15 unexpected Christmas specials you have to see to believe

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: A Midwinter’s Tale

Okay, this TV special just premiered on Netflix as I’m writing this, but it was worth mentioning anyway because when you think Christmas specials, you definitely don’t think of dark, brooding shows about witchcraft. But Chilling Adventures of Sabrina wanted to do something different. Instead of the usual cheery, joyous holiday episode, they wanted to show the dark side. So if you were looking for a relaxing Christmas spent with the Spellmans, you came to the wrong place!

With season one of the Netflix original ending with Aunt Zelda (spoiler alert) indulging in a little light kidnapping, that definitely comes back in this special, focusing on the baby and what her attachment to the baby is. The family is burning a yule log to protect themselves from dark spirits coming into the house, especially because of the baby.

As you can already tell, the episode is not completely a standalone episode, since it does follow the events that happened in season one. If you were hoping to jump in and watch the holiday special before finishing the season before it, you may want to reconsider. But really, it’s just helping further the story a bit to set the stage for season two, and Kiernan Shipka (who plays Sabrina) does think the episode stands on its own.

“It’s in so many ways, a standalone episode,” she explained. “It doesn’t get too crazy on plot or this or that. It really just kind of focuses in on the characters, and it takes its time. It’s super perfect for the holidays.”

Since this one is still pretty fresh — like, still hot out the oven like a fresh batch of gingerbread men — I won’t go into too many specifics. Many characters are visited by ghosts from their pasts, while others are facing their own issues, like big decisions that are hanging over their heads for the future. You get to know more about Sabrina’s mother while her aunts are somewhat at odds. She and Harvey are still broken up, so don’t expect to see too much of him. But you do get to see Sabrina finding her footing after putting her name in the Dark Lord’s book.

It might not be totally spooky, and it’s not exactly festive either, but it definitely finds the right balance to make it a perfectly unexpected Christmas special!