Jim Gaffigan debuts a new special and Being The Ricardos comes to Prime Video

Plus, a unique, ghostly holiday tale in Ghosting: The Spirit Of Christmas

By Sulagna Misra | December 21, 2021 | 6:00am

TV Lists Gaffigan

Jim Gaffigan debuts a new special and Being The Ricardos comes to Prime Video

Left: Jim Gaffigan in Comedy Monster (Photo: Jean Ackerman/Netflix); Right: Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem in Being The Ricardos (Photo: Amazon Studios)

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Tuesday, December 21. All times are Eastern.

Top pick

Jim Gaffigan: Comedy Monster (Netflix, 3:01 a.m.): Jim Gaffigan is consistently funny doing the things he does best: making fun of every little thing in modern life. He has the added benefit of rarely cursing, so he’s fun to watch with the family—he’s like the Ted Lasso of comedy specials, which makes the timing of his latest, Comedy Monster, especially great.

Season’s streamings

Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas (Hulu): Kimiko Glenn and Alicia Dee play longtime best friends in this charming and warm little holiday comedy. Unfortunately, it’s about Alicia Dee’s character dying after a perfect date, “ghosting” her would-be beau. She then comes back to her best friend as a ghost. Unlike a regular Christmas movie covered in fake snow and very low stakes but high stress, the besties take this strange and horrifying problem in stride. It’s also set in Los Angeles, which—between the airheaded but sweet protagonist and the talk of psychic healers—gives the movie a Clueless feel. It’s way more fun than it should be, thanks in great part to Kimiko Glenn, whose cherubic voice can be heard in Orange Is The New Black, BoJack Horseman, and even Centaurworld.

With Love (Prime Video, complete season): This romantic comedy/family dramedy, from One Day At A Time’s Gloria Calderón Kellett, is packed with all the warmth and joy of the holiday season. With Love stars Emeraude Toubia, Mark Indelicato, Constance Marie, Benito Martinez, Isis King, Todd Grinnell, and more. Grab a mug of champurrado and settle in for a not-so-long winter’s binge.

Wild card

Being The Ricardos (Amazon Prime, 12:01 a.m.): When one first hears the name “Aaron Sorkin,” does one think comedy? Laughing out loud? The immortal slapstick humor of this I Love Lucy scene?

No, of course one doesn’t. Jesse Hassenger was, unsurprisingly, unimpressed with this movie: “Being The Ricardos, which depicts a Sorkinized week in the life of TV legends Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem), has evidence of both passions, but one thing is certain: This is a movie that will enrapture audiences, so long as those audiences are populated with characters from Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip.” Now you’ll have the chance to judge for yourself from your own home as the film arrives on Amazon Prime Video.