Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Returns to NBC: Everything to Know About the Christmas Classic

The Holiday Season is here, and that means it's time to make space for all the beloved annual Christmas viewing traditions in your life. For some people, that means bingeing Christmas romcoms, for others it means action holiday classics like Die Hard, but no matter your viewing habits, some things just feel essential in almost every household. 

Which brings us to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the beloved stop-motion animation special created by Rankin/Bass Productions, which originally aired on NBC. This year, for the first time since the 1970s, Rudolph will return to its home network and celebrate its 60th anniversary with a special extended version. Here's everything you need to know about the special, and its joyous NBC holiday homecoming.

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The history of Rankin/Bass' Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Elves and reindeer appear in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). Photo: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer/CBS YouTube

Christmas TV specials as we know them today really began taking shape in the 1960s, as networks started looking for family friendly options to air during the holiday season. In 1964, for NBC and General Electric, that meant a special based on the holiday story "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," which began life as a poem by Robert L. May in the 1930s and gained more popularity in the 1940s thanks to a song based on the poem by Johnny Marks. To make it happen, they turned to Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, and their company Videocraft International, who'd already produced the TV special Return to Oz for General Electric and NBC. 

Much of the same talent involved in Return to Oz returned for Rudolph, including director Larry Roemer and writer Romeo Muller. The idea was simple: Take the premise of the song, expand it out to include various side characters and a meaningful journey, and package it to families as appointment TV. And it worked, thanks to the music, the star power of singer and actor Burl Ives as the show's narrator Sam the Snowman, and the "Animagic" stop-motion style used by Videocraft and their partners in Tokyo, MOM Productions. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer became a seasonal staple, airing on American television every single year since. And, because fellow perennial favorites like A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (airing Thursday, December 5 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC), arrived later, it remains the longest-running TV Christmas special in the history of the medium, with six decades and counting to its name.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and NBC

Santa Claus, his elves, and reindeer appear in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964).

Though NBC was Rudolph's original TV home, the Peacock has not hosted the beloved reindeer in quite some time. After airing the special in 1964, NBC held on to the license for several more years, airing it annually until 1972.

That year, Rudolph moved to another network home, and though it's remained a staple, 2024 marks the first time NBC has aired the special in more than 50 years. And to make things even more special, NBC will air Rudolph on December 6 at 8 p.m. ET, the same night the show premiered 60 years ago. It's a true homecoming celebration, but if you miss it, don't worry. NBC will also air an encore presentation of the special December 12 at 8 p.m. ET, so set your DVRs.

The Legacy of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

The success of Rudolph in 1964 set off a ripple effect that we're still feeling in our Christmas celebrations today. Because NBC had a hit on their hands, other networks and production companies were emboldened to start cooking up Christmas specials of their own. The very next year, Coca-Cola sponsored A Charlie Brown Christmas, while two years later How the Grinch Stole Christmas arrived on TV courtesy of legendary animator Chuck Jones. Ever since, it's become a holiday tradition to take beloved characters known from other mediums and give them TV specials, which means you have Rudolph to thank for everything from Shrek the Halls (airing Wednesday, December 11 at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC) to Toy Story That Time Forgot. 

But Rudolph didn't just inspire other production companies. The success of their red-nosed reindeer tale led Rankin and Bass to eventually continue down the road of the holiday special. In 1969 they produced Frosty the Snowman, a traditionally animated special inspired by another beloved Christmas tune, which will also coincidentally air on NBC this holiday season (catch it Thursday, December 5 at 8:30 p.m. ET and Wednesday, December 11 at 8 p.m. ET).

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By 1968, Videocraft had changed its name to Rankin/Bass Productions, and throughout the 1970s they would become synonymous with Christmas specials, producing stop-motion classics like Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town and The Year Without a Santa Claus, along with traditionally animated hits like Twas the Night Before Christmas. Rudolph even got his own franchise along the way, appearing in the sequel Rudolph's Shiny New Year in 1976 and the crossover Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July in 1979. Over time, the stop-motion animation synonymous with Rankin/Bass simply became synonymous with Christmas, and has been paid homage in everything from Elf to a Christmas episode of Community. 

So you see, Rudolph is more than a single Christmas special. It's a watershed moment from which so much of our Christmas pop culture flows, and it remains essential viewing for holiday TV fans everywhere.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer returns to NBC December 6 at 8 p.m. ET, and will air in an encore presentation on December 12 at 8 p.m. ET.