mother worked at our local library so I grew up reading books on film and television. In the year 2000, I read a book on the history of the animation company Rankin/Bass—who are known for making many memorable Christmas TV specials.
From there, I began looking more closely at Christmas episodes, specials, and movies and realized viewers watch Christmas entertainment differently than we watch other programs. And, Hollywood knows how popular Christmas programs are and markets them differently than other genres and programs. I realized at that time there was so little written about Christmas on TV and film, I decided to take it more seriously and join the conversation. I’m also someone who believes strongly that we as viewers need to be critical about all that we consume, and that includes feel-good, escapist entertainment like Christmas programs too.
RE: Do you have other books on Christmas entertainment?
JW: Yes! From the research I’ve done to write the encyclopedia, I’ve also written The Christmas TV Companion—a book discussing the more unusual Christmas programs, such as Christmas horror, Christmas sci-fi, and Christmas animation made for adult tastes. I’ve also written Triple Dog Dare which documents my survival of the 24-hour marathon of the 1983 movie A Christmas Story, and it’s where I discuss Christmas movies in general, their appeal, and the nature of nostalgia. But I’m most excited for the 2nd edition of the encyclopedia Tis the Season TV to reach readers. It is more than double the length of the original book and I’ve been able to improve the listings and summaries of programs from the past, making it far more scholarly.
RE: What are your favorite Christmas programs?
JW: I’m just like everyone else, I love watching the Christmas programs I grew up with. I love watching the 1971 TV movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story—the movie that was so popular, it inspired CBS to create the TV series The Waltons. I also grew up watching 1972’s The House Without a Christmas Tree—my sister and I looked forward to seeing that every year on TV. I also grew up watching reruns of 1960s and 70s series, so seeing the Christmas episodes of Bewitched, the Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, and The Andy Griffith Show always bring me great joy. Oh, and it’s not Christmas for me until I see the 1965 animated special A Charlie Brown Christmas. It’s still such a classic.
RE: What’s it like being a researcher?
JW: I love it! My love for the history of film and television still keeps me motivated to watch and document all the new Christmas programs each year. It also gives me the opportunity to visit archives and museums to watch forgotten TV programs from the past. I’ve also been lucky enough to be invited to join a panel discussion at the very first Christmas TV movie convention—Christmas Con—in 2019. I’ve appeared on two TV programs talking about Christmas TV specials. In 2018, I was selected by DVD.com/Netflix to be the highlight of their 20th anniversary, when I made a dress, resembling Rosemary Clooney’s dress in the 1954 movie White Christmas, made from the red paper envelopes used to ship DVDs by the subscription service DVD.com. The photos of the dress went viral and I ended up on Pee-Wee Herman’s website!
And, this year, I was invited to curate a public art installation that features video clips in Vancouver, B.C. The East Van Vodville Cinema, known on Instagram as freelittlecinema, this December, featured five clips from 1970s and 80s under appreciated Christmas animated TV specials I selected. It feels good to connect with others through the research I’ve conducted.
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Love the angle of studying Christmas media as its own genre with unique consumption patterns. The observation that Hollywood markets Christmas programs differently hits hard, its like theyve cracked the nostalgia code and weaponized it every December. What intrests me is the cyclical nature, like how we re-watch the same stuff year after year which doesnt happen with most media. My family has this weird tradition of watching Die Hard every Christmas Eve and arguing about whether its actualy a Christmas movie, which I guess proves your point about ritual viewing.