“It’s the ho, ho, ho-iest special of all!”
Sabrina Carpenter’s “Nonsense Christmas” show arrived on Netflix on Friday. Highlighting her 2023 “Fruitcake” EP, the 49-minute show was chock-full of celebrity appearances, sketch comedy and a blend of her festive tunes and Christmas classics with Carpenter’s signature remixed lyrics.
While some of Carpenter’s holiday tracks are as NSFW as her beloved “Nonsense” outros and “Short n’ Sweet” lyrics, her Netflix special — directed by Sam Wrench (who directed Laufey’s concert movie, also out Friday) — had the challenge of remaining TV-14. As Carpenter sang, “You can watch with your aunties, I might mention panties, but don’t fret, it’s TV-14,” before saying, “which means I’m allowed to say ‘fuck’ three times. Fuck! Just one left.”
“There are comedy specials, and there are musical specials, and there are holiday specials. But who does musical comedy holiday specials? A lot of people,” Carpenter quipped midway through her “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” rendition. “But do those specials have celebrity guests? Yes, they do! Everyone with a musical comedy holiday special does them with celebrity guests, and this is one of those.”
While she may not be the first to do a musical comedy holiday special starring other A-listers, the pop star added her own flair to every aspect of the show, which, as she joked Netflix hopes, will likely go viral.
Below, Variety recaps the biggest moments from the highly-anticipated special:
Netflix
A Chappell Roan-Carpenter duet: The two Island Records stars and friends have had a breakthrough year in music. They gave their often mutual fans a gift with their rendition of “Last Christmas” while wearing fuzzy white winter coats and singing the lyrics karaoke-style off of a TV. (The special concluded with a blooper reel, where Roan joked, “I look so… straight” in her festive fit.)
Ghosters belong on Carpenter’s naughty list: Carpenter led a few festive sketches, including one where she introduced her friends (Megan Stalter and Owen Thiele) to her new boyfriend (Sean Astin), who may or may not be Santa Claus. In another one, which featured an autotune-heavy song, Carpenter couldn’t figure out what to give her sister’s (Jillian Bell) awkward husband (Kyle Mooney) for the holiday. A standout sketch was one where “Ebby Scrooge” (Nico Hiraga) was haunted by the ghosts of a woman he “ghosted” in the past (Sabrina Carpenter), someone he’s presently ghosting (Quinta Brunson) and a woman he will ghost in the future (Cara Delevingne). The sketch ended with a PSA: “To the ghosters on the naughty list, learn from this!”
Carpenter knows how her fans are watching: She sees you when you’re sleeping. She knows when you’re awake. She knows when you’re scrolling on Instagram through the entirety of her Christmas special. “You could’ve been anywhere tonight — spending time with family, helping the less fortunate… But instead, You’re here. Half-watching a big screen while scrolling social media on a smaller screen. And for that…I’m forever grateful,” Carpenter said at the start of her show after singing “Buy Me Presents” to open.
Netflix
Duets, duets and more duets: The Chappell-Carpenter song was just one of several duets dispersed throughout the show. Tyla joined Carpenter for a rendition of “This Christmas,” Shania Twain sang “Santa Baby” with the “Espresso” singer, and Kali Uchis and Carpenter performed “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” together.
‘A Nonsense Christmas’ needs a ‘Nonsense’ outro: While Carpenter has discontinued her viral “Nonsense” outros at her concerts — where she would add a raunchy rhyme to the end of her hit song involving a pun tied to whatever city she was in — she provided one for her festive spectacle. Her risqué holiday remix “A Nonsense Christmas” closed the show, and she sang at its tail end: “Well, here we are, my special at its ending. Love you all and thank you for attending. I can’t believe I kept it family-friendling,” a second before she was gifted a “massager” — and moments before she said her third and final “fuck.”
“A Nonsense Christmas With Sabrina Carpenter” is now streaming on Netflix.