Drum roll please: the most watched Christmas TV episode is House’s “It’s a Wonderful Lie.”
Given the general fondness for humorous watches and romantic tales at this time of year, it’s pretty interesting that a medical drama took the top spot. But hey, who doen’t love the soapy storylines of healthcare’s greatest minds?
Season 4 Episode 10 first aired on Jan. 29, 2008 and follows Dr. Gregory House’s (Hugh Laurie) efforts to diagnose a mother with paralysis in her hands. Meanwhile, a Secret Santa exchange happens between the others that stirs up a bit of drama. Per usual, House has a genius epiphany and saves the day. Outside of the plot, what’s notable about “It’s a Wonderful Lie” is it is the first episode to feature Olivia Wilde, Kal Penn and Peter Jacobson as main cast members.
Over the course of eight seasons, House became a critically acclaimed favorite and was proclaimed by the American Film Institute as having “redefined the medical television show.” In fact, House took five out of the top 15 most popular Christmas TV episodes, reflecting the show’s popularity after all these years.
Don’t count out comedies, though. The Office nabbed two spots on this list, including fan-favorite “Christmas Party,” which featured the Dunder Mifflin gang competing for an iPod at their White Elephant party. The NBC series also had the highest search volume than any other show and is the most-watched TV show during Christmas time in the U.S., with The Simpsons following right behind.
Other episodes among the top 15 include The X-Files’ “How the Ghosts Stole Christmas,” The Simpsons’ “Marge Be Not Proud” and Modern Family’s “Express Christmas.” How I Met Your Mother also had a standout showing with three episodes on the list.
See also: The 10 Best Holiday Movies Streaming on HBO Max
Only a handful of states did not have The Office or The Simpsons as their most searched TV Show on Christmas.
To find the most popular Christmas TV episodes, USDish looked at TV episodes from 1990 to the 2021. They narrowed the data from IMDb by looking at episodes that contain “Christmas” in the description and have over 1,500 IMDb votes and a rating of 7.5 or higher.
See the full list below.
Photography by: Unsplash; USDish/DISH
