Fa-la-la-ha-ha Celebrate the holiday season with your favorite ABC comedies

By Kyla Brewer TV Media

There’s something special about getting together with family and friends for the holidays. In the weeks leading up to the festive season, many people dream of enjoying quality time with loved ones, but reality doesn’t always live up to those expectations. This week, three of television’s most popular comedies explore the ups and downs of the holidays in special new episodes.

The Goldberg family tries to outdo the Kremps, the Pritchetts juggle holiday plans and some single parents set out to find snow in California in special episodes of “The Goldbergs,” “Modern Family” and “Single Parents,” all airing Wednesday, Dec. 11, on ABC. Fans of the hit sitcoms can enjoy the festive antics of some of their favorite characters, and perhaps feel a bit better about their own holiday foibles.

The fun kicks off with a trip back in time to visit a holiday past with the Goldberg family. Set in the 1980s, the series is based on the childhood of its creator, filmmaker Adam F. Goldberg (“Schooled”). Sean Giambrone (“Kim Possible”) stars as the young Adam, while Troy Gentile (“Hotel for Dogs,” 2009) stars as his brother, Barry, and Hayley Orrantia (“Roommates”) stars as his sister, Erica. Wendi McLendon-Covey (“Reno 911!”) plays their overzealous mom, Beverly, and Jeff Garlin (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) portrays their dad, Murray. George Segal (“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” 1966) rounds out the cast as Goldberg grandpa Pops.

In this season’s holiday episode, Beverly sets out to create the best family holiday card, determined to one-up the Kremps. However, Geoff (Sam Lerner, “Project Almanac,” 2015) is shocked when he isn’t invited to be in the photo. Meanwhile, a pranking war between Barry and the Jenkintown Posse gets out of hand.

The Goldbergs have been celebrating Hanukkah for a while now. The show’s Season 3 holiday episode entitled “A Christmas Story” struck a chord with viewers with several nods to the classic 1983 Christmas film of the same name. The episode was a ratings winner, drawing more than seven million viewers. Subsequent holiday-themed episodes have ranked among the show’s most popular.

“Modern Family” fans may find this year’s special Christmas-themed episode a bittersweet holiday treat, as it’s likely the show’s final festive bow. Now in its 11th and final season, the show has followed the extended Pritchett family through the ups and downs of modern life in Los Angeles. It’s garnered a huge following, thanks to its talented ensemble cast, and is a critical success with 22 Emmys to its credit, along with 75 nominations.

Ed O’Neill (“Married... with Children”) portrays the patriarch of the family, Jay Pritchett, the owner of Pritchett’s Closets and Blinds. He and his vivacious younger wife, Gloria (Sofia Vergara, “Madea Goes to Jail,” 2009), navigate life with their young son, Joe (Jeremy Maguire, “I’m Not Here,” 2017), and Manny (Rico Rodriguez, “The Lion Guard”), Gloria’s son from a previous relationship. Jay’s daughter, Claire (Julie Bowen, “Ed”), and her husband, Phil (Ty Burrell, “The Incredible Hulk,” 2008), have three grown children — Haley (Sarah Hyland, “Blind Date,” 2007), Alex (Ariel Winter, “Sofia the First”) and Luke (Nolan Gould, “Ghoul,” 2012). Jay’s son, Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson, “Drop the Mic”), and his husband, Cameron (Eric Stonestreet, “The Secret Life of Pets,” 2016), have one daughter, Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, “Arthur”).

In the show’s final holiday episode, Cameron tries to hide the fact that he’s preparing for a big interview for a coaching position out of state while trying to make everyone a happy Christmas dinner. Meanwhile, Haley is happy to finally be able to drink wine again, and Claire tries to avoid talking about Jay’s job offer. Also, Luke must deal with the consequences of his recent romantic entanglement.

Although the cast will surely be sad to leave the show behind, the taping of the Christmas show was apparently festive. Stonestreet posted photos from the taping of the final Christmas episode on Instagram and even pranked his onscreen husband by digitally aging Ferguson to make him look like an old man.

The cast of “Single Parents” may be the new kids on the block com- pared to “The Goldbergs” and “Modern Family,” but they are nonetheless holding their own on the alphabet network. The first season averaged more than 4.5 million viewers per episode, earning a secondseason order in May. It follows a group of single parents who band together in the hopes of having lives of their own.

The cast includes Taran Killam (“Saturday Night Live”) as single dad Will Cooper, Leighton Meester (“Gossip Girl”) as single mom Angie D’Amato, Brad Garrett (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) as widowed father Douglas Fogerty, Kimrie Lewis (“Scandal”) as single mother Poppy Banks, and Jake Choi (“Front Cover,” 2015) as young single dad Miggy.

Last season’s Christmas episode, “The Magic Box,” was among the inaugural season’s most-watched episodes, and producers are hoping to lure viewers with another festive storyline. This time around, Angie’s son, Graham (Tyler Wladis, “A Christmas Story Live!”), writes a letter to Santa asking for either a white Christmas or to finally meet his dad. Angie enlists

Will’s help as she searches for snow in California. Elsewhere, Douglas and Poppy’s kids try to guilt their parents into buying them more presents. These special episodes offer TV viewers a triple dose of holiday cheer. Be sure to tune in to “The Goldbergs,” “Modern Family” and “Single Parents” on Wednesday, Dec. 11, on ABC.

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