Rating: 8/10
Following the summer’s chart-topping Platinum record “Short n’ Sweet,” singer-songwriter Sabrina Carpenter has kept thoroughly busy through the year’s end.
An interview with University alum and “Hot Ones” host Sean Evans and the first leg of the “Short n’ Sweet Tour” mark some high points of Carpenter’s previous few months. However, the pop icon sets her sights on new territory with a Christmas variety special.
Events like the Paul-Tyson bout and the upcoming NFL Christmas Gameday matches suggest Netflix’s foray into the larger TV industry, but the streaming giant leans on a more traditional TV staple with “A Nonsense Christmas.”
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The special is about as serious as the name would suggest, but a handful of solo performances from Carpenter’s 2023 EP of the same name lend it some credit. Showmanship is easily one of Carpenter’s strong suits, and audiences are swiftly reminded of her background as a singer-songwriter.
Her introductory monologue boasts an “unlimited budget” for the special, a claim backed up by the grab bag of pop artists and charmingly retro production design.
Carpenter makes for an excellent variety host. She showcases the vocal chops responsible for her multiple viral hits and falls back on her acting and comedic work with a handful of entertaining holiday-themed sketches and monologues.
The obligatory variety-special cameos are as present as ever, with “The Goonies” and “The Lord of the Rings” star Sean Astin playing Santa Claus and Shania Twain starring as a jovial Mrs. Claus.
Twain also performs alongside Carpenter in one of the special’s myriad duets with a slightly altered cover of Eartha Kitt’s “Santa Baby,” marking one of the special’s more whimsical numbers.
Other performers included Tyla, Kali Uchis and Chappell Roan, covering holiday classics like Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas” and Wham!’s “Last Christmas.” The duets and individual musical numbers are paced well, making up roughly half the special’s runtime and providing room for Netflix’s “unlimited budget” to take center stage with more dynamic production and camerawork.
The sketches and monologues in between the musical performances tend to somewhat overshoot in their attempts to curate less corporate energy, but Carpenter and comedic guest performers like “Abbott Elementary’s” Quinta Brunson keep the 50-odd minutes from feeling too sparse.
Bit players like “Saturday Night Live” alum Kyle Mooney provide a decent comedic foil, letting Carpenter and company work in the studio audience spaces they started their careers in.
“A Nonsense Christmas” might have come a bit early for the holidays, but the special’s cozy production and charming aesthetic make it an easy watch for anyone in the mood for a quick shot of Christmas spirit. Carpenter has enough of a gift for showmanship on her own, and her liveliness is only matched by the suite of musical guests and comedic cameos, coming together for a solid variety special and a promising first entry in Netflix’s live TV canon.
